This blog was authored by Lucy Haire, Director of HEPI Partnerships.
In October, HEPI, with support from Lloyds Banking Group, hosted a roundtable dinner in Edinburgh on universities’ financial resilience as well as higher education’s impact on regional growth and prosperity.
This blog considers some of the themes that emerged from the discussion.
Every single university in the UK is in search of more money. At least seventy institutions, said one guest at a recent Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) roundtable with Lloyds Banking Group in Edinburgh, referencing statements from Universities UK, are making significant staff cuts while 40% of English providers are posting a deficit.
The effects of caps on UK university fees – even with the recent small changes – and the threats to international student income have been well-rehearsed. While there was clear recognition of the challenges facing the UK higher education sector, this roundtable took the opportunity to think about ways universities can demonstrate their value and contribute to growth. There was a palpable sense of optimism among the group of twenty-four higher education, government and banking leaders. Our essay question for the evening was: ‘How can universities deepen their impact on regional growth and prosperity, while simultaneously strengthening their own long-term financial resilience?’
We were reminded at the outset that universities are the great survivors. The University of St Andrews was founded in 1413, Glasgow in 1451 and Edinburgh in 1583, well before Lloyds Bank, our evening’s host, which was set up in 1765. Another guest commented that other institutions come and go, and political leaders frequently have a much higher turnover than vice-chancellors whose average tenure is about eight years.
Since Labour took power in July 2024, it was noted, there has been less anti-university rhetoric from the central Government. Indeed without universities, the Government will not be able to achieve its five missions, said one speaker, referencing a recent HEPI blog. Another guest with senior government experience thought that universities should not slavishly adopt the language of the five missions but could readily focus on growth.
One Scottish university leader reminded us of the huge return on investment with every £1 of public money invested into UK universities generating £14 of economic benefit, according to a recent report by London Economics for UUK. Several participants in the discussion pointed to university programmes which solve real world problems. Some university research has immediate impact such as the collaboration between Edinburgh Napier University and Police Scotland on officers carrying the anti-overdose nasal spray Naloxone which has already saved many lives. Some research takes much longer to be fully impactful. The Edinburgh-based Peter Higgs proposed the existence of the Higgs boson in 1964, but scientists didn’t confirm the discovery until 2012. Travelling further north we find the University of Dundee being named as the top university in the UK for developing spinout businesses, attracting investment and creating growth.
Back on campus, ensuring students are job-ready can be helped by the deployment of university subject advisory boards that check curricula are current and relevant. Helping care-experienced students as part of a multi-Scottish university collaboration is another way to enhance individuals’ life chances, including economic prosperity. Universities’ contribution to culture was also mentioned as enriching lives as well as creating growth through jobs and investment. One participant stated that as many as 80% of Scottish graduates remain in the country, so the investment in human capital has a significant regional impact.
A chorus of voices at the roundtable called for better communication of the value of higher education institutions to policymakers, businesses and the public. Universities needed to be ‘chief storytellers’ with different messages for a variety of audiences. Even the same political party might want to emphasise different narratives depending on location: the Labour Party in Scotland may take a different line from its counterpart in England, for example, said one former civil servant. The public can easily be one, two or even three steps removed from university activity, with swathes never setting foot on campus, relying completely on media representation about higher education.
One of the sub-questions for our discussion was: ‘What does ‘civic’ mean to universities and how integral should civic activity be to their purpose?’ Civics, one guest recalled, was former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s favourite subject at school yet most guests had never heard of it. We pondered whether a university could be strong locally, nationally and internationally, and also whether the phrase ‘civic university’ is a contradiction. Our attention was drawn to the opening words in William Whyte’s chapter of the Kerslake Collection:
A civic university is at worst a contradiction in terms and even at best a sort of paradox. The civic is, by definition, local; the university, by definition, makes claims to universality.
This collection was promoted by a roundtable guest as one of the richest sets of ideas about civic mission. It should be a must-read for all, including university governing bodies who must hold their universities to account about their civic missions. While civic missions might not bring immediate financial returns to universities, they could be a prerequisite for a more favourable financial settlement from the government.
Our colleagues from Lloyds banking group who generously supported the event said that they were constantly amazed at the ingenuity of the businesses and IP that come out of universities up and down the country. Lloyds have teamed up with PwC to ascertain the role of higher education in driving flourishing regions and will be reporting on their findings towards the end of 2024.
As we parted company from what was an extremely convivial evening, the doorman at our venue, the head office of the Bank of Scotland, now part of Lloyds Banking Group, asked if we’d found ‘the million pounds’ yet? He explained that it was right beneath us on display in the Museum on the Mound. Next time.