EU Studies - Higher Ed & Research

Student No: 100051283
1
Examine the importance of EU Higher Education & Research Policy within the East of
England Region in the context of the forthcoming referendum on EU membership.
In a referendum campaign that has been dominated by personality politics, such as the rivalry
between David Cameron and Boris Johnson, and bold headline grabbing statements like ‘The
NHS can’t survive staying in Europe’1
or ‘Leaving [The EU] puts peace at risk’2
, little effort
has been made to educate voters of the existence and nature of specific EU policies and what
they mean for the various areas they effect. Specifically, in the field of higher education and
research, the EU has helped to fund our universities with various grants and funds available
for universities to access, along with initiatives such as the Erasmus programme; which
allows EU students to come and study in the UK, thereby increasing the amount of tuition
payed to our universities. With current polls indicating many voters are undecided and largely
consider themselves to be ill-informed3
, and with increasing data suggesting students could
play a decisive role in this referendum4
, an examination of the EU’s impact on higher
education and research is not only academically justified but is also politically significant.
This research intends to examine the role EU higher education and research policy plays
within the East of England, to do so I will provide an overview of the various policies at work
within the sector and how they apply to the region. To substantiate the significance of these
policies, I have conducted an interview with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of East
Anglia, David Richardson, in which he detailed the nature and importance of the policies and
funds, and whose views on the referendum provide talking points for the closing section of
this research5
. I will also explore the views of those opposed to continued EU membership
and their counter-arguments and proposals for the higher education and research sector where
relevant. Before I conclude, I will address the referendum more broadly; exploring the
potential impact of ‘Brexit’ on the sector. Due to the limited focus of this research on the East
of England, its findings should not be considered definitive for higher education and research
across the entire UK; various EU policies and funds may or may not be in place at institutions
outside the East of England and a larger UK wide study is needed in order to establish the
importance of EU policy on the sector at a national level. That being said, readers are invited
1
Bours (2016), Britain’s NHS Can’t Survive Staying in the European Union
2
BBC News (2016), EU Referendum: Cameron Says UK Exit Could Put Peace At Risk
3
YouGov (2016), EU Referendum: Remain Lead at 2
4
Helm (2016), EU Referendum: Poll Shows Young Voters Could Hold Key in June Vote
5
Appendix 01

2
to draw their own conclusions as to whether the UK as a whole benefits from the policies that
impact on the higher education and research sector in the East of England.
The most obvious example of an EU policy that has had a profound impact on higher
education and research, is the Erasmus programme, which allows EU students to study at any
university outside their home country but within the borders of the EU for up to 12 months6
.
More recently since 2013, the programme has extended the same ability to academic
researchers and for postgraduate students with Erasmus+ and it is estimated that in 2013-14
over 15,000 UK students enrolled on an Erasmus programme, with that number likely having
risen since7
. During my interview with UEA Vice-Chancellor David Richardson, Erasmus
came up almost immediately, with him saying that the initiative ‘enriches the cultural
experience of students on this campus and equally enables us to give some of our students a
global experience’8
, suggesting that the initiative is not only something that expands the
higher education of participating UK students, but which also helps makes university
campuses more multi-cultural pan-European environments.
While the Erasmus programme is clearly a significant EU initiative that impacts on the higher
education and research experiences of UK students at large, when it comes to the East of
England’s universities and UEA in particular, the programme’s importance to the sector is
even more greatly emphasised. According to David Richardson, UEA has specifically
tailored courses and research programmes around Erasmus, and would like to see the
programme continue to exist and to even expand, with the Vice-Chancellor hoping to see the
number of students enrolled on Erasmus programmes at UEA rising from 10% to 20%9
. In
the context of the EU referendum, the Vice-Chancellor repeatedly expressed his concern that
a ‘leave’ vote could very likely risk the scheme and limit the ability of UK students to study
in Europe and their European counterparts to come to the UK. This would not only have the
potential of limiting students’ experiences but may directly remove money from the East of
England’s economy if student numbers drop as the result of the scheme being suspended-
pending-renegotiation following a ‘leave’ vote. As a result, it is clear that the Erasmus
programme is one of the foremost EU initiatives at play within the higher education and
6
Europa (2014), Erasmus+ Programme
7
Europa (2014), Erasmus+ Programme, Statistics
8
Appendix 01, Q2
9
Appendix 01, Q2

