Aberdeen research base worth £500m a year

Published on Monday 9 November 2009 20:46

ABERDEEN University is contributing more than half a billion pounds to the Scottish economy each year.

An independent report has found that the university contributes 508 million to the economy annually, with over 20 per cent of that coming from commercialisation activity.

The report, entitled Economic Impact of the University of Aberdeen, has been compiled by Midlothian-based development consultancy Biggar Economics.

Professor Dominic Houlihan, vice-principal for research and commercialisation at the University of Aberdeen, said: "We've had great success in commercialising our research to date. We now have 20 companies which have been spun out of research ideas developed at the university and this has great potential to grow further in the future."

The study found that the total contribution of the university to the North-east economy is around 377m every year, through core business, capital investment, staff and student spending, and tourism.

The report found that employment at the university provided 11,202 full-time jobs.