Four months since the Brexit referendum, when the UK voted to leave the EU, uncertainty remains the predominant theme of discussion. While this is the case for all regions both within the UK and surrounding it, it seems particularly pertinent in Northern Ireland, a region central to few Brexit discussions, yet one for whom EU funding is especially crucial. While the British government must contend with an impending storm, universities must come to terms not only with inevitable financial cuts, but also with issues of student morale and questions of international reputation – all of which may stunt their development and growth.
Much has been written about the consequence of the Brexit vote in terms of university funding, but its importance cannot be understated. Pre-referendum, the higher education sector emphasised the 8,864 jobs supported by EU funding, as well as the £836 million that the country might lose following a vote to leave.
In August, Vice-Chancellor of Ulster University (UU), Patrick Nixon, spoke to The University Times about working around government cuts to the university’s budget. He discussed how in recent years, one strategy regarding “managing the uncertainties” of how much government funding a university will receive is “to do business that generates income from outside government”.
We are underfunded. Full stop. There is no debate about that and we have to resolve it
Universities can do this in a variety of ways. One of the most popular options for universities has been to increase the number of international students. Nixon said, specifically, that these students help “cross-subsidise” local students, as well as “improving the cultural mix up” in the North.
As Northern Irish universities begin to prepare for a debate on funding, they must now grapple with the impact of Brexit. Nixon also asserts that “the thing I will argue for, passionately, is we are underfunded. Full stop. There is no debate about that and we have to resolve it, if Northern Ireland is going to affect its economic position. And it’s doubly important now in the context of Brexit.”
In September, UU published a “Five-Year Strategic Plan”. Unsurprisingly, for a university with international ambitions, the document places a heavy emphasis on the institution’s “global vision”. Yet without a single direct mention of Brexit, it remains to be seen how UU will pave its way as a globally focused university.
While Brexit will undoubtedly, in many ways, serve to aggravate issues of government funding through increasing uncertainty in an already fragile funding relationship, institutions such as UU are doing their best to work around it. Yet a direct plan of action regarding Brexit is impossible without knowing the full extent of its consequences. The crux of the problem of funding, however, remains the same, only heightened: uncertain budgets. Therefore, similar solutions of seeking external funding and focusing on a “global vision” will be important in the context of the Brexit debate.
Mobility within the island of Ireland’s education system is something that is of the utmost importance for students and the economy
Student groups that examine Brexit’s effects on educational bodies are working in a similarly forward-moving vein. Speaking to The University Times by email, the chair of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) lobby group on “Brexit and the effect on Northern Irish Students”, Ailbhe Brioscú, outlines the group’s aim of “researching the Brexit issue and the impacts it will have on students in Ireland, particularly those coming from the UK or Northern Ireland and the effects on the third-level education sector itself”. Specifically, this involves “making contact with TDs and other members of the Oireachtas to ensure that the special place of Northern Irish students in the education sector of the Republic is protected and ensure that student voices are heard in the discussion on the topic”.
Emphasis on student voices being heard serves as excellent retaliation to what seems inevitable university budget cuts since, particularly in times of political obstacles and social challenges, the value of university funding is always likely to be called into question. The TCDSU lobby group acknowledges the “special place of Northern Irish students” while alluding to the permeable boundary between North and South that exists at the border, and its importance for education.
“Mobility within the island of Ireland’s education system is something that is of the utmost importance for students and the economy”, said Brioscú, “Trinity, after all, sets out to be an ‘all-island’ university”. Although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what implications Brexit will have on mobility within the “island of Ireland”, Brioscú encourages images of unity rather than division, and demonstrates how by working with the potential consequences of Brexit in mind, we can still try to uphold the same goals in education that existed prior to it.
Fear of loss of mobility is of central concern to universities in both the South and North alike. Speaking to The University Times via email, President of Ulster University’s Students’ Union (UUSU), Colum Mackey, discussed possible technical consequences of the referendum result. Mackey explains how there “may be new visa requirements for EU students studying in the UK, and UK students studying in the EU that might restrict access to higher education”. Questions of visa attainability could also arise for early career researchers (directly post-PhD), who may find it “almost impossible to get a visa to remain in the UK to work in higher education as visa requirements surrounding minimum salary continue to increase, for many this limit is beyond what the average early career academic can expect to earn”. As well as this, he suggests that EU students could be charged international fees and “this could see the cost of tuition increasing dramatically during their course of study”.
student mobility more generally could be affected, international internships could be difficult to secure as could employment in the EU after graduating
Mackey also speaks about issues surrounding the Erasmus programme: “The impact of Brexit on this programme is yet to be seen but the partnerships and funding which are sustained through it will and must be maintained post-Brexit.” Ultimately, “student mobility more generally could be affected, international internships could be difficult to secure as could employment in the EU after graduating”, Mackey says.
This potential loss of mobility is threatening to students. When asked about the general feeling amongst students in UU, Mackey said: “There is an atmosphere of concern and uncertainty. If ‘Brexit means Brexit’ then for UUSU it means representing Ulster University students to ensure students in NI get the best deal as the UK withdraws from the EU.” Having student voices heard is ensuring a positive future for universities in a post-Brexit climate.
It is crucial that as the technicalities of Brexit unfold in Parliament, its impact on universities remains at the forefront of discussion. Discussion may be uncertain amongst university students and staff alike, but it is crucial to our understanding, and perhaps even more importantly, our awareness. While research into the looming and multi-faceted consequences of Brexit on universities is not conclusive, it is still valuable in terms of anticipating the possible changes wrought by a post-Brexit university climate. Concerns regarding funding, loss of mobility and student morale appear to be at the forefront for Northern Irish universities. Yet, so far at least, they are not posed as immovable obstacles as universities work to combine the atmosphere of uncertainty with cautious optimism.
