Brexit spells uncertainty for EU universities
Published 07/07/2016
In the aftermath of the UK’s historic EU referendum, universities in Europe have been caught up in the vacuum of uncertainty created by Brexit. Speaking with The PIE News, stakeholders discussed the likely fall in incoming UK students over the coming years but said they are hopeful that it could be offset by growing interest from students from other EU states.
However, with much left to be determined, concerns are still widespread that if any radical changes do occur, the positives won’t outweigh the negatives.
A lot rests on the UK’s future relationship with the EU: if, like Switzerland and Norway, it negotiates for students to continue accessing higher education at subsidised rates and free movement within the bloc, student mobility and academic cooperation may remain relatively unchanged.
“It may happen that Brexit will not affect student mobilities from and to the UK at all, so there may be no reason at all for any ‘reshuffling’ of mobilities between the EU countries,” Tereza Fojtová, communications director at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, said.
However, some UK students studying in the EU are already worried about the possibility that as non-EU students, they will be forced to pay higher fees.
“There are already requests from students coming from EU if they still have the possibility to enrol at our university instead of a university in the UK”
“We have received some questions, mainly about the tuition fee status for UK citizens – if they will be required to pay in the future,” said Tina Larsson, international coordinator at Stockholm University’s admissions office.
Post-study work is also a worry, according to Karin Sulmann, deputy director of Hanze University‘s International Health Care School in the Netherlands: “The [students] I have spoken to are indeed concerned, not only regarding their studies but also regarding employability afterwards in Europe.”
In light of the uncertainty overshadowing the sector, universities are reassuring current students that their studies will not be affected.
“For the enrolled students at Sciences Po, they should not be worried at all about how the UK leaving the EU might affect their studies. They are part of the student body and belong to our community,” said Aurélien Krejbich, director of the French university’s international affairs division.
Caroline van Overbeeke, spokesperson of the board for Leiden University, predicted the university will see fewer UK students in future “which, from our point of view, are very important for our international classrooms”, but suggested the institution may see a rise in students from the EU.
One potential benefit European universities see out of the referendum results is a marked increase in EU students deterred by potentially higher international fees in the UK.
“Some EU students currently conducting their undergraduate studies in the UK or about to complete their A-level may have a greater interest to come to a continental university and submit an application to come to Sciences Po,” commented Krejbich.
The UK’s strict post-study regulations – which require non-EU international students to leave the country once they have completed their studies unless they have secured a job offer – could also convince EU students to study outside the UK, suggested Arian van Hulsel, coordinator of exchange and partners at Fontys International Business School in the Netherlands.
“We expect education programmes in the Netherlands to benefit from this, as the Netherlands offers quite a number of quality education programmes taught in English and the level of English is generally found to be good,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bertyl Lankhaar, secretary and spokesperson of the executive board for the University of Twente, also in the Netherlands, said the university has already had “requests from students coming from the EU asking if they still have the possibility to enrol at our university instead of a university in the UK”.
Nevertheless, for most institutions, the disadvantages and uncertainty brought about by Brexit far outweigh the gains.
Despite acknowledging that the university might see more applications from other EU students if tuition fees rise for EU students in the UK, Fojtová at Masaryk University said “I really cannot think of any advantage at this moment”.
“The same uncertainty that applies across the UK sector applies to us”
As well as student mobility, Brexit could have an impact on joint ventures including double degree programmes and research cooperation. “These partnerships contribute directly to Sciences Po’s attractiveness and excellency,” Krejbich said, making it a “great matter of concern”.
Tim Gore, CEO of University of London Institute in Paris, noted rippling impact on UK partner universities: “The same uncertainty that applies across the UK sector applies to us as we do not yet know what the departure will mean in terms of the current programmes we run.”
One particular area of concern is Erasmus+, which has guaranteed that mobility funding for student exchanges will stay in place for 2016 and 2017, but beyond that the future is unknown.
Some stakeholders, such as Krejbich at Sciences Po, have suggested the UK should become a ‘third country’ member, like Norway and Switzerland.
“The European youth should not be taken hostage by this situation,” he contended. “The Erasmus+ programme is promoting open mindedness, mobility and intercultural exchanges.”
And if Brexit excludes the UK from research funding initiatives such as Horizon 2020, scientific cooperation could be impacted, noted van Overbeeke.
Nevertheless, she added that other options are possible: “Maybe we can compensate that with other sorts of scientific bilateral cooperation (like we have with Switzerland and other non-EU countries).”
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