As a final core strand of economic impact associated with the activities of the CRUK Scotland Institute and the SCS, we estimate the impact of the institutions’ teaching and learning activities. Specifically, we estimate the net benefits to students/graduates and the Exchequer associated with postgraduate research students (i.e., Doctorate degree students) who are taught at the CRUK Scotland Institute and the SCS.23
5.1 Methodology
The analysis of the economic impact of teaching and learning activities focuses on the 2021-22 cohort of UK domiciled students enrolled at the School of Cancer Sciences, i.e., on the 39 UK domiciled students who started postgraduate research qualifications at the SCS in 2021-22. This includes students in the cohort who were taught in collaboration with the CRUK Scotland Institute (i.e. whose Doctorate degree is supervised by Institute staff). Using the same methodological approach that was applied to estimate the economic impact of teaching and learning activities across the University of Glasgow as a whole24, the analysis captures the enhanced labour market benefits and taxation receipts (minus the costs of attendance/provision) associated with students completing Doctorate degrees at the School of Cancer Sciences.
Specifically, the fundamental objective of the analysis is to estimate the gross and net graduate premium to the individual and the gross and net public purse benefit to the Exchequer associated with higher education qualification attainment (i.e., postgraduate research qualifications in this instance), defined as follows (and presented in Figure 7):
- The gross graduate premium associated with qualification attainment is defined as the present value of enhanced after-tax earnings (i.e., after income tax, National Insurance and VAT are removed, and following the deduction of any foregone earnings during study) relative to an individual in possession of the counterfactual qualification. Here, reflecting the prior attainment levels of students in the 2021-22 cohort of SCS students, all results are estimated relative to individuals in possession of first degrees as the relevant counterfactual;
- The gross benefit to the public purse is defined as the present value of enhanced taxation (i.e. income tax, National Insurance and VAT, following the deduction of the costs of foregone tax earnings during study) relative to an individual in possession of the counterfactual qualification;
- The net graduate premium is defined as the gross graduate premium minus the present value of the direct costs associated with qualification attainment; and
- Similarly, the net benefit to the public purse is defined as the gross public purse benefit minus the direct Exchequer costs of provision during the period of attainment.
Figure 7: Overview of gross and net graduate premium, and gross and net Exchequer benefit
Source: London Economics’ analysis based on Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2011)
5.2 Impact of the institutions’ teaching and learning activities
5.2.1 Estimated net graduate premium and net Exchequer benefit
Table 3 presents the net graduate premiums and net Exchequer benefits achieved by Scottish domiciled students starting Doctorate degrees at the School of Cancer Sciences (including students supervised at the CRUK Scotland Institute) in the 2021-22 cohort (by study mode, on average across men and women).
The analysis indicates that the net graduate premium achieved by a representative Scottish domiciled student in the 2021-22 cohort completing a full-time Doctorate degree at the SCS (with a first degree as their highest level of prior attainment) is approximately £293,000 in today’s (ie 2021-22) money terms. The corresponding net graduate premium per part-time student was estimated at £243,000.25
The public purse benefits associated with students completing postgraduate research qualifications at the School of Cancer Sciences are even more substantial than the above net graduate premiums. The analysis indicates that the net Exchequer benefit for a representative Scottish domiciled full-time Doctorate degree student at the SCS stands at approximately £344,000 in 2021-22 money terms, while the corresponding net Exchequer benefit per part-time student was estimated at £278,000.
Table 3: Net graduate premium and net Exchequer benefit per Scottish student completing a postgraduate research qualification at the SCS or the CRUK Scotland Institute, by study mode
| Type of benefit | Full-time students | Part-time students |
| Net graduate premium | £293,000 | £243,000 |
| Net Exchequer benefit | £344,000 | £278,000 |
Note: All estimates constitute weighted averages across men and women (weighted by the estimated number of student completers in the 2021-22 cohort), and provide the net graduate premium and net Exchequer benefit relative to individuals in possession of first degrees as the counterfactual level of qualification. The estimates are presented in 2021-22 prices, discounted to reflect net present values, and rounded to the nearest £1,000.
Source: London Economics’ analysis
Wider impacts of teaching and learning on cancer sciences graduates
Beyond the economic benefits quantified in this chapter, the School of Cancer Sciences and the CRUK Scotland Institute support the career paths of their students.
For example, approximately 75% of students at the CRUK Scotland Institute progress to a postdoc fellowship in academia or industry. Beyond this, around 20% of its postdocs progress to become group leaders or lecturers, around 31% undertake a second postdoc and around 24% become a scientist in industry.
