Levelling up skills and investment for the South East

Between 2014 and 2020, more than 25,500 new jobs were created by spinouts linked to Oxford University. Those 1,390 active companies had a combined turnover of £1.67bn and brought £2.7bn of investment to the region. More than 4,200 new jobs were created by spinouts linked to Southampton University. Those 364 active companies had a combined turnover of £573m and brought £162m of investment to the region. 

In addition to the high value jobs created by their business spin-out activities, Oxford University currently employs over 14,300 staff, an increase of 14% over the last 5 years. Southampton University currently employs over 6,100 staff. 

How universities are helping in the region

University of Oxford - saving lives and helping the UK economy reopen safely  

The Oxford Vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is being used in 165 countries around the world to protect people from the Covid-19 pandemic.

University of Southampton - building a world-leading photonics cluster

The University of Southampton has used quality related (QR) funding to set up the Zepler Institute and establish the city as one of the UK's top tech superclusters. Examples of the tech it has commercialised include fibres used by NASA in the Mars Explorer.

Our experience in Southampton shows that supporting clusters of companies built around the University’s cutting-edge technology can help create and keep highly skilled jobs in the region.

— Professor Mark E. Smith, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton

Explore how our universities are contributing to other regions around the UK.