Britain\u2019s top universities have long been among the world\u2019s most sought-after destinations for study and research, drawing the brightest minds from all corners of the globe. But since Britons voted in June to leave the 28-nation EU, many in the science community say the U.K. risks losing the money, the international influence \u2014 and crucially, the talent \u2014 to sustain that enviable position.<\/p>\n
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More than one-tenth of research funding at British universities has come from the EU in recent years. Some fields \u2014 such as nanotechnology and cancer research \u2014 are more dependent on EU funding than others, according to a report by technology firm Digital Science. From 2007 to 2013, Britain received 8.8 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in direct EU investment in research.<\/p>\n
Bagniewska is not just anxious about herself \u2014 she\u2019s upset for her students\u2019 future too, for the opportunities that both Britons and foreigners will likely miss out on when unfettered mobility between Britain and Europe can no longer be taken for granted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were just getting excited about doing their masters and Ph.Ds in other countries. And then Brexit happened and they just got trampled,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Scientists and researchers argue that being part of the EU has given British science a huge boost because it allows Britain to recruit the best talent across Europe and take part in important research collaborations and student exchanges without being constrained by national boundaries. The bloc\u2019s freedom of movement means its 500 million people can live and work visa-free in any member state.<\/p>\n
No one knows yet what form Britain\u2019s exit from the EU \u2014 commonly known as Brexit \u2014 is going to take, but immigration was a key issue for \u201cLeave\u201d voters. Many believe some limit should be put on the number of EU citizens moving to Britain.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to reassert control over British borders. She has offered no firm guarantees for the rights of Europeans already living in Britain, an uncertainty that weighs heavily over the 32,000 Europeans who make up 16 percent of the academic workforce in British universities. Many universities say the rhetoric over immigration control is also jeopardizing recruitment of researchers and students from further afield.<\/p>\n
Scientists for EU, an advocacy group, says it has received over 400 letters from researchers describing how Brexit has already impacted their life and work. Some are losing doctoral students who pulled out of studentships and job offers. Academics are putting plans to relocate to Britain on hold. One said their employer, a London university, immediately imposed a temporary hiring freeze, citing uncertainties about student recruitment and research income.<\/p>\n
Adam Durrant, a British entrepreneur who founded an aerospace startup supplying climate data to airlines and aircraft manufacturers, says he\u2019s now considering moving some of his business to a EU country outside of Britain. Part of the reason, he says, is that Brexit will likely make hiring the right people much harder than before.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the future, it probably means that people would be less interested to come to the U.K. to work,\u201d said Durrant. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge question mark over my company and my own personal future. I will certainly retain a U.K. presence, but my company\u2019s focus of gravity may shift elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scientists say some U.K.-based researchers are already being excluded from joint bids for EU funding to minimize the risks for their colleagues.<\/p>\n
Paul Crowther, head of physics and astronomy at the University of Sheffield, said a researcher from his department was dropped from an EU grant proposal as a precaution following the Brexit referendum. The vote \u201cput the U.K.-based researchers in a very awkward position\u201d and their participation in EU-funded programs could \u201ccompromise the project,\u201d he was told.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe erosion of U.K. involvement in EU networks has already begun, with both the U.K. and EU science worse off,\u201d Crowther said.<\/p>\n
Apart from a loss of grant money, Brexit will likely cause British scientists and research centers to miss out on shared databases and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cLarge-scale efforts like studies of rare genetic diseases, the building of large facilities, are areas that multinational collaborations do much better,\u201d said Venki Ramakrishnan, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist and president of Britain\u2019s prestigious Royal Society.<\/p>\n
The EU is an important source of research funding for Britain, which lags behind many developed countries in state investment in science. In 2014, Britain\u2019s government spent under 0.5 percent of its GDP on research \u2014 below the European average, and half that of South Korea.<\/p>\n
May\u2019s government is clearly aware of the jitters. She has promised to increase annual investment in research by 2 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) by 2020, in hopes her country can remain a world leader in science and innovation.<\/p>\n
Durrant is doubtful that\u2019s enough to make a big difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo billion a year spread across everything isn\u2019t going to go very far,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Similar anxieties are being felt at the undergraduate level. The 125,000 European students studying at British universities now pay the same fees as locals and have access to the same government loans. Officials have promised this will not change for those applying next year \u2014 but no one knows what will happen after that.<\/p>\n
Fewer European students appeared to be applying for some of Britain\u2019s most competitive university courses, including medicine and places at Oxford and Cambridge. In September, the admission service UCAS reported a 9 percent drop in EU applications for British undergraduate courses starting in 2017.<\/p>\n
Some argue that Britain could become like Switzerland, an \u201cassociate\u201d EU state that is opting out of free movement of people while still taking part in limited European science projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not all doom and gloom \u2014 but it will be harder,\u201d Ramakrishnan said. \u201cWe could make a go of it outside the EU. But for that to happen, we have to attract talent and fund science. And those two things are critical.\u201d\u2014AP<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Britain\u2019s top universities have long been among the world\u2019s most sought-after destinations for study and research, drawing the brightest minds from all corners of the globe. But since Britons voted in June to leave the 28-nation EU, many in the science community say the U.K. risks losing the money, the international influence \u2014 and crucially, … Continue reading Brexit uncertainties threaten brain drain for UK science<\/span>