PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

Last week, the Higher Education Statistics Agency released the results of their latest business and community interaction survey (HEBCIS). This examines the interactions between UK higher education providers and business and the wider community and measures areas such as intellectual property (copyrights, trademarks, design rights, trade secrets and patents), regeneration programmes and continuous professional development. Not surprisingly, I believe that the most important data that is gathered by the HEBCIS survey relates to spin-off activities, more specifically the number of new graduate enterprises.  This is because it not only measures the contribution of higher education in establishing start-ups within each nation or region but, more importantly, gives an indication of whether the interventions developed by universities to boost enterprise results in the creation of more businesses. According to the survey, there was a 16% increase in the number of start-up firms founded by...

If you don’t have a teenage son or daughter, you may not ever have heard of the video game Grand Theft Auto (GTA). In fact, few would realise that the five versions of GTA have, since the first game was launched in 1997, sold over 355 million units worldwide. In fact, the fifth version has generated over $6 billion in sales, higher than top grossing films such as Avatar, Avengers, Titanic or Star Wars, making it the most successful product ever to be developed in the creative industries sector. Despite this, the games industry remains one which has been largely unappreciated here in the UK even though it contributes £2.9 billion to the economy, supports nearly 50,000 jobs and has 75% of its revenue from international sales. But what about the video games industry in Wales and given the global potential of the sector, is there scope to make it a significant contributor to the knowledge-based economy? Two of my colleagues at the University of South Wales have recently mapped the developm...

With new firms responsible for the creation of employment, the generation of wealth, the development of innovation, the disruption of markets and support for local communities, entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as one of the key forces behind boosting economic prosperity around the World. As we emerge from the pandemic, those entrepreneurs with amazing ideas for new businesses will be the ones who will generate the new jobs during the post-Covid recovery, reimagine our town centres and drive forward innovation in a range of sectors.  In other words, the UK will need more home-grown, innovative firms to regenerate the economy especially within the more deprived parts of the nation where supporting the development of these entrepreneurial ventures will contribute significantly to closing the prosperity with the more prosperous regions.  To make a contribution to this agenda, I am currently working with colleagues at the University of South Wales and the Alacrity Foundation o...

Last Monday, I had the privilege of attending an incredible exhibition at the National Assembly of Wales’ Senedd building on graduate enterprises and the way in which universities are supporting start-ups by their students.  Organised by Universities Wales (the body representing Welsh higher education) and sponsored by Hefin David AM, the event saw presentations from an amazing group of young people who, on leaving their university studies, had taken the plunge into setting up businesses in a range of diverse areas including web design, homeware and fashion accessories, virtual reality, mobile coffee shops and online careers advice. Of course, the fact that universities are supporting the Welsh economy should not be a surprise given that an independent study recently showed that, through direct employment of staff, research and links with employers, they generate £5 billion of output and nearly 50,000 jobs. But with the economy generating more new businesses, a greater imperative f...

Three weeks ago, one of my closest friends, Professor Martin Rhisiart, passed away at the tragically young age of 43. Some of you will know Martin from his appearances commenting on the Welsh economy for both the BBC and S4C where he was always knowledgeable, erudite and had a way of simplifying even the most complex of issues. A native of Pontiets in the Gwendraeth Valley in Carmarthenshire, Martin began his career working for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London where he conducted studies on transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe. This was followed by nine years at the Observatory of Innovation at Cardiff Business School where he undertook research on a range of projects covering regional innovation, the automotive sector, new product development and innovation management. It was here that Martin began his interest in future studies and how they affected the economy and society, especially here in Wales. He was successful in leading a tr...