Wednesday, July 26, 2017

''The great Brexit brain drain'' El Pais


''A large question mark hangs over Britain’s university sector. Academics, researchers and students from the European Union who have chosen to make their careers in the United Kingdom say they feel unsure about their future in the wake of last year’s Brexit vote: should they remain at some of the world’s leading educational institutions or move abroad to centers that may not enjoy the same recognition, but whose governments are more welcoming.
Meanwhile, these institutions, which contribute a respectable 2.8% to the UK’s GDP, have been joining forces to pressure Downing Street in the hope of reducing the impact of divorce with the EU as much as possible. But the consequences will be felt: the number of people applying to UK universities from abroad has already fallen, while 47% of EU citizens resident in Britain are considering leaving, according to a recent survey by Deloitte LLP.
“A university’s excellence comes from its academics,” says Louise Richardson, the Irish-born Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. And if that talent leaves, universities lose their prestige, and along with it, the millions of euros in EU research funding that will be replaced by huge tax increases, or, as researcher at Queen Mary University of London Barbara Petrongolo argues, EU students will have to pay more than their British counterparts. Over the last 13 months, says Richardson, there has been a 14% drop in applications to British universities..''

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