Both institutions also support clinicians to transition into research through a jointly run training scheme. Since 2020, the institutions have hosted 3 MB-PhD students (a qualification supporting the transition of medical students into research careers), and since 2012, has hosted 14 clinical research training fellows and 5 clinical group leaders. More widely, the scheme also provides support and mentoring to clinicians.
5.2.2 Total impact of teaching and learning activities at the SCS and CRUK Scotland Institute
Combining the information on the number of UK domiciled students in the 2021-22 SCS cohort, expected completion rates, and the estimated net graduate and public purse benefits per student, the analysis estimates that the aggregate economic impact of the teaching and learning activities at the SCS and the CRUK Scotland Institute associated with the 2021-22 cohort of UK-domiciled students stands at approximately £19 million (see Table 4). Of this total, £9 million (46%) is accrued by students undertaking Doctorate degrees at the School of Cancer Sciences (including students whose work is supervised by staff at the Institute), and the remaining £10 million (54%) is accrued by the Exchequer.
Table 4: Aggregate impact of the SCS’s and the CRUK Scotland Institute’s teaching and learning activities associated with the 2021-22 cohort (£m)
| Beneficiary | Full-time students | Part-time students | Total |
| Students | £8.7m | £0.3m | £8.9m |
| Exchequer | £10.1m | £0.3m | £10.4m |
| Total | £18.7m | £0.5m | £19.3m |
Note: All estimates are presented in 2021-22 prices, discounted to reflect net present values, rounded to the nearest £0.1m, and may not add up precisely to the totals indicated. Source: London Economics’ analysis
References
- All students in the relevant cohort were undertaking postgraduate research qualifications; specifically, all of these students were enrolled in Doctorate degrees. Throughout this report, we therefore use the terms ‘postgraduate research qualifications’ and ‘Doctorate degrees’ interchangeably.
- See London Economics (2021) and Annex A2.4 for a detailed description of the methodology used to estimate the impact of teaching and learning activities.
- We assume that part-time students are able to combine work with their academic studies and thus do not incur any opportunity costs in the form of foregone earnings. However, the fact that part-time students tend to complete their studies later in life (resulting in fewer years spent in the labour market post-graduation) results in a relative reduction in the net graduate premiums for part-time students compared to full-time students (again, see Annex A2.4 for more information). Note again that most students in the 2021-22 cohort of SCS students were undertaking their qualifications on a full-time basis.
5.1 Methodology
The analysis of the economic impact of teaching and learning activities focuses on the 2021-22 cohort of UK domiciled students enrolled at the School of Cancer Sciences, i.e., on the 39 UK domiciled students who started postgraduate research qualifications at the SCS in 2021-22. This includes students in the cohort who were taught in collaboration with the CRUK Scotland Institute (i.e. whose Doctorate degree is supervised by Institute staff). Using the same methodological approach that was applied to estimate the economic impact of teaching and learning activities across the University of Glasgow as a whole24, the analysis captures the enhanced labour market benefits and taxation receipts (minus the costs of attendance/provision) associated with students completing Doctorate degrees at the School of Cancer Sciences.
Specifically, the fundamental objective of the analysis is to estimate the gross and net graduate premium to the individual and the gross and net public purse benefit to the Exchequer associated with higher education qualification attainment (i.e., postgraduate research qualifications in this instance), defined as follows (and presented in Figure 7):
- The gross graduate premium associated with qualification attainment is defined as the present value of enhanced after-tax earnings (i.e., after income tax, National Insurance and VAT are removed, and following the deduction of any foregone earnings during study) relative to an individual in possession of the counterfactual qualification. Here, reflecting the prior attainment levels of students in the 2021-22 cohort of SCS students, all results are estimated relative to individuals in possession of first degrees as the relevant counterfactual;
- The gross benefit to the public purse is defined as the present value of enhanced taxation (i.e. income tax, National Insurance and VAT, following the deduction of the costs of foregone tax earnings during study) relative to an individual in possession of the counterfactual qualification;
- The net graduate premium is defined as the gross graduate premium minus the present value of the direct costs associated with qualification attainment; and
- Similarly, the net benefit to the public purse is defined as the gross public purse benefit minus the direct Exchequer costs of provision during the period of attainment.
