BREXIT and British Universities in Europe

N Cameron - Annals of Human Biology, 2017 - Taylor & Francis
Annals of Human Biology, 2017Taylor & Francis
Article 50 marks the beginning of a 2-year process culminating in the UK leaving the
European Union. This will herald the end of a political and cultural relationship that has
lasted for 44 years. I emphasise the cultural relationship because there is no doubt that, after
four and half decades of being 'European', the British people cannot and should not simply
forget this cultural affiliation and the many associations and collaborations that have resulted
from this union. Not the least of these is the many fruitful partnerships formed by universities …
Article 50 marks the beginning of a 2-year process culminating in the UK leaving the European Union. This will herald the end of a political and cultural relationship that has lasted for 44 years. I emphasise the cultural relationship because there is no doubt that, after four and half decades of being ‘European’, the British people cannot and should not simply forget this cultural affiliation and the many associations and collaborations that have resulted from this union. Not the least of these is the many fruitful partnerships formed by universities and academics throughout Europe, resulting in 80% of UK published papers being co-authored with academics from within the EU.
The decision to leave the EU was taken in a national referendum on 23 June 2016 and Universities were amongst the first to react, with statements put out to students and staff on 24 June assuring them of a continuation of the status quo, at least until the end of the exit negotiations. The Government, of course, maintains that it is determined to ensure that the UK continues to play a leading role in European and international research and innovation, but the talks that begin in the next few months will be critical in determining the actual level of interaction. That interaction is significant and complex, involving not just universities (who received 71% of the total funding to the UK from the EU in 2007–2013), but also ‘Small and Medium Sized Enterprises’(SMEs)(13%), non-university research organisations (8%), UK businesses (5%) and public bodies (2%). The 2016 Royal Society report on UK membership of the EU maintained that the UK is one of the largest recipients of research funding in the EU (The Royal Society, 2016). From 2007–2013, the UK received e8. 8 billion out of a total of e107 billion expenditure on research, development and innovation in EU Member States and participating countries. This represented the fourth largest share in the EU. In terms of funding awarded on a competitive basis in the period 2007–2013 (Framework Programme 7), the UK was the second largest recipient after Germany, securing e6. 9 billion out of a total of e55. 4 billion. In 2013/2014 alone UK universities received£ 687 million of EU funding—a figure that represented a real terms increase of 68.2% in funding from the EU since 2009/2010 and, thus, an almost exponential increase in the ability of UK universities to attract EU research investment. However, this still represents only 9.7% of total research income and implies that total research income may not be dramatically affected
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