Scottish universities research excellence
Despite being home to just 0.1 per cent of the world’s population, Scotland produces 1 per cent of published research, a higher ratio than anywhere else in the world. The quality of Scottish universities’ research is indisputably high, with more worldwide citations than any other country per head of population.
Knowledge transfer, the process of getting higher education discoveries into the places where they can be most effective, is another area where Scottish universities perform competitively.
Strengths of Scottish university research
The latest RAE of research departments in Scottish universities and other HEIs concluded that there has been a major improvement in the quality of research. Around half of research staff work in departments rated as internationally excellent and Scotland has overtaken the UK average rating with an improvement of 18 per cent.
- There is 40 per cent more research per capita in Scotland than the UK average in key areas for the Scottish economy.
- The average quality of research outstrips the rest of the UK in areas such as biological science, electrical and electronic engineering, hospital-based clinical subjects and computer science.
- Scotland also increased income from contract research by 15.3 per cent between 2004/05 and 2005/06.
Scotland out-performs the rest of the UK in disclosures and patents in every respect, and 13 per cent of the UK’s total number of active spin-out companies under HEI ownership are based in Scotland. With 8.6 per cent of the UK population, Scotland’s universities and other research institutions secure:
- 12 per cent of UK Research Council funding.
- 14 per cent of UK government department research funding.
- 15 per cent of EU research funding awarded within the UK.
- 12 per cent of other international research funding, worth almost £50 million in total.
- 18 per cent of the UK’s total intellectual property revenues.
- 10 per cent of the UK’s total consultancy contracts and 9 per cent of income earned from this activity.
Scottish universities research and knowledge transfer capabilities
A 2007 study by the University of Edinburgh showed that, in terms of value, the top eight Scottish universities outperformed their Ivy League counterparts.
For every $150 million of sponsored research:
- The top US universities produced 58 disclosures and the top 8 Scottish universities 84.
- The US universities produced 33 patents while Scottish universities produced 51.
- The US produced 15.1 licences compared to Scotland’s 30.
- Scotland produces 3.1 spin-out companies, and the US only produces 1.1.
Scottish universities and colleges are famed the world over for their teaching and research excellence. Find out more about Scottish universities and how you can benefit from Scotland’s education industry by contacting SDI.