Dear colleague, I hope Semester 1 is progressing well.
I’m writing to draw your attention to a new report from London Economics, published today, that demonstrates the significant value of our University to society and the UK economy. In 2021/22, Queen Mary contributed a total economic impact of £4.4bn to the UK economy. The impact is balanced across our portfolio of activities: £1.44bn (33 per cent) came from research and knowledge exchange; £1.25bn (28 per cent) from teaching and learning; and £1.1bn (25 per cent) from our educational exports.
Value for money
The report shows that our University provides real value for money. For every £1 we spent we generated £7 in the wider economy. This ratio is really high for an organisation of our size and complexity, and is significantly higher than the Russell Group average of 5.5:1. This is important as value for money is a key consideration when funders are thinking about where to invest, and provides clear evidence to contradict the recent negative narrative questioning the value of universities in the UK.
Creating jobs and prosperity across London and the UK
Queen Mary’s activities supported a total of 13,865 full-time equivalent jobs across the UK economy, 7,930 of which were in London.
We are firmly embedded in our east London community and the report shows the value we bring to our local boroughs, and to London. Of the £610m operational expenditure described in the report, 67 per cent occurred in London, with the remaining 33 per cent spread across the rest of the UK.
The value of a Queen Mary degree
The report also highlights the value of a Queen Mary degree. A Queen Mary full-time undergraduate degree generates an additional £94,000 in earnings, and a full-time postgraduate taught or research degree between £97,000 and £148,000 in additional earnings. This reflects the quality of the education Queen Mary provides and its ability to empower students with the skills and knowledge to thrive and add value to the workforce of today.
The report clearly demonstrates our importance to economic prosperity across the country and in London, and it’s particularly pleasing to see the balance of our impact across our core pillars of research and teaching, and our global outlook.
It is your activities that have generated this impact: the excellent research, teaching and other hard work that colleagues across our University deliver. The impact is also testament to partnerships we have locally, nationally and globally, through which the impact can be realised. We should all be proud of this report, and I would like to encourage you to share it with your friends and networks.
I’d like to thank you all for your continued work which enables us to create the impact captured in this report, and the positive difference we are making locally, nationally and globally, as a University. If you have a moment, please do read the full report [PDF].
Best wishes,
Colin
Professor Colin Bailey, CBE, FREng, BEng, PhD, CEng, FICE, FIStructE, MIFireEPresident and Principal | Queen Mary University of London | Mile End Road | London | E1 4NS