UNIVERSITIES are the key to proper decentralisation, regional development and job creation, according to Professor Trevor Davies of East Anglia University, who is also a consultant to the OECD.

Davies was speaking last week at an education policy forum at a Dublin city centre hotel hosted by the Waterford Institute of Technology, which has long been lobbying for university status. He was critical of Ireland's approach to higher education so far but said it was improving.

"There needs to be much more integrated thinking at the highest political levels in Ireland if the regions are to achieve their potential, involving much more than an education department. Regional policy needs to be merged with higher education policy, " he said.

Universities pay back between 2.5 and 6.2 times their original investment as a regional multiplier through job creation and company spin-offs, he told guests.

Davies pointed to the example of Finland which has achieved a highly-competitive economy together with regional development.

He was leader of the national report on higher education in Finland.

"There was at one time a Helsinki issue, similar to what exists here in Ireland with the Dublin phenomenon, where economic growth is concentrated in one area as well as a regional imbalance. Universities and knowledge centres were a very big factor in development of the regions and combating 'brain drain.' The prime minister of the country himself chaired the relevant think-tank, " he told the Sunday Tribune.

"Finland started well ahead of Ireland in the area of research and development and regional centres of excellence. The establishment of universities in places such as Oulo in north Finland has led to spin-off companies which are contributing to local employment and development. Ireland is only just getting to that level now. There are very few university spin-off companies in Ireland to my knowledge. Finland started this around 1980, " he said.

Finland is one of the most competitive economies in the world, with over 70% of the population now going through third- and fourth-level education. They have wages and a population structure similar to Ireland.

Recent figures from the Central Statistics Office show that disposable income per person in the southeast, the location of Waterford IT, is almost nine per cent lower then the national average.

"The fact that Dublin, Kildare, Limerick and Cork are the four counties with disposable incomes above the national average can be in part attributed to the fact there are universities in the region. We shouldn't be giving out universities easily but I definitely see a real need for southeast university in Ireland, " he said.

A large section of the seminar was given over to criticising an OECD report which recommended that Ireland's higher education structures stay the same. It was referred to as the "elephant in the room which has now left".

Both Waterford and Dublin institutes of technology are seeking university status from the government. Only twice before has an educational institution been changed to a university, with DCU in Dublin and the University of Limerick.

The lunch was attended by leading figures from Waterford business including the CEO of Waterford chamber of commerce, Monica Leech, transport minister Martin Cullen and WIT chairman Redmond O'Donoghue.