The Living Wage is one of the UK’s most important academic breakthroughs, according to a new campaign
Loughborough work to establish the UK Living Wage – based on the minimum income needed to support a basic lifestyle – has been named as one of the country’s most important academic accomplishments.
Universities UK has compiled a list of discoveries, innovations and social initiatives made by researchers at institutions across Britain and Northern Ireland that have had a positive impact on people’s lives.
The MadeAtUni campaign highlighted research on the Living Wage, carried out by Loughborough’s Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP), among breakthroughs which also include penicillin, television and ultrasound scans which check the health of unborn babies.
The voluntary living wage is adopted by thousands of employers throughout the UK and is calculated using CRSP’s Minimum Income Standard, an ongoing research programme funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
CRSP director Professor Donald Hirsch said: “Our centre's research on what people need for a decent life is grounded in the real world, both in the way we collect our data and in the impact it is now having on people's lives.
“We talk in depth to groups of members of the public about what you need in order to meet your material needs and to participate in society.
“This produces the Minimum Income Standard, which has been taken up as a means of calculating the Living Wage, now paid by almost 5,000 employers throughout the UK.”
Over 100 universities submitted a nomination to the Breakthrough list and the entries cover health, technology, environment, family, community and culture and sport.
Prof Hirsch said: "We are delighted that this has been recognised as an example of a key 'breakthrough' made by UK universities.
“It's a breakthrough because there was previously no well-evidenced method for calculating how much you need to live on, regularly updated to be useful in policy and practice.
“We are certainly pleased to be put alongside the invention of TV as a 'breakthrough'."
ENDS
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 18/163
Loughborough University is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via www.globelynx.com
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2018 QS World University Rankings, top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey and named University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2018.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2019, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2019. It was also named Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities.
It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
Loughborough work to establish the UK Living Wage – based on the minimum income needed to support a basic lifestyle – has been named as one of the country’s most important academic accomplishments.
Universities UK has compiled a list of discoveries, innovations and social initiatives made by researchers at institutions across Britain and Northern Ireland that have had a positive impact on people’s lives.
The MadeAtUni campaign highlighted research on the Living Wage, carried out by Loughborough’s Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP), among breakthroughs which also include penicillin, television and ultrasound scans which check the health of unborn babies.
The voluntary living wage is adopted by thousands of employers throughout the UK and is calculated using CRSP’s Minimum Income Standard, an ongoing research programme funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
CRSP director Professor Donald Hirsch said: “Our centre's research on what people need for a decent life is grounded in the real world, both in the way we collect our data and in the impact it is now having on people's lives.
“We talk in depth to groups of members of the public about what you need in order to meet your material needs and to participate in society.
“This produces the Minimum Income Standard, which has been taken up as a means of calculating the Living Wage, now paid by almost 5,000 employers throughout the UK.”
Over 100 universities submitted a nomination to the Breakthrough list and the entries cover health, technology, environment, family, community and culture and sport.
Prof Hirsch said: "We are delighted that this has been recognised as an example of a key 'breakthrough' made by UK universities.
“It's a breakthrough because there was previously no well-evidenced method for calculating how much you need to live on, regularly updated to be useful in policy and practice.
“We are certainly pleased to be put alongside the invention of TV as a 'breakthrough'."
ENDS
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 18/163
Loughborough University is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via www.globelynx.com
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2018 QS World University Rankings, top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey and named University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2018.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2019, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2019. It was also named Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities.
It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
