Universities reviewing their post-Brexit international and European strategic partnerships

Dr Highman argues that on such a divisive issue it is unsurprising that Theresa May’s government has been torn between a “hard” and a “soft” Brexit. He points out that as of June 2018, there is still no indication of which approach will prevail, putting at risk UK universities’ participation in the Erasmus+ programme, which has provided, among other things, opportunities for over four million Europeans to study, train, and volunteer abroad since its inception.

He argues that full access to EU research funds is also at risk. Universities cannot depend on the UK government’s help in securing the frameworks allowing for continuity. In such a context, universities have started to use their limited resources to secure bilateral international and European links to foster research collaboration and staff and student mobility, post-Brexit.

Dr Highman concludes that the UK government expects its universities to feed into the narrative of a “Global Britain,” but without providing any enabling framework.

Repositioning UK Partnerships Post-Brexit is published by International Higher Education.