3
research sector within the East of England, and that a high level of importance has been
placed on its continuation at UEA.
Another significant EU policy that affects higher education and research in the East of
England, is the European Regional Development Fund which is a multi-purpose fund that
member states pay into, with the aim of ‘strengthening economic and social cohesion in the
EU by correcting imbalances between its regions’10
. The fund provides investment to local
government, academic organisations such as universities and other institutions in order to
strengthen innovation and research, expand digital technology, support small businesses and
ensure a future low-carbon economy11
. In the East of England, beneficiaries of this fund have
included many leading universities, including Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin & UEA along with
all of the regions County Councils12
, demonstrating that the higher education and research
sector gets access to European development funding on par with local government bodies.
During my interview with the Vice-Chancellor, he explained how the European Regional
Development Fund, and the Low Carbon Innovation Fund attached to it are contributing
some £80 million of investment to the region just through investing at UEA13
. This
demonstrates the large level of importance the fund has for higher education and research and
suggests that EU investment in this sector has a knock-on effect in developing the local
economy.
Funds such as the European Regional Development Fund are not without criticism however,
and it should be noted that in 2012 the Communities and Local Government Select
Committee published a report examining the success of all of the European structural and
cohesion funds, of which the European Regional Development Fund is one, that found the
funds to be costing UK regions more than they were getting back14
. Prior to this, in the 2010
Election, the Labour Party’s manifesto included a pledge to limit the funds to states with
income levels at 90% average and below, and to replace the EU research, development and
infrastructure, investments in the UK with direct UK government funds15
. Today, those
advocating ‘Brexit’ make similar arguments, pointing to the disparity highlighted in the
10
Europa (2014), European Regional Development Fund
11
Lelieveldt & Princen (2011), The Politics of the European Union
12
East of England Regional Competitiveness & Employment (2015), Beneficiaries of Funding through ERDF
13
Appendix 01, Q3
14
UK Parliament, Select Committee Reports (2010-12), European Regional Development Fund
15
UK Parliament, Select Committee Reports (2010-12), European Regional Development Fund

4
Select Committee Report, suggesting that the important funding the higher education and
research sector gets from the European Regional Development Fund could be found
elsewhere16
. Despite this however, UEA’s Vice-Chancellor was unequivocal regarding the
importance of the continuation of the fund for the East of England, stating; ‘I’ve not heard
anyone reassure me that … the infrastructure funds, would be protected if we were to come
out of Europe’, which is understandable when there are little to no concrete plans offered by
those advocating ‘Brexit’ to match the funds at present.17
Pan-European research networks are also funded by the EU and play an increasingly large
role in the higher education sector across Europe. As attention turns to major issues such as
climate change, better drug development and social and political issues such as the ongoing
refugee crisis, research in environmental, pharmaceutical and social and political science has
also grown in importance18
. By being a part of these networks, researchers and academics at
the UEA and other East of England and UK universities are able to work with other European
partner organisations to collaborate and garner a greater understanding of these key issues19
.
David Richardson maintains that these networks also make collaboration on research with
Europe easier for non-EU countries such as China and Australia as well, as they provide
access to a ‘wider set of networks’ than those countries would have access too otherwise,
without the EU’s involvement in the research sector20
. It is also clear that the Vice-
Chancellor feels that the UK’s standing within those wider networks would be placed at risk
in the event of a ‘Brexit’, with him stating ‘we actually risk isolating ourselves from other
international partners if we exit’21
. This argument has been used time and again by ‘remain’
supporters in other sectors, such as foreign policy and defence22
, however hearing the severe
threat of that loss of influence, concerning the higher education and research sector, coming
from the mouth of a university Vice-Chancellor, serves to clearly demonstrate the importance
of EU research policy within that sector.
16
Morgan (2015), Brexit: The Perks & Pitfalls for Higher Education
17
Appendix 01, Q3
18
Appendix 01, Q3
19
McCormick (2013), Why Europe Matters
20
Appendix 01, Q4
21
Appendix 01, Q4
22
McCormick (2013), Why Europe Matters

5
Looking ahead to the EU referendum, it is clear that the vote will have a substantial impact
on the East of England’s ability to fund higher education and research, and on the amount of
money that sector brings to the region as a whole. As David Richardson puts it ‘I am fearful!
And I’m entitled to be fearful when somebody asks me to vote on the unknown’23
driving
home the severity of risk posed by a possible ‘Brexit’ to the various funds and initiatives
described above. Advocates of ‘Brexit’ have suggested that these funds could simply be
redirected from the UK government, and one UKIP policy on higher education suggests
raising the fees payed by EU students coming to UK universities to match those payed by
other international students in order to offset the difference24
. While in theory, the UK would
be able to take such a step, as the Vice-Chancellor explained earlier, it could very likely lead
to a decline in the number of EU students coming to UK universities, and such a decline
would take money out of local economies and out of the East of England Region. As to the
chances of the UK government picking up the lost funding; again the policy is theoretically
sound, but with a Conservative majority government focussed on a plan of rigorous spending
cuts in almost all sectors, it seems unlikely that the level of funding that goes to higher
education and research in the East of England, or across the UK would remain at present
levels. As a result, it seems fair to argue that the EU’s importance to the