APPENDIX 22
Memorandum from the Heads of Higher Education
1. INTRODUCTION
The Heads of Higher Education Wales (HHEW) group
consists of the University Vice-Chancellors and the Principals
of the higher education colleges in Wales.
While the institutions represented in HHEW differ
in the details of their roles, each makes a significant contribution
to the economy of Wales. Examples of their contributions are:
— as successful businesses, attracting
students and research and other contracts
— as providers of skilled employment
— attracting students into an area,
to generate business from student spending
— as providers of skilled graduates
and postgraduates
— as providers of skills transfer,
through consultancy and training for business
— as sources of new business, through
spin-off companies and graduate start-ups
— as promoters of the "enterprise
culture" in Wales
— as promoters of a strong international
image for Wales, through research and through recruitment of overseas
students
The foreword to a recent report, The Impact
of the Higher Education Sector on the Welsh Economy: Measurement,
Analysis and Enhancement, stated ". . . the centrality
of HE to economic well-being has increased dramatically in recent
years for a number of reasons:
— the scale of HE has increased very
substantially, with one in three young people—and growing
numbers of mature students—attending an expanding array
of courses;
— expenditure on HE has grown, though
not proportionally, and this has fed back into local economies;
— there is a growing tendency in England
and Wales for students—including the majority of mature
students—to attend a local university and for institutions
to actively embed their work within their local and regional economies;
— but, above all, knowledge, advanced
skills, and high rates of innovation and change have become the
very life-blood of the mainstream economy and not just of a `high-tech'
elite sector; the currency of higher education has itself become
the currency of economic success. . ."
The summary of this report gives more details
(not printed). In addition to their broad impact on the
economy, universities and colleges play specific roles in technology
transfer, people transfer (supply of graduates and postgraduates),
and skills transfer (training, consultancy, and related activities).
They are the only organisations equipped to provide all of these
services, often in combination tailored specifically to the needs
of local and other companies.
Examples may be useful. Cardiff University's
Innovation Network has been well-publicised as a way to
link businesses to the University, and Swansea's Innovation
Corners for establishing new businesses are already showing
promise. The Teaching Company Centre, which provides joint
marketing of Teaching Company Schemes for NEWI, Cardiff and Glamorgan,
is one of the most successful such centres in the UK. Bangor is
now one of the top ten universities in the UK by number of Teaching
Company programmes; this is a remarkable achievement for a University
based in a predominantly rural area. Almost every University in
Wales has won research contracts under the EU's Framework programme;
this provides jobs in Wales and raises the international profile
of our skills.
Other successful programmes include the HEFCW
TACS (Training and Consultancy Services) initiative, and the CRAFT
scheme (this enables SMEs to participate with HE institutions
in research contracts awarded under the Framework programme).
The WOTT (Welsh Office Technology Transfer) programme, although
small in terms of financial support, has provided valuable assistance
for the industrial application of University expertise; one example
of this is the development of Bangor's Applied Control Systems
Unit.
The WDA has identified thirty-six "Centres
of Expertise"—University teams with specialist expertise,
existing links with business and the potential for further development.
These are distributed throughout Wales; they do not exhibit the
bias towards the South-East that is so often seen in other industrial
developments. We believe that more could be done, with appropriate
support, to develop these Centres.
The Community University initiative in
North Wales and the University of the Valleys initiative
in the South enable more of the people of Wales to benefit from
the opportunities offered by higher education. The use of the
Cymru Prosper Wales database, and related graduate placement
schemes, ensures that more of the skills developed by HE are used
to benefit businesses in Wales and ensures that more of our graduates
are able to remain in Wales if they so desire.
The proposed "Objective 1" status
for the western half of Wales provides a timely opportunity to
re-emphasise the desire to transform Wales into a high-skill,
high-value economy and to review the key contribution that can
be made by the HE sector in co-operation with other partners.
We understand that several draft versions of the Objective 1 strategy
for Merseyside were rejected by Brussels as the regional partners
had not included developing the HE sector, or the research infrastructure,
in their choice of priorities. Wales must learn from Merseyside's
mistakes; the views of the HE sector must be included in any proposals
for the use of Objective 1 support from Brussels.
It would also be appropriate for the HE sector
to be represented on the North Wales Economic Forum and on similar
fora in other sub-regions of Wales. Wales has been ahead of other
parts of the UK in the development of its Regional Technology
Plan (RTP). Wales needs to build on this lead by involving the
HE sector in those fora charged with developing the economy of
Wales.
The HE sector is willing and able to provide
the skilled people, the skills training, and the advanced technology
required for the development of a modern economy. With help from
all partners, this contribution can be used to drive forward the
economy in all parts of Wales.
7 July 1998
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