Glasgow is named Europe’s number one large city
The University has welcomed the city of Glasgow’s ranking as Europe’s number one large city for its strategy to attract overseas investment.
The rankings, by world-leading business experts fDi Intelligence, are based on the performance of 330 European cities. The ‘Large Cities’ category includes those cities with a population of over 500,000 and a wider urban region of more than one million.
The city has attracted overseas investment from major companies such as Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Merck KGaA, Planet DDS and Spire Global to the city, which has brought more than 6,000 jobs in the past five years.
fDi Intelligence, which is part of the FT group, cited Glasgow’s partnerships between government, academia, businesses and the community and the hundreds of millions of pounds in funding secured over the past 18 months to advance the innovative sectors emerging across the city region.
The University is a key partner in Glasgow region’s economic strategy and is doing a lot of work to boost the innovation economy around life sciences, fintech, quantum technologies and creative & digital technologies.
Uzma Khan is the University's Vice-Principal for Economic Development & Innovation, and Deputy Chief Operating Officer: "The University of Glasgow is committed to creating decent, well-paid jobs and attracting investment into our city region through our world-leading research excellence and innovation ambitions.
“Through our focus on developing the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District, we are investing alongside partners to support the city’s strategy, such as the development of the world-class Health Innovation Hub in Govan, which will set the stage for a thriving life sciences cluster in Glasgow, attract new innovative businesses to the region and deliver local benefits to our communities.
"In a fiercely competitive world, we are thrilled that Glasgow’s approach has been recognised as leading the way on attracting overseas investment, as well as it being ranked in the top 10 for European cities in terms of connectivity and business-friendliness. We look forward to playing our part in attracting further investment to Glasgow."