Queen's University Belfast contributes almost £2bn to the UK economy, new independent analysis by London Economics has suggested.

The research, which focused on the university's performance during the 2015-16 academic year, found that its £1.9bn annual contribution represented an economic benefit to cost ratio of six-to-one.

As well as employing 3,700 staff, it found that Queen's supports a further 2,570 jobs across the UK.

The economic impact report suggested that the public purse benefits to the tune of £101,000 on average every year for each of the university's full-time graduating students.

According to London Economics, every eight international undergraduates at the university creates £1m of an economic impact, while every £1m invested in research activity generates an additional £3.9m across the economy in the United Kingdom.

It surmised that Queen's University's teaching and learning generates over £400m in tax income for the Exchequer while £400m in earnings is generated by the university's graduates.

Commenting on the report yesterday, Queen's vice-chancellor Professor Ian Greer said it was "a timely reminder of the increasing economic, social and cultural impact of universities".

He said: "Queen's is an economic powerhouse of innovation and has a vital role to play in generating the knowledge and skills needed to fuel our economy."

Belfast Telegraph