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The University of Southampton and the EU Debate
As we rapidly approach the EU Referendum a common theme that is emerging around the country is the lack of unbiased information on our membership and the relative merits of being in or out of the EU, for people to make an informed decision.
I am a firm believer in evidence-based argument and policy making and I will outline a few key facts that are relevant to Southampton and UK universities in general. I am keen that the University should continue to encourage debate around the topic, as well as motivating our students and staff to vote and I would like to share my personal thoughts with you.
Southampton is an international university and it is part of our normal activities to foster European relationships as well as our wider global engagement. It is very clear that UK universities like Southampton benefit from being in a country that is a member of the EU, in cultural, academic and of course financial terms. In the UK, around 15% of all staff and 5% of students come from continental European countries and, as a large civic university, we at Southampton enjoy the benefits even more, with 7.5% of our student body coming from EU countries outside the UK. Our popularity has led to a 22% increase in applications from such students this year. At the moment we have around 1800 undergraduate and postgraduate students from the continental EU which contributes nearly £11m to the University in fees and around another £24m to the local economy (over £2.7bn nationally). As EU students, they are treated on the same basis as UK students with ‘home’ fees. This would be likely to change if the UK left the EU and it is likely that higher international student fees and visa issues would make the UK less attractive.
We also know from universities’ ongoing struggles with the UK visa regime for international students and staff that any limits placed on freedom of movement could cause further major difficulties for our universities with their global outlook. Leaving the EU and putting up barriers to work and study makes it more likely that European students and researchers may choose to go elsewhere.
The UK is the most successful country in the EU in winning research funding, with over 20% of the European Research Council grants, worth €7bn, awarded to UK universities from 2007-13. Southampton currently spends £18m annually of EU funding on research. Some non-EU countries have managed to access the Framework programmes and Horizon 2020 by paying ‘subscriptions’ to the EU, but it is not known whether the UK would do so in a post-exit scenario, or what degree of future success we would enjoy.
There is no evidence and there have been no arguments to indicate that there would be benefits to UK universities if the UK left the EU.
Following the announcement of the EU referendum date 103 UK Vice-Chancellors, including myself, signed a letter highlighting how the EU enhanced universities’ positive impact on British society and the economy. Last summer, Universities UK launched a ‘Universities for Europe’ campaign to put universities at the centre of the European Union referendum debate. This campaign highlights the value of European Union membership to universities and explains why this matters to British people, the UK economy and society.
I hope that my comments help inform our thinking. The points raised above do not mean that these issues may not have solutions following a Brexit, but that they need highlighting so that they can be taken into account as there has been no evidence from advocates of an exit how they would mitigate these important factors. I have also personally committed to lobby government on these issues.
Professor Sir Christopher Snowden
May 2016
The views expressed in this blog are those of Sir Christopher and do not represent an official position by the University of Southampton.
