University of Birmingham generates £4.4 billion for West Midlands and UK economies

The report comes ahead of the general election which, London Economics has warned, puts higher education funding at a “crossroads” across the four home nations.

Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Birmingham, said,“London Economics highlight the significant social and economic contributions the University of Birmingham makes to Birmingham, the Midlands and the UK. Through education and skills, research and development, and our work with students, staff, local communities and partners, we make a positive and lasting impact on individuals and society.”

“It’s no secret that the higher education sector faces many challenges and studies like this show why universities are so important. Failure to protect the sector could have wide-ranging negative impacts on the UK’s economy, skills base, innovation and jobs," said Gavan Conlon, Partner at London Economics and co-head of its Education and Labour Markets practice.

International students generate £690 million to the UK economy

The report also talks about the contribution made by the University’s international students. It says that every seven international students generating £1 million of impact on the UK economy and every eight international students generating 10 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the UK economy. The total impact of the international students is £690 million. The analysis shows that the university's activities supported a total of 19,885 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs across the UK economy in 2021-22, of which 13,295 were located in the West Midlands.

"Compared to the University’s relevant operational costs of approximately £769 million in 2021-22 , the total impact of the University of Birmingham’s activities on the UK economy was estimated at £4.4 billion, which corresponds to a benefit to cost ratio of 5.7:1. In addition to assessing the total impact of £4.4 billion on the UK economy as a whole, it is also possible to estimate the economic impact of a number of strands of the University’s activities on the West Midlands. Specifically, we estimated the economic impact associated with direct, indirect and induced impacts of the University’s research and knowledge exchange activities, the impact of international students, the impact of the University’s expenditure, and the impact of tourism activities associated with the University on the West Midlands," reads the report.

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