University College Dublin Contributes €1.3 Billion Annually to Irish Economy

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD has launched a new report which highlights the economic, cultural and social impact of University College Dublin (UCD).

The key findings outlined in the report are that the total economic output generated by UCD and its students in Ireland amounts to €1.3 billion annually and that the total number of jobs they generate is 8,914.

These findings are based on a detailed impact assessment, a summary of which has been published, carried out by Viewforth Consulting to ascertain the value and impact of UCD’s activities to the local and wider Irish economy.

The report is entitled Delivering Impact: The Economic, Cultural and Social Impact of University College Dublin.

Professor Andrew J. Deeks, UCD President said, “Impact reports, such as Delivering Impact, are increasingly important and are being widely applied across the international higher education landscape. As such this is the first report produced by the university to identify and quantify the diverse ways in which, UCD, Ireland’s most globally engaged university, is making an economic, cultural and social impact, both nationally and internationally.”

He added, “We will use these impact results over the next few years to realise our strategic vision for 2020.”

The economic findings contained in the Report are complemented by a series of case studies, one of which is outlined below, highlighting the broader impact of the university.

University College Dublin Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO), launched in 2003, has eight partnerships with NGOs, community groups and educational institutes in countries including Haiti, India, Nicaragua, Tanzania and Uganda. Annually around 125 UCD volunteers are placed on projects which to date include the provision of 19 houses, five schools and two health centres.

Since 2003 UCDVO has placed 12,900 children in education programmes and donated 570 computers to over 20 schools. Some 800 people have been employed annually by local partners, 335,200 meals have been provided all of which has an estimated social economic value of just under €800,000.

The report entitled Delivering Impact: The Economic, Cultural and Social Impact of University College Dublin is available to download via www.ucd.ie/innovation/newsevents/deliveringimpact/