New research on the impact of education on local economies

Hundreds of millions of dollars are pumped into Melbourne’s west each year by Victoria University according to new data in VU’s inaugural Impact Report .

Using 32 years of student, research and expenditure data, VU’s Centre of Policy Studies (CoPS) found that VU’s presence in Melbourne’s west boosted the local economy by $818 million and 2,360 jobs in 2024 alone. It shows $313 million of this comes directly through local spending by VU and the students it attracts to the west, with a further $211 million the result of VU’s impact on regional productivity and $294 million through indirect effects.

VU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adam Shoemaker, emphasised that it is the binding of the economic, social and community impact that makes VU’s story unique.

“From our work restoring native grasslands, to increasing girls’ participation in sport, unlocking student talent and career success, thriving staff and of course, research translating into real, positive impact in the world – these stories matter,” Professor Shoemaker said.

One of those students, is VU psychology student alumni, Athraa Yousif. She’s been living in the west since arriving from Iraq and wanted to give back to her community following her studies. She is now employed by the university supporting other students to find employment. 

“There are different challenges for everyone. There’s confidence, there’s identity, there’s not feeling like you belong,” she said. 

“A lot of the work we do is helping students recognise what they already bring.”

It’s this deep community connection which business and community groups in the west, such as VU partner Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, also see as a strength of the university.

In 2025, over 70 VU students undertook placements with the Foundation across multiple disciplines, contributing directly to workshops, mentoring and community programs.

“They bring lived experience,” WBCF General Manger, Hannah Singleton, said. “When participants see someone just a few years older who shares their background, that is just a game changer. They start to think: I could be like them.”

The CoPS analysis, A study of the effects of Victoria University on the Western Melbourne Economy  shows that without a university in Melbourne’s west, the local economy would have been significantly affected through lower university participation rates, and a reduced attachment to the regional workforce by the 165,000 higher education and VET graduates over the past 32 years.  It estimates that 8,700 graduates were working in the area in 2024 purely from VU having had a presence in the west.

Report lead, VU Emeritus Professor John Madden, has undertaken numerous economic modelling studies, including studies on the effects of other higher education institutions, such as the University of Tasmania and the University of Queensland. He says the role of universities on local economies can be immense. 

“There are very sizable effects on the local economy. But also, a university in a socio-economic disadvantaged area can provide a pathway to higher-paid more rewarding employment, a richer social fabric and a transformation of the community.”