The university, its students and participants in events trigger considerable purchasing power effects every year: in 2023, an additional CHF 202 million flowed into the canton - through consumption, services and events. The resulting contribution to value creation amounts to around CHF 313 million (compared to CHF 308 million in 2022). The regional trade, catering and hotel industry will benefit directly.
20 % of all students from the Canton of St.Gallen opted to study locally at the HSG in 2023 - especially in the field of business. With new programmes such as the Joint Medical Master and the School of Computer Science, the University is making a targeted contribution to securing skilled labour. The HSG also attracts more graduates to work in the Canton of St.Gallen than students originally come from the canton. Around 5500 members of HSG Alumni are resident in the Canton of St.Gallen. Continuing education is also a strong pillar: over 200 programmes, attended by around 1,000 participants from the canton among others, generated a turnover of CHF 55.8 million in 2023 - with an impact on the economy and society.
The HSG is a platform for new ideas and entrepreneurial thinking. The University is actively involved in promoting start-ups in the canton through the "HSG START Accelerator" and offers comprehensive start-up support with «HSG Entrepreneurship». The START Summit, the largest student-organised startup conference in Europe, attracts over 6,000 participants from all over the world. 151 spin-offs with the University of St.Gallen label are active - one in five of them in the Canton of St.Gallen. Research, consulting projects and cooperation formats result in a lively transfer of knowledge to the region.
The HSG sees itself as part of social life in the canton. With events open to the public, the regional anchoring of major international events such as the "St.Gallen Symposium in Town", projects such as the Children's University, civic engagement and interdisciplinary formats, it promotes exchange, participation and education. SQUARE - as a place of encounter, creativity and co-creation - opens up new avenues for exchange with the city and the region. University employees are involved in local organisations - the HSG is visibly and tangibly present in everyday life in the region.
The University of St.Gallen contributes significantly to the perception of the canton as an attractive place to study, work and live - in Switzerland and internationally. Whether through media presence, partnerships with the St.GallenBodenseeArea or its positioning in global rankings: the HSG stands for excellence, responsibility and regional impact.
“The HSG and its guests have become valued returning customers for companies in Eastern Switzerland. Events such as the HSG ball or the Symposium have become indispensable. The University of St.Gallen brings life and financial resources to our region.”
“The University of St.Gallen makes a significant contribution to hotel nights in the city of St.Gallen and the agglomeration. This increases the added value and secures jobs in the hospitality industry and gastronomy.”
“The recruitment of university graduates from the HSG ensures that the Raiffeisen Group will be able to fill important key positions in the long term. We grow through their innovation and thus shape the future of the company.”
“The cooperation with HSG makes an important contribution to the qualification of employees in the region. We have access to high-quality education and innovative research.”
“The University of St.Gallen is an important source of ideas for new promising start-ups in Eastern Switzerland. Thanks to the start-ups, new jobs are created in the region.”
“The high quality of research and education, the international students and the events testify to competence and cosmopolitanism. The HSG shapes the perception of St.Gallen as an innovative and open-minded location around the world.”
“Whether it's a job fair, graduation days, SME Day, START Summit or other formats - the HSG has an aura of charisma. We appreciate the cooperation with one of the world's leading business universities on existing and jointly developed formats.”
“For 125 years, the University of St.Gallen has not only been an impulse generator for purchasing power and value creation effects, but also a stimulating point of attraction within the tourism destination.”
The University of St.Gallen has been conducting regular surveys on its regional effects for over 20 years. It is therefore the only university that has systematically analysed regional effects annually for a long time. The results of the report on regional effects are regularly incorporated into the University's strategy.
This report analyses the effects of the University for the year 2023 and thus for the first time again covers a reference year that was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the University's new performance period 2023 to 2026 with the Canton of St.Gallen began this year. These two factors must be taken into account when making comparisons with previous reports. This report on 2023 is primarily an update of the data and calculations from 2021.
