University funding secure post-referendum says Vice-Chancellor

THE Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick is to call for a delay in the introduction of new legislation in the wake of the EU referendum vote.

David Cameron introduced the new Higher Education Bill in the Queen’s Speech. The new legislation is intended to make it easier for new, challenger universities to establish themselves.

Such a move is likely to challenge the status quo in the university sector at what will now be a turbulent period.

In a blog posting, Professor Stuart Croft said: “Clearly the business of government will be dominated by the many processes required by exit. Once there is clarity on who is charged with translating this for higher education, I will be writing to them to call for a delay in the Higher Education Bill while this work is carried through.

“To add the demands of that Bill to those of EU exit, at the same time, will be an intolerable burden for universities that, frankly, threatens to rock our very capacity to do everything we do to promote and extend the UK’s reputation globally.

“This, at a time when that reputation matters more than ever. I hope that much will be self-evident to the Minister.”

He said the university had also moved to reassure those concerned with the university’s research income, which currently benefits from more than £13m a year from EU sources.

“That funding comes from government, industry and charitable sources, and translates into posts and studentships, as well as equipment and activity,” said Prof Croft.

“All currently signed contracts will be honoured. I will be arguing that even without membership of the EU, the UK should be a part of the European research family, as Norway and Switzerland currently are.

“In this work, we will be much helped by being inside a Europe-wide body of research intensive universities – the Guild that we recently announced – which has, as its chair, the President of a Norwegian university. Working with other like-minded institutions around the world to progress our research and teaching aims will continue to be priority for Warwick.”

He said while there was a lot of work to do done on this, progress was already being made.

“Much is already being prepared here at Warwick to enable us to understand how the university and our community might be impacted,” he said.

“There will be, if the referendum campaign has been anything to go by, plenty of apocalyptic language greeting this result in the media. We will be told that the economy will collapse, that it’s the end of civilisation as we know it.
 
“I have made no secret that, in my view, the university’s future would have been more certain with a Remain vote. But it is still secure with a Leave vote. We still are a very attractive place for students to study, whether they be British or from around the rest of the world, and part of that attraction is precisely because of the cosmopolitan nature of our student and staff body.

“We must maintain this. And seeing our growing research income over the past few years, we should remain confident in the quality of our research in the global competition for the funding our research needs and deserves.

“So, although we will leave the EU, Warwick will remain a strong, confident, global institution.”