The Russell Group of Universities www.russellgroup.ac.uk +44 (0)20 3816 1300 [email protected] @russellgroup The Russell Group represents 24 leading UK universities which are committed to maintaining the very best research, an outstanding teaching and learning experience and unrivalled links with business and the public sector. Our research-intensive, world-class Russell Group universities are all universities play an important part unique institutions, each with its own in the intellectual life of the UK and history and ethos, but they share some have huge social, economic and distinguishing characteristics. cultural impacts locally, across the UK and around the globe. Russell Group universities: Welcome • Lead in pioneering, excellent • Are responsible for ground-breaking research and innovation inventions and discoveries • Produce excellent research on a • Compete on an international stage grand scale, across a broad range of to attract the brightest minds from disciplines, generating huge impact around the world to study, research through critical mass and quality and teach • Provide an outstanding student • Produce the most distinguished experience for both undergraduates contributors to society and postgraduates, where teaching • Provide the vast majority of medical is enhanced by world-class research research and education in the UK and facilities • Play a key role in their local • Work with major multinationals communities as well as SMEs and start-up companies to drive cutting-edge innovation 3 Our universities are found in all four Our universities offer a wide range nations and in every major city of of courses: each university offers on the UK. They are large, complex average more than 350 courses at Building prosperity organisations with an average undergraduate level. annual income of £688 million; for other UK universities the average is Russell Group universities collaborate £132 million. Their multiple income with the NHS to educate over 80% streams include competitively- of the UK’s medical graduates. Our won research funding, as well as universities play a leading role in grants and contracts from the EU, advancing our understanding of charities, industry, endowments illness and disease, and our research and investments. makes a direct contribution to improving patient outcomes. In 2015-16, each Russell Group university competitively won an Four of the top ten universities in the average of £185 million in research world are Russell Group institutions. Russell Group universities are a prominent grants and contracts, including: Furthermore, 15 Russell Group universities feature in the top 100 UK and international industry in their • An average of £40 million in grants and all 24 are in the top 250, and contracts from UK-based own right: according to the QS World University charities Rankings for 2018. They have a total economic output The average annual capital spend in • An average of £25 million in grants • • of over £32 billion per annum, 2015-16 of Russell Group universities and contracts from the EU Russell Group universities operate which represents 44% of the total was £92 million; for other UK higher An average of £10 million in grants globally, attracting students with top • economic output for the whole UK education institutions the average and contracts from UK industry grades and academic staff from many university sector (of which Russell was £17 million. different countries, but they also have Group universities comprise just 15%). Furthermore, Russell Group a strong role and influence within their • Capital investment projects by universities attracted an average regional and local communities. • They support over 300,000 jobs Russell Group universities between of £19 million each in endowment UK-wide. 2012-13 and 2016-17 are expected to and investment income. • They are a major UK export industry, support more than 98,500 UK jobs, generating overseas earnings of including around 37,800 temporary over £4 billion per annum. jobs during the construction period, around 45,000 permanent Russell Group universities The average number of The ratio of students to operational jobs and almost 15,700 teach on average over staff employed is academic staff is around permanent jobs supported by the wider catalytic impact of the activity 25,000 7,100 7 :1 undertaken in the new facilities. students compared to an compared to a non-Russell at Russell Group universities average of 12,000 at non- Group average of 1,700 compared to 14:1 at non- Russell Group universities Russell Group universities in the UK 4 5 Leaders in pioneering The 24 Russell Group universities research & innovation constitute 15% of higher education institutions in the UK, yet they account for a much higher proportion of all funding competitively-won by UK universities: Russell Group universities are world The UK research base is highly leaders in research and innovation. productive and has a global reputation They not only produce excellent for excellence: with less than 1% of the Russell Group research on a grand scale, across world’s population and just 4% of the a broad range of disciplines, but world’s researchers, the UK earns 12% universities award they also have the critical mass of international citations and 16% 60% of all doctorates of excellent research to generate of the most cited papers – of which 76%of research grant and 70%of all international grants 71%of EU research grants huge impact, link the UK into nearly three-quarters were produced in the UK. contract income (£4.45 billion) and contracts from outside and contracts awarded global knowledge networks, attract by Russell Group researchers. (source: SciVal) the EU (£307 million) (over £600 million) investment and exploit technological breakthroughs for economic success. Russell Group universities lead the They provide the vast majority of world in pioneering research across medical research and education in a range of disciplines, which benefits the UK. the economy, creates technological breakthroughs and improves quality of life. High concentrations of research excellence across 78%of total income from the 83%of research funding 68%of the total quality-related The UK is second disciplines are a foundation for UK Research Councils from UK charities research funding allocated innovative, interdisciplinary research (almost £1.5 billion) (over £954 million) by the UK Funding Councils only to Switzerland collaborations that are key to solving (around £1.3 billion) in the world, and global challenges. ahead of the US, for the quality of its scientific research institutions. 6 7 The UK leads Europe in winning grants from While Russell Group universities make up the European Research Council (ERC) – and 15% of UK higher education institutions, Russell Group universities alone host a higher the proportion of research which is ‘world- proportion of ERC grants than the whole of leading’ at Russell Group universities is Germany or France. almost double that at other UK universities. Proportion of ERC grants Russell Group Other HEIs hosted in different countries Other HEIs Russell Group 25% 20% 4% 15% 10% 17% 17% 12% 5% 9% 6% 6% 5% 5% 3% 3% 0% UK Italy Israel Spain France Sweden Belgium Germany Switzerland Netherlands 8 9 Driving innovation Enriching education and creating opportunities Commercialising research Home to brilliant academics Russell Group universities provide World-class teachers Russell Group universities have The brightest and the best minds from • Peter Higgs, Edinburgh, Physics an outstanding student experience Our students work with their field’s a proven track record of turning across the globe have found a home 2013 “for the theoretical discovery for both undergraduates and leading experts and often engage in world-leading research into at Russell Group universities, including of a mechanism that contributes to postgraduates. Their combination research processes. This approach innovative products and services. nearly 200 Nobel Prize winning our understanding of the origin of of teaching and research excellence provides particular strengths in academics. Most recently… mass of subatomic particles” creates an ideal learning environment postgraduate teaching and training, In 2015-16: • Christopher A. Pissarides, LSE, • John O’Keefe, UCL, Physiology or which attracts the most outstanding which is why 38% of all postgraduates students from the UK and across in the UK are studying at Russell • Our universities generated over Economics 2010 “for analysis of Medicine 2014 “for discoveries of the world. Group universities. £86 million in intellectual property markets with search frictions” cells that constitute a positioning income, 49% of the total generated • Andre Geim and Konstantin system in the brain” Our universities prioritise providing According to the 2016 National by UK universities. Novoselov, Manchester, Physics In 2014, Simon Donaldson of Imperial an excellent education and student Student Survey: • The estimated turnover from 2010 “for groundbreaking College London won one of the experience which offers lasting companies spun out from Russell experiments regarding the two- • 87% of students at Russell Group inaugural Breakthrough Prizes in benefits to our graduates – and to Group universities was over dimensional material graphene” universities were satisfied with Mathematics, John B. Pendry also society as a whole. Our students £644 million. • Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, their course of Imperial College London won a benefit from world-class