Australian Universities - a Smart Investment

The Deloitte Access Economics report shows university education and research play a key role in

  • Economic prosperity

  • Productivity growth

  • Boosting living standards

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Download the Key Findings

Here’s how universities make a difference to the economy

10% of GDP in 2014 was attributed to the impact of university research

$160 billion was generated by knowledge and technology from university research in 2014

Every $1 invested in university research produces a $5-$10 return to the economy

$140 billion is what all university qualified workers in the economy added to GDP in 2014

Australian Universities

  • Create Jobs

  • Lead Innovation

  • Generate vital research

  • Increase economic growth

UNSW Australia’s contribution

$1.76 billion was contributed to the Australian economy in 2014 through UNSW’s operations, and student and visitor spending

11,700 full-time jobs created by UNSW operations, and student and visitor spending in 2014

$15b added to GDP in 2014 from the impact of UNSW research on knowledge and technology

$204m added to GDP in each year from the UNSW graduating class of 2013 (undergraduate students)

Get Involved

Australian universities are a smart investment, from the research we perform through to the economic activity generated, the numbers speak for themselves.

But a dramatic transformation lies ahead, to fund the innovation, industries and jobs to compete in the coming ‘knowledge economy’ Australia must invest heavily in the smarts and skills of our people.

You can be an ambassador for this change, to find out more and to sign the petition

 

visit keepitclever.com.au

A Real Impact

From powering our future to developing lifesaving drugs here are just 10 UNSW innovations that have changed the world and are helping to pave the way to an even better tomorrow.

1
Memtec Membrane Technology
Chris Fell
Every time you turn on a tap for a glass of clean drinking water, chances are it’s been treated using UNSW’s membrane filtration technology.
2
Antiretroviral Therapies for HIV/AIDS
David Cooper
Since diagnosing Australia’s first case of HIV, UNSW’s Professor David Cooper has been involved in the development of every existing antiretroviral HIV drug.
3
Reverse Polish Notation
Charles Hamblin
By the mid-1970s, the majority of scientists in the Western world were using calculators based on the Reverse Polish Notation logic system developed by UNSW's Professor Charles Hamblin.
4
Murray-Darling Basin Plan
Richard Kingsford
UNSW research has influenced a multi-billion-dollar water management plan for the Murray-Darling Basin’s iconic rivers, which support a third of Australian agricultural production and precious wetlands.
5
Silicon Photovoltaic Solar Cells
Martin Green and Stuart Wenham
UNSW engineers hold the world record for conversion efficiency for silicon solar cells. The impact of their pioneering research extends globally across the entire solar power industry.
6
Kakadu Software
David Taubman
UNSW software used by more than 300 companies, including Sony, HBO and Disney, is fundamentally changing the way we interact with cinema and visual content.
7
Support for China’s Orphans
Peter Saunders and Xiaoyuan Shang
UNSW research contributed to the first census of China's orphans, and led to a significant improvement in the living standards of half a million vulnerable children.
8
Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses
Brien Holden
Sixty million people around the world now wear safer, more comfortable contact lenses manufactured using a scientific formula developed at UNSW.
9
Equal Remuneration
Anne Junor and Ian Hampson
A skills-assessment toolkit developed at UNSW has helped secure pay rises of up to 45% for 150,000 workers in the community sector, the bulk of them low-paid women.
10
AustLII
Graham Greenleaf
AustLII revolutionised access to justice and the rule of law by making a wealth of legal material freely available to anyone with an internet connection.