SMEs value university research and graduates

10 August 2017 | news

University research makes a positive contribution to New Zealand businesses according to a recent survey of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) commissioned by Universities New Zealand.

In a phone survey of 750 businesses with between 5 and 19 staff, 68% of SMEs said they agreed or strongly agreed that “universities make a positive contribution to New Zealand businesses through their research”, with just 13% disagreeing that “university research helps solve pressing issues facing New Zealand”.

At a local level, a total of 62% agreed or strongly agreed that universities make a positive contribution to New Zealand’s regions. A recent economic impact report commissioned by Universities New Zealand found that universities contribute between 1.6% and 6.5% of GDP to the regions in which they have a presence.

The survey also found that:

Around 65% of SMEs currently employ degree-qualified staff with one-in-five estimating that three-quarters or more of their staff were in jobs that required a degree.
Just over half (56%) of SMEs’ chief executive or equivalent hold a degree themselves, most commonly in Commerce.
One-third of SMEs have employed a graduate in the last two years and 31% said they have provided work experience/hosted an intern.
SMEs that connected with universities for research or commercialisation purposes were generally positive about the experience, with a majority agreeing or strongly agreeing that it was easy to work with the university, and that the university understood their needs and worked within their timelines.
Just one out of ten SMEs said they have a relationship with their local regional economic body, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and/or Callaghan Innovation.

The survey was commissioned by Universities New Zealand as part of a new look at current and changing perceptions of university education, graduates, research and business engagement.

Technical notes: Phone survey of 750 businesses undertaken by Curia Market Research Ltd for Universities New Zealand, 5-23 June 2017. Sampling error +/- 3.6% at the 95% confidence level. Businesses selected from ANZSIC classification of industries in which NZ SMEs are mainly located (excluding non-professional services and retail trade) plus start-up businesses listed with Angel.co or nzstartups.com.