Last week, on 02 March 2015, the UK Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), jointly with the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), launched an independent report on the economic impact of engineering in the UK. It was entitled, “Assessing the economic returns of engineering research and postgraduate training in the UK”. The report highlights the remarkable contribution of engineering to the nation’s economy and the everyday lives of UK citizens and clearly shows that sustained support for engineering research is needed for further economic returns.
I am proud to have had a small part in the work, as one of the Academy’s Fellows on the Steering Committee. Not least, this is because the report is as valid for us in Northern Ireland as it is for anywhere else in the UK.
The report estimates that engineering-related sectors contributed circa £280 billion in gross value added (GVA) in 2011, equivalent to 20% of the UK’s total GVA. Engineering-related sectors exported goods and services valued at around £239 billion in 2011, some 48% of the total value of exports for that year.
The report also flags up the importance of engineering research to key sectors including aerospace, pharmaceuticals, software and computing, and highlights the fact that sectors with high concentrations of graduate engineers report high levels of innovation activity and productivity.
The report concludes that the quality of engineering research carried out in the UK, through our world class engineering facilities and businesses, attract substantial high-value, high-tech inward investment from around the world.
The report has been compiled by the Technopolis group who are an experienced consultancy on European economics. Despite their expertise, they had a tough time on this assignment to derive their econometrics from company data that is compiled on the basis of Standard Industry Classification (or SIC codes). Engineering has changed out of all recognition in the 21st Century in response to both the rise and ubiquity of the digital economy and due to new technologies such as genomics.
Fortunately, last year in the Academy we completed an update of our “Universe of Engineering” publication which came to the same conclusion based not on SIC codes, but rather from the more up-to-date labour market surveys. Technopolis were able to add to their findings by making innovative deductions from this data. The Academy reports, “Engineering is vital to all the sectors prioritised in the government’s industrial strategy, which builds on our existing strengths in aerospace, pharmaceuticals, software and computing.” And I think this is every bit as valid for us in NI.
Furthermore, the report included case studies from the recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise, which measured the quality and impact of university research across all disciplines. These demonstrate genuine advances being made possible through engineering research across the priority sectors including automotive, aerospace, renewable energy and healthcare. Our two universities kept us punching above our weight in Engineering “Research Power”, a measure of quality, impact and scale.
Emerging technologies now provide important opportunities for innovation and future growth across all market sectors and especially at the boundaries between traditional disciplines.
We will require a diverse skills base to maximise these opportunities; it is up to all of us to ensure that we use this research power to enrich our companies and to increase our economic take from the burgeoning world markets.
