Jim McDonald: Class of 2010 are fit and ready to build tomorrow's world

It's hardly the most favourable backdrop for the thousands of people marking years of hard work at summer graduations. Who would be a graduate in this harsh climate?

Well I have some good news for the class of 2010. Things might seem tough right now, but they are the men and women who will reap the benefits of the current economic climate. When the upturn comes, and it will, they will be perfectly placed to help us take full advantage of it.

Scotland is rightly proud of its education system, and it has a higher education sector which is the envy of the world — that's why, every year, tens of thousands of students come to Scotland to study.

A recent University of Strathclyde academic study on the impact of higher education in Scotland made a compelling case. A substantial industry in its own right, higher education has an annual turnover of 2.5 billion a year — only half of which comes from core public funding and more than a third of which comes from the private sector and international sources.

When they looked at the impact on the wider economy, our academics found that, in total, higher education is worth 5.8 billion to Scotland every year, making higher education's economic contribution bigger than that of the tourism industry.

These statistics give the lie to the notion that universities are ivory towers. They are critical components in the economic life of the country, they generate employment and they add considerably to the wealth of this society.

In the way that inventors and commercial pioneers were the driving force of the industrial age — producing the fuel which drove the industrial revolution — academics generate knowledge, and knowledge is the life force of the modern age.

We could not live without it. Leading edge research is unquestionably important, that is where we discover solutions to address global challenges that touch everyone's lives, including climate change and health. It's where new drugs are discovered, new technologies are invented, new products and services are developed, and where new ways of thinking about the world in which we live are forged.

Alongside research — and Scotland can genuinely claim to be a world leader in many research fields — sits education. It is an equal partner, ensuring that learning is not constrained to the laboratory.

This generation of students is better equipped than its predecessors to meet today's challenges. Skills critical to top performance in the workplace have been embedded in their programmes — they are creative, innovative and enterprising. They also have a very highly developed sense of social justice and civic responsibility, and they recognise that they have an obligation to the wider world.

I never cease to be amazed at the sacrifices they make to help people less fortunate than themselves, whether that be building homes and schools in Africa, or offering free legal advice to people in working class areas of Glasgow.

Their achievements are something we can all take credit for. The graduates of 2010 have built their achievements on the support and encouragement of their families, neighbours, friends and teachers. I know they will repay society many times over. 2010 is a vintage year. I know for certain that today's graduates will build tomorrow's world. And in spite of all the difficulties, I am convinced it will be a better one.

• Professor Jim McDonald is Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde.