Our £791.7 million impact

Our growing economic impact

Universities are fundamental to the UK’s economic growth, and the University of Essex is playing its part in driving innovation and economic growth in the Eastern region.

In 2022-23, our overall economic impact was £791.7m, up 27.8%.

Research income generated in 2022-23 was £34.3m and our income from business and community engagement was £28.5m.

Our student numbers grew by 6.5% to 20,958* with our students' contribution to the regional economy estimated to be £62.5m.

Our work directly creates 2,897 jobs and a further 4,172 jobs across the region.

Working with businesses through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

The University of Essex has been the number on institution in the UK for active Knowledge Transfer Partnerships since October 2022. 

Funded by Innovate UK and Research Councils, KTPs are an established and successful initiative to drive innovation and growth through the transfer of expertise from a university into a business.

We have 43 active Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with businesses, many in Essex, the East of England and London. The value of our Knowledge Transfer Partnership portfolio is expected to surpass £10m in 2024.

Industry sectors we are supporting to innovate include Healthcare, Insurance, Charity, Agriculture, Supply Chain and Logistics, Manufacturing, HR, Legal and Finance. 90% of our KTPs are with SMEs and 10% are with large companies. 

More than 80 Essex academics are working on active partnerships with departments leading projects including the the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, the Department of Government, the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, Essex Law School, Essex Business School, the Department of Psychology, the School of Life Sciences, the Institute for Social and Economic Research, the School of Health and Social Care and the Department of History.