Snobbery is behind the criticism of creative degree courses as “Mickey Mouse” subjects, according to a university Vice-Chancellor.

Les Ebdon, head of Bedfordshire University and chairman of Million+, a grouping of new universities, told The Times that such courses generated better returns than many traditional academic disciplines. He was responding to a report which claims that careers such as advertising, fashion and designing computer games contribute £60 billion a year to the economy, plus exports worth £10.3 billion.

The sector is growing twice as fast as the rest of the economy, the report says. Professor Ebdon said: “So often youngsters who’ve chosen to study creative subjects at university are told that there will be no future for them. What we can see from this report is that, without them, there’s no future for this country.

“We put a lot of money in this country into science and maths subjects. Shouldn’t we be doing the same to build on our creative economy? I think we have a problem in this country in seeing education as an investment. Figures show how important it is to build on this industry, yet a lot of people tend to belittle these activities. Britain is number one in the world in the computer games industry. I absolutely believe more funding is needed for arts and creative industries. They make more money for this country than British Aerospace.”

Professor Ebdon said that government ministers had read the report and were “taking it very seriously”.

Million+, which commissioned the report, represents 28 of the newer universities. The research was done by the Centre for Creative and Cultural Industries at Napier University, in Edinburgh, a member of Million+.

The report says that universities that promote new industries have been responsive to the job market, while “battling against popular misconceptions”. It adds: “In recent years, policies and funding strategies have been deployed to raise the importance and relevance of science and engineering to the economy and society. Government has a major opportunity similarly to develop an overarching strategy to promote the importance of the creative industries to the economy.”

The report urges the development of apprenticeships in creative markets.

It says: “The UK has the largest creative sector in the EU. The creative industries account for 7.3 per cent of the economy. Innovation-active universities have played a major role in contributing to the success of the creative industries, by providing graduate-level education. The creative economy has been a key driver in the revitalising of cities and regions previously reliant on manufacturing industry.

“The Government should work with partners to challenge popular misconceptions that some creative industry courses are academically trivial and lack professional relevance.”

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