Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann has welcomed Universities Australia's launch of the 2016 policy statement Keep it Clever.

Keep it Clever is a blueprint to secure Australia's prosperity through a new era of industry-research collaboration and a 'game-changing' new national investment in wealth-generating research, innovation and commercialisation.

"The Keep it Clever policy statement demonstrates how central universities are to Australia's prosperity and the message is clear; investing in our universities is investing in our future," Professor Vann said.

"The work of universities, including wealth-generating research and innovation, is central to making the dramatic economic transformation that lies ahead for our country. We must invest now to create and fill the jobs of the future.

"For universities like Charles Sturt University, it is particularly important to invest in research and teaching that will meet the specific needs of regional Australian communities."

The policy statement has found:

- University education added an estimated $140 billion to Australia's economy in 2014. Deloitte says Australia's GDP is approximately 8.5 per cent higher due to the impact of university education on productivity.

- The value of the stock of knowledge generated by university research was estimated at $160 billion in 2014. This is equivalent to almost 10 per cent of our GDP and exceeds the entire value of Australia's mining industry.

- 3.8 million new skilled graduates will be needed to fill the jobs being created in the new knowledge economy over the next decade.

The Keep it Clever policy statement was launched by Universities Australia at the National Press Club earlier today.