jessica cole, head of policy, the russell group
TRANSCRIPT
Brexit: next steps for the UK knowledge
economy Jessica Cole
Head of Policy
24 January 2017
UK is a world-leader in HE and research
18 universities in the
top 100
1st
in the world by FWCI
16%
of the world’s most
highly-cited papers
How can we maintain our world-leading
position post-Brexit?
1. Staff
2. Students
3. Research & innovation
4. Conclusions
University staff
EU staff at Russell Group universities
• 22,800 staff from other EU countries at RGUs
14% 21% 25%
10%
15% 19%
74% 61%
52%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All staff Academics Research-only
UK
Non-EU
EU
EU academics in key disciplines
Discipline
EU academic staff as a %
of total academic staff
Economics & econometrics 38%
Modern languages 35%
Mathematics 31%
IT, systems sciences & computer software engineering 29%
Chemical engineering 27%
Physics 27%
It’s not just academics
• 1,200 non-academic EU staff in associate professional and technical positions at our
universities:
- Lab clinicians
- Technicians
- Engineers
- Senior managers and administrators
Signals so far
“I want us to be ... a magnet for international talent and a home to the pioneers
and innovators who will shape the world ahead.”
“We will continue to attract the brightest and the best to work or study in Britain
– indeed openness to international talent must remain one of this country’s most
distinctive assets.”
What do we need?
• Confirmation of the continued working rights for current EU staff ASAP
• A new regime which:
- Prioritises highly-skilled people and those with specialist expertise
- Is light-touch, fair and transparent
- Provides an attractive offer to overseas nationals
- Offers options: temporary long-term migration
Students
EU students at Russell Group universities
• 58,000 students of other EU nationalities at Russell Group universities
6%
78%
17%
Undergraduate
10%
45%
45%
PGT
15%
53%
32%
PGR
EU
UK
Non-EU
EU PGR students in key disciplines
Discipline EU students as a % of
total students
Mathematics 24%
Law 20%
Computer science 19%
Social studies 19%
Physical sciences 18%
Languages 17%
What do we need?
• Continued clarity on fee rate and access to student loans/grants (esp. for 2018/19)
• Confirmation of the immigration status of existing and prospective EU students and their
right to remain in the UK for work or postgraduate study
• Appropriate transitional arrangements
• Better post-study work opportunities
• Continued participation in Erasmus+
Research & innovation
EU research collaborations
UK made
150,000+
collaborative
links in FP7
EU research funding
• In 2014/15, RGUs won £579m in research grants and contracts from EU
= 13% research grant income
• Up to June 2016 UK ranked 1st in terms of number of applications and participations,
with higher than average success rate (14.3%) will this continue?
European Research Council
17%
5%
14% 13%
9%
6% 6% 6% 6%
3% 3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
UK Germany France Netherlands Switzerland Israel Spain Italy Sweden Belgium
Proportion of ERC grants won by the Russell Group and the top 10 countries (2007-2015)
RussellGroup
Signals so far
• Science as one of the PM’s top 12 priorities
“There may be some specific European programmes in which we might want to
participate. If so, and this will be for us to decide, it is reasonable that we should make an
appropriate contribution. ...
We will welcome agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on
major science, research, and technology initiatives”
What do we want?
• Continued participation in EU R&I (including research infrastructures)
• Influence, where possible
• Roadmap to increase public & private sector R&D investment to 3% of GDP, esp. to
support universities’ international collaborations post-Brexit
Conclusions
Conclusions
1. Opportunity to reform the immigration system
2. Govt has an opportunity to secure a good deal for universities in the negotiations
3. Universities can help the Govt make a success of Brexit via the industrial strategy
