Implications for the Higher Education Sector

GuildHE is currently working with members, Universities UK, and other sector bodies to ensure that Higher Education takes a central place in the negotiation of the UK’s exit from the EU and in developing new relationships thereafter.

On these pages, you will find details of GuildHE’s current work, ranging from consultation responses and briefings to blogs and direct engagement, as well as links to key content from across the sector and government.

Gordon McKenzie, GuildHE’s CEO, sits on the Government’s high level stakeholder working Group on EU exit, universities, research and innovation (read their Terms of Reference here). Staff regularly engage with colleagues from the Department for Education, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council.

If you wish to contribute to GuildHE’s ongoing advocacy in this area, please contact Matthew Guest, Policy Manager: matthew.guest@guildhe.ac.uk.

Key Priorities

Across the sector, four key priorities for Brexit have been repeatedly outlined:

• Guaranteeing the current status of non-UK EU staff and students in the UK, and that of UK staff and students based elsewhere in the EU
• Ensuring that UK academics are able to collaborate with researchers across the EU and further afield
• Securing continued access to EU research and innovation funding streams, such as the Horizon 2020 programme, or gaining adequate alternative funding
• Fostering globally aware students through Erasmus+ and other exchange programmes

More information on sector priorities can be found on the Universities UK website.

GuildHE also emphasises the following priorities:

• Protecting UK HE’s ability to recruit and retain talented students, academics and support staff from around the world
• Safeguarding development provided by EU structural funding programmes through continue involvement or by making alternative provisions
• Providing long-term certainty for the UK HE Sector