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The South East has a Gross Value Added (GVA) of £158 billion (approx $290 billion / €230 billion). This is similar to that of Norway and Austria. |
With a population of eight million and a workforce of 4.2 million, the South East is the largest region in the UK. |
Approximately 287,200 VAT registered enterprises are present in the South East, more than any other UK region. |
The South East is the largest exporter in the UK, with £29 billion (approx $52 billion / €41 billion) of goods moved in 2004. |
The labour force is highly educated with 90% of the working age population holding an academic qualification and over one third of the workforce holding a degree. |
Workers with good language skills are readily available in the region due to the truly international workforce of 585,000 people who were born outside of the UK. |
Around nine working days a year are lost per employee due to sickness, the lowest amount for a UK region. |
The region is home to 24 universities and higher education institutes, where nearly 200,000 study. This includes the University of Oxford, one of the most prestigious universities in the world. |
South East universities work very closely with business, with over 2800 research conracts won annually, higher than any other UK region. |
The region's 24 universities and higher education institutes supply over 73,000 graduates per annum. |
£4.66 billion (approx $3.06 billion / €2.43 billion) is spent on R&D annually, nearly one quarter of UK expenditure. |
South East organisations undertaking R&D employ 45,800 people, which is almost 25% of the UK R&D workforce. |
The South East has the highest number of patents granted in the UK. The statistics show that 820 patents, over 20% of the UK total were granted to firms based in the South East in 2004-5. |
There are 6,540 foreign-owned companies in the South East. |
With three international airports, 11 sea ports, 108 motorway junctions, 77 train stations and access to the Channel Tunnel, the South East has one of the most extensive transport infrastructures in Europe. |
Heathrow, the world's busiest international passenger airport, is home to over 90 airlines serving approximately 186 destinations. It handles over 67 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of freight each year. |
It takes 35 minutes to travel through the Channel Tunnel between the UK and mainland Europe. Most major towns in the South East are connected by rail to central London with a journey time of under an hour. |
Almost one third of the land in the South East (637,000 hectares) is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), more than any other UK region. |
In 2004-5, the South East had the second lowest crime rate in England with 8,983 reported crimes per 100,000 people. |
94% of the South East population is in good or fairly good health, which is higher than any other UK region. |
Eurostar has set a record for the quickest train journey between Paris and London of just 2 hours, 3 minutes and 39 seconds, meaning a typical journey will take just over 2 hours when the line opens in November 2007. |
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| Reading University readies industry for a sustainable future |
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24 February 2010
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The next generation of experts in the construction and energy sectors are being developed in the South East thanks to a cutting-edge new facility.
The Technologies for Sustainable Built Environments (TSBE) Centre opened last October and is intended to provide a highly-skilled workforce for industry, focusing on the technical and environmental aspects of development.
Located at the University of Reading, the research centre has won £6 million in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, with financial backing secured for the next eight years.
Those passing through the facility will learn a variety of skills relating to sustainable built environments and building energy, with an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) qualification upon completion of the course.
Postgraduates will be given a mixture of pragmatic and academic training, ensuring they are able to understand and apply the concepts they learn in real-world settings.
Professor Hazim Awbi, who works in Building Environmental Science at the University of Reading, said the course would provide the environmental engineering expertise necessary to meet the demands of industry and the increasing array of regulations designed to produce greener buildings.
"Meeting the challenges of climate change and reducing carbon dioxide emissions will require a shift in the way future buildings are designed, constructed and operated," he explained.
"The research has a strong industrial input as it is targeted at solving engineering problems within an industrial context."
He added that the centre would train highly skilled research engineers who were capable of delivering a shift in emphasis when it came to construction, yielding a more sophisticated and integrated approach to development.
The centre covers a range of disciplines, including construction management, engineering and meteorology.
Already the centre has made connections with industry, with one of the course's research engineers helping Scottish and Southern Energy build zero-carbon homes, aiming to achieve the highest specification possible for sustainable building - known as Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6.
The TSBE says it is "committed to working with leading players" in the construction and energy sectors, with the ability to combine the practical and academic expertise provided by the university likely to attract high-end industry partners.
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