Political courage necessary to make most of Brexit opportunity
BREXIT means Brexit but, whether it’s hard or soft, it presents the most disruptive challenge to Ireland’s economy since the foundation of the State. Every aspect of society will be impacted, not least the higher education and research sphere, where the United Kingdom is a principal partner.
More than 13,000 Irish students study in UK universities, including Northern Ireland; 3,500 British students attend higher education institutes here, while Ireland is the seventh-largest provider of academic staff to British universities. In research, too, there are currently in excess of 900 collaborative projects between Ireland and the UK funded by the EU’s flagship Horizon 2020 programme.
Education and research in the European Union and Ireland will be poorer for Britain’s departure. However, Brexit has the potential to elevate the higher education sector in Ireland. As an English-speaking country, with an assured EU base, and access to large-scale research funding, it offers a unique and attractive proposition to EU and non-EU students and researchers alike.
The British Irish Chamber of Commerce higher education and research committee represents the interests of businesses, researchers, entrepreneurs and university leaders across Ireland and the UK. Our goal is to maintain Ireland and the UK’s place as one of the most hospitable regions in the world for higher education and research. To this end, we have developed a policy paper that assesses the challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents to the sector.
Firstly, higher education and research should be a key component of the Irish Government’s Brexit strategy. Indeed, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Lancaster House speech prioritised research innovation as part of the UK government’s ‘12-point plan’, recognising the symbiotic relationship between higher education, innovation and the economy – if one falters, it affects the other two.
It is essential the Government declares education as a national priority in its Brexit negotiations. It must adopt a proactive strategy, including targeted support, not simply to exploit the opportunities of Brexit, but to mitigate the risks to Ireland’s higher education and research sector, upon which so much of our economy depends. The north-south dimension is the most vulnerable, too, and it demands special consideration by all stakeholders.
Secondly, Ireland’s higher education and research community needs to forge deeper collaborative relations with its UK counterparts. The UK is, and will remain, a global leader in education and research, and it is in Ireland’s interests to maximise this relationship. Due to our proximity, history and long-standing collaborations, we offer the best option as a European partner post-Brexit. The Government can act decisively by securing a reciprocal agreement that Irish, British, and Northern Irish students will not be subject to ‘out-of-state fees’ in Ireland and the UK.
The Government must also offer its support for the UK remaining in the European Research Area, and it should look to protect Northern Ireland by examining the possibility of establishing a special status ‘education area’ for the island of Ireland.
In addition to reinforcing the unique relationship between the UK and Ireland, the Government should use the up-coming budget to support Brexit-specific initiatives. Science Foundation Ireland has offered a range of targeted proposals, including developing a support structure for joint-professorships between the UK and Ireland. Although welcome, a cross-sector approach is also required to support the development of strategic partnerships between individual UK and Irish higher education institutions.
Finally, and most importantly, the impact of Brexit on higher education and research will be determined by the Government’s willingness to invest in the sector more generally. Brexit initiatives cannot be applied in a vacuum and there’s no chance of Ireland maximising opportunities within a grossly under-funded system of higher education.
Ireland’s higher education has endured unprecedented funding reductions in the last decade, as student numbers rose by one quarter while exchequer funding fell by almost a third. Staff-to-student ratios have risen from 16:1 (2008) to 20:1 (2016), way above the OECD average of 14:1, in a deterioration which undermines our ambitions to offer students a ‘world-class education’. The Cassells report on future funding of third-level education recognised a
The Government should use the Budget to support Brexit specific initiatives
funding crisis within the sector, and called for an investment in higher education of €600m by 2021 in order to support national economic and social development.
This report has been published for over a year, with little sign of progress from the Government, or the Oireachtas Committee tasked with examining its recommendations. No option outlined in Cassells, from a loan system to a quantum leap in public funding, would be as bad as continued inaction.
Meanwhile, ‘Innovation 2020’ – the Government’s national research strategy – is failing to meet its investment targets. If we invest small and think small, we can hardly expect a miracle, a major influx of leading academics, or research funding.
There are few aspects of Brexit that have a potential silver lining for Ireland, but the higher education and research sector provides a rare opportunity.
Political courage is required, however, not just to leverage the opportunities of Brexit, but to put our house in order and provide the higher education system required to deliver the Taoiseach’s ‘Republic of Opportunity’.
Daire Keogh is chair of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce higher education and research committee and vice-president of Dublin City University