University College Dublin’s (UCD) annual economic impact has been estimated at €1.3bn ($1.42bn), three times its income, according to a new report.
The report, Delivering Impact: The Economic, Cultural and Social Impact of University College Dublin, found that the university and its students in Ireland generate both the financial impact, and 8,914 jobs.
A large part of UCD’s impact comes from its UCD Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO) project, launched in 2003. UCDVO has partnered educational institutes, communities, and non-governmental organisations in Haiti, India, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Uganda, and other developing countries to place children in education programmes, and has an estimated social impact worth €800,000.
In addition, UCD staff frequently work on additional public service activities. In the academic year 2013-14, 1,500 UCD staff contributed 22,000 days to public service activities, amounting to €10m worth of services to local, national, and international communities.
Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact said, “This report demonstrates that as well as the significant financial contribution UCD makes to the Irish economy, the work we undertake also has a substantially broader social and cultural impact.”
“The knowledge and talented individuals that emerge from UCD research and innovation activities are essential drivers of a knowledge economy. Our researchers also address important social questions and produce creative and cultural outputs that enrich and inform Irish and global culture. And ultimately UCD’s greatest impact is seen in the many successes of generations of our graduates nationally and globally.”
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