A new report was launched today in London by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Midlands Innovation, supported by the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) and Universities UK International (UUKi).
The report, The role of universities in driving overseas investment into UK Research and Development (HEPI Report 157) by Dr Alexis Brown, sets out a blueprint for universities and government to work together in order to unleash the levelling-up potential of the UK’s world-renowned higher education sector to help attract international investment across the country.
Drawing on extensive analysis and research from its authors and a pilot underway in the Midlands, the report points to a significant opportunity to provide a long-term boost for local economies by attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the innovation clusters that surround university campuses across the UK. It suggests a number of practical measures that would better leverage universities’ global connections to directly support their local areas by attracting investment to boost economic development and job creation.
It proposes a national programme and policy framework to deliver more ambitious, joined-up thinking between universities, local growth partners and government around securing FDI into R&D, including learning from international best-practice from around the world.
