SCOTLAND LEADS WORLD IN UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FUNDING

SCOTLAND LEADS WORLD IN UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FUNDING

RESEARCH FUNDING IN SCOTLAND’S UNIVERSITIES TOPS INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE TABLE

Education Committee member Kenneth Gibson today heralded the news that Scotland invests more money in universities than any other country in the OECD.

The GERD report, published today, highlights many reasons why Scotland’s universities should have reason to celebrate research success.  The report shows:

·       Scotland’s expenditure, as a share of GDP, on university research was higher than any OECD country. Investment in higher education research was 0.82 per cent of Scottish GDP in 2008, compared to 0.47 per cent for the UK, 0.42 per cent for the EU and 0.39 per cent for the OECD.

·       Expenditure in Scotland was £939 million in 2008, 13.8 per cent of the UK figure and an increase of £69 million since 2007. This represents a real terms increase of 5.3 per cent since 2007.

Cunninghame North MSP Kenneth Gibson said:

“This is fantastic news for, not just those involved in education, but the whole of Scotland. Investment in our universities has once again been shown to be truly world beating, underlining Scotland’s long held and sustained devotion to academia.

“The report shows that Scotland not only devotes a larger proportion of its economy to university research than the rest of the UK and Europe, but is the highest country in the OECD. This is a feat that is truly outstanding.

“Scotland’s been a world leader for centuries when it comes to education and despite Labour’s constant attempts to talk our universities down and hope for failure, they continue to hold their heads high in all the international standings.”