Figure 7: Overview of gross and net graduate premium, and gross and net Exchequer benefit
Source: London Economics’ analysis based on Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2011)
References
- See London Economics (2021) and Annex A2.4 for a detailed description of the methodology used to estimate the impact of teaching and learning activities.
5.2 Impact of the institutions’ teaching and learning activities
5.2.1 Estimated net graduate premium and net Exchequer benefit
Table 3 presents the net graduate premiums and net Exchequer benefits achieved by Scottish domiciled students starting Doctorate degrees at the School of Cancer Sciences (including students supervised at the CRUK Scotland Institute) in the 2021-22 cohort (by study mode, on average across men and women).
The analysis indicates that the net graduate premium achieved by a representative Scottish domiciled student in the 2021-22 cohort completing a full-time Doctorate degree at the SCS (with a first degree as their highest level of prior attainment) is approximately £293,000 in today’s (ie 2021-22) money terms. The corresponding net graduate premium per part-time student was estimated at £243,000.25
The public purse benefits associated with students completing postgraduate research qualifications at the School of Cancer Sciences are even more substantial than the above net graduate premiums. The analysis indicates that the net Exchequer benefit for a representative Scottish domiciled full-time Doctorate degree student at the SCS stands at approximately £344,000 in 2021-22 money terms, while the corresponding net Exchequer benefit per part-time student was estimated at £278,000.
Table 3: Net graduate premium and net Exchequer benefit per Scottish student completing a postgraduate research qualification at the SCS or the CRUK Scotland Institute, by study mode
| Type of benefit | Full-time students | Part-time students |
| Net graduate premium | £293,000 | £243,000 |
| Net Exchequer benefit | £344,000 | £278,000 |
Note: All estimates constitute weighted averages across men and women (weighted by the estimated number of student completers in the 2021-22 cohort), and provide the net graduate premium and net Exchequer benefit relative to individuals in possession of first degrees as the counterfactual level of qualification. The estimates are presented in 2021-22 prices, discounted to reflect net present values, and rounded to the nearest £1,000.
Source: London Economics’ analysis
Wider impacts of teaching and learning on cancer sciences graduates
Beyond the economic benefits quantified in this chapter, the School of Cancer Sciences and the CRUK Scotland Institute support the career paths of their students.
For example, approximately 75% of students at the CRUK Scotland Institute progress to a postdoc fellowship in academia or industry. Beyond this, around 20% of its postdocs progress to become group leaders or lecturers, around 31% undertake a second postdoc and around 24% become a scientist in industry.
Both institutions also support clinicians to transition into research through a jointly run training scheme. Since 2020, the institutions have hosted 3 MB-PhD students (a qualification supporting the transition of medical students into research careers), and since 2012, has hosted 14 clinical research training fellows and 5 clinical group leaders. More widely, the scheme also provides support and mentoring to clinicians.
5.2.2 Total impact of teaching and learning activities at the SCS and CRUK Scotland Institute
Combining the information on the number of UK domiciled students in the 2021-22 SCS cohort, expected completion rates, and the estimated net graduate and public purse benefits per student, the analysis estimates that the aggregate economic impact of the teaching and learning activities at the SCS and the CRUK Scotland Institute associated with the 2021-22 cohort of UK-domiciled students stands at approximately £19 million (see Table 4). Of this total, £9 million (46%) is accrued by students undertaking Doctorate degrees at the School of Cancer Sciences (including students whose work is supervised by staff at the Institute), and the remaining £10 million (54%) is accrued by the Exchequer.
Table 4: Aggregate impact of the SCS’s and the CRUK Scotland Institute’s teaching and learning activities associated with the 2021-22 cohort (£m)
| Beneficiary | Full-time students | Part-time students | Total |
| Students | £8.7m | £0.3m | £8.9m |
| Exchequer | £10.1m | £0.3m | £10.4m |
| Total | £18.7m | £0.5m | £19.3m |
Note: All estimates are presented in 2021-22 prices, discounted to reflect net present values, rounded to the nearest £0.1m, and may not add up precisely to the totals indicated. Source: London Economics’ analysis
References
- We assume that part-time students are able to combine work with their academic studies and thus do not incur any opportunity costs in the form of foregone earnings. However, the fact that part-time students tend to complete their studies later in life (resulting in fewer years spent in the labour market post-graduation) results in a relative reduction in the net graduate premiums for part-time students compared to full-time students (again, see Annex A2.4 for more information). Note again that most students in the 2021-22 cohort of SCS students were undertaking their qualifications on a full-time basis.