University College Cork (UCC) contributes €2.3 million per day to the Irish economy, according to a new report launched today.
The Economic and Social Impact report also reveals that employment among UCC graduates is at 94 per cent for undergraduates and 95 per cent for postgraduates. The report was co-authored by Mark Hutchinson, Professor of Finance at UCC Business School, and David Hogan, Finance Researcher at UCC Business School.
Those graduates add an extra €24.8 million to Ireland’s economy in their first year after graduation, the report states. It reveals that for every €1 invested in the university, UCC returns €5.68 to the Irish economy.
In a press statement, the President of UCC, Prof Patrick O’Shea, said that the university is a “centre of academic excellence in both learning and teaching” and that the college aims to “make a significant, sustainable and responsible contribution to Ireland and its people”.
“Beyond the jobs and the €2.3 million per day, UCC prepares world-ready and work-ready graduates and adds to the attractiveness of Cork as a place in which to live, work and to do business”, he said.
The report comes as the value of Ireland’s third-level institutions is increasingly questioned, amid a long-term funding crisis that many staff in the sector have blamed on political inertia.
Figures from the report also reveal that 93.4 per cent of first years continued on to second year in 2017/18 and that 23 per cent of UCC’s undergraduate intake comprises mature students, students with disabilities and non-traditional college-goers.
As industry links becoming increasingly important for Ireland’s higher education institutions, the report also claims that UCC is the leading university in Ireland for securing investment in research and development, with €10 million invested by industry in creation and discovery in 2016.
