The effect of the Gown on the Town
The affluence of the city of Oxford owes much of its success to its centuries old university. The city of the ‘Dreaming Spires’ is famous globally for being one of the world’s leading centres for academic teaching and research. Britain’s research industry is a valuable asset to the economy and even when times are hard Britain remains a world leader in research because of institutions like the University of Oxford.
Academic Revenues
The university generates £750 million pounds for the local economy every year, supporting 18,000 jobs. It brings students from all over the world who themselves bring valuable income to the region. In addition the university’s famous colleges provide an income stream of £589 million from the 9 million plus tourists who come to see Oxford’s famous.
Aside from the direct income generated by the university, there’s a considerable amount of spin off income generated by research and development activities. The collaboration of ideas and knowledge creating business makes Oxford and the surrounding county of Oxfordshire one of the most economically dynamic in the country.
A Pioneering Research Centre
Oxfordshire is the lead area of the UK for pharmaceutical industries because of the links to the university’s research centres. There are several examples of companies which began life as research projects which became highly successful businesses. Oxford Vacmedix grew from pioneering research into the effectiveness of vaccines. Oxehealth was a project to develop a webcam to monitor a patient’s health. This now has the backing of the NHS.
It’s not just medical companies which have been born out of the connection with the University. There’s a growing concentration of hi-tech industries in the area. In fact Oxfordshire’s growth rate in this sector is the highest in the UK. The Isis Innovation project has led to the birth of 70 successful enterprises begun by students or research fellows since the Millennium including Oxford Catalysts which is now a world innovator of research into clean fuels.
Connection with Business
The need to formally connect the activities of the university with the business world was addressed in 1996 when the Said Business School was set up. Named after its main benefactor Wafic Said it’s created a pool of business innovators who have gone on to great things and added to the thriving local economy.
Oxford is a very vibrant city with more than 3,400 businesses providing 106,000 jobs. 89% of the city’s population are involved in the service sector and it’s proving a popular place for startup businesses, many of which have been created by former students who are putting their studies into practice. Oxford is also a favoured location for foreign companies looking for a UK base especially by US and Chinese companies. Such is the interest that demand for offices to rent in Oxford is very high.
Any academic institution brings value to a town or city but Oxford is particularly blessed having such a famous university on the doorstep. As long as the quality of the research and innovation generated continues, the city of Oxford and the South East region as a whole will continue to benefit.