The time that UK academics spend on public events has risen to the highest level since before the pandemic, figures suggest, with the average institution recording almost 400 days of staff time last year.
Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) captures in days the amount of time that academics gave to social, community and cultural engagement activities, such as lectures, performance festivals and exhibitions.
The figures show that academics across the sector as a whole recorded 86,818 days of public events in 2022-23 – an average of 393 days for each provider.
Of this total, 22 per cent of time was spent on performance arts, 18 per cent on public lectures, 15 per cent on exhibitions, and 3 per cent on museum education.
