Will European students and researchers still come to the UK even if we’re not in the EU?
It is very risky to assume that they will. In fact, the opposite is more likely to be the case.
Leaving the EU and putting up barriers to work and study makes it more likely that European students and researchers will choose to go elsewhere – strengthening our competitors and weakening the UK’s universities. It’s highly likely that numbers of EU students and staff at UK universities would fall.
EU staff and students make our outstanding universities even stronger – enhancing research, teaching and the experience of British students - and make a major contribution to the UK economy. British students benefit from being taught by the best minds from across Europe. 15% of academic staff teaching and researching at UK universities are from other EU countries and among them are some of the most productive researchers in the UK.
Over 125,000 EU students are currently studying at UK universities. These students help to foster an international, outward-looking culture on university campuses which in turn provides British students with an international university experience preparing them for an ever more globalised world.
Latest research shows that European students and staff have a very positive economic impact on local communities, generating around £2.27 billion with about 19,000 British jobs depend on them.
With greater barriers to the rest of Europe, the UK would also become a less attractive destination for other international staff and students wanting to work or study, and travel, in Europe.