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Campus - 10.05.2017 - 00:00 

HSG increases its contribution to the region's value creation

In 2015, the University of St.Gallen provided a contribution of 237 million Swiss francs to the overall value creation in the Appenzell AR – St.Gallen – Lake Constance region. This represents 820 Swiss francs per resident. During that year, over 80 per cent of the students lived in the region. This is shown in the recently published report on HSG's regional effects in the year 2015, which was the first such report to include a study of the students' living situations.

11 May 2017. As a public institution, regional anchoring is a major concern for HSG. For this reason, the Institute for Systematic Management and Public Governance (IMP-HSG) periodically creates reports on regional anchoring. This report gives HSG comprehensive insight into where it stands and where it can improve. The first study was done in 2006 and it was updated in 2010 and 2013. The study now includes data for 2015 and will be presented in a media briefing by Rector Thomas Bieger, Vice Rector Ulrike Landfester and Dr. Roland Scherer of IMP-HSG. The study is carried out according to international standards and was evaluated using the "Business Schools Impact System" process (BSIS) created by the European Foundation of Management Schools (EFMD).

HSG gives back five Swiss francs for every one

The University of St.Gallen's overall budget for 2015 was 225 million Swiss francs. 44.6 million of this sum (19.9%) came from the canton St.Gallen. The University of St.Gallen's level of self-financing was 50% above that of any other Swiss university.

Regional value creation provides information about the value growth in the region created by the University of St.Gallen, its students and its continuing education events. The university contributed 237 million Swiss francs (820 Swiss francs per resident) to the region's value creation and to the regional aggregate income for the Appenzell AR – St.Gallen – Lake Constance region. From 2013 to 2015, value creation grew by 30 million Swiss francs (+14.5). This means that for every Swiss franc that the canton invests in HSG, it returns five.

Various HSG events, continuing education offerings and seminars created revenue from overnight lodging in the city and the region. HSG generated a total of 25,800 overnight stays in the city and the region. This represents 14% of all overnight stays in the city and the region. Compared to 2013 (18% of all overnight stays), the number of stays declined due to the fact that conditions for hosting events in Switzerland have become more difficult (strong Swiss franc) and the fact that the university hosted fewer multi-day continuing education events.

Entrepreneurially engaged HSG members

An exchange of knowledge takes place through conferences, conventions and seminars in the region and public lectures at HSG as well as through business start-ups and students who work or do placements during their studies. The University of St.Gallen also contributes to business start-ups in the region. The organisation start-up@HSG focuses on this topic. In 2015, there were around 410 start-up consultations. Together with the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen, the EMPA and the city of St.Gallen, the University of St.Gallen also takes part in the 'Startfeld' initiative.

The lecturers at HSG contributed their expertise to 260 companies and foundations. They were active in leadership roles, primarily as members of advisory boards. 41% (117 of 284) of the lecturers' mandates were in businesses and foundations that are located in the Appenzell AR – St.Gallen – Lake Constance region, including the Migros East Switzerland Cooperative, Helvetia, OLMA Messen, Raiffeisen and the St.Galler Kantonalbank.

The University of St.Gallen's activities have effects both within and beyond the region. The university is recognised as both a regional figure and a national and international player. In 2015, over 9,800 contributions were made to the regional and national media and over 2,700 to the international media. The contributions published in connection with HSG provided an estimated advertising value of over 48 million Swiss francs in the national media and over 33 million Swiss francs in the international media. The university, and consequently St.Gallen as well, were represented in the media 34 times per day. Seven of those occurrences were in the international media.

Students live in the region

The 2015 report was the first to examine the students' living situations. 1,000 students were included in the survey.

Most of the students who live in the region during their lecture period move closer to the university once their studies begin. In 2015, 86% of all students lived in the Appenzell – St.Gallen – Lake Constance region, and 90% of those in the city of St.Gallen. Among students who live in the region, the majority live in shared flats (59%).

Almost half of all students stay in St.Gallen on the weekends. This depends largely on the type of housing and how advanced the student is within his or her studies. Half of the students who live in a shared flat travel to their families on the weekends. Only one in five doctoral students leave on the weekends.

There are large differences in commute times among HSG students. However, the commute for HSG students is on average shorter than that of students at other institutions in Switzerland. This might be due to the high percentage of HSG students who live near the university. Nearly half of all students can reach the university within 15 minutes. On average, students who live outside of the region commute to HSG around 3.3 days per week.

The Appenzell AR – St.Gallen – Lake Constance region is seen as highly attractive for student living. There were only slight differences among the areas included in the survey. Students evaluated the level of safety, the old city, the landscape and the environment as particularly attractive. However, students give lower evaluations for the attractiveness of professional/part-time opportunities, car and bicycle accessibility and night life. Students see the region's image as quite good. The region is seen as politically and economically stable as well as safe. However, it is generally seen as rather provincial, conservative and closed.

One out of three economic sciences students were at HSG

8,232 students enrolled in the University of St.Gallen in 2015, representing 7.4% growth compared to 2013 (7,666 students). With 37% of all students in economic sciences programmes in Switzerland, HSG achieved a dominant market share in this area.

894 students (10.9%) came from the canton St.Gallen. 1,721 students (20.9%) lived in Eastern Switzerland before they began their studies. The number of students from Eastern Switzerland has remained constant over the years.

In 2015, a third of all Bachelor's students and half of all Master's students held an employment level of more than 30%. Master's students tend to take on more extensive and meaningful employment during their studies. For the regional employment market, this means that there is an available pool of well-qualified employees.

In 2015, 10% of HSG alumni lived in the Appenzell AR – St.Gallen – Lake Constance region and 10% also worked there. The percentage of HSG alumni who work in the region has remained constant. However, due to the increasing number of alumni (from 21,819 in 2013 to 24,764 in 2015), the actual headcount has increased (from over 2,100 in 2013 to over 2,400 in 2015). In this way, the university helps to decrease the region's "brain drain", as many more well-educated individuals would leave the region if HSG were not there.

Public university

The university leadership see HSG's regional anchoring and its contribution to regional value creation and knowledge exchange as a central pillar of the university's identity, according to Vice Rector Ulrike Landfester. Rector Thomas Bieger continued: A successful university needs a good balance between international openness and international networking on the one hand, and physical local anchoring on the other. This is the only way that the two can benefit from one another. Dialogue between HSG and the region should be further strengthened beyond the public programme and the children's university. Since 2015, HSG has been present at OFFA. OFFA gives visitors a look at the public offerings such as the library, public lectures and the children's university as well as an overview of current research methods. Co-operations with St.Gallen-Bodensee-Tourismus and OLMA Messen are intended to strengthen St.Gallen as a conference location. In addition, there are plans to expand the ways that the HSG campus can serve as a public meeting place – on the Rosenberg as well as in the city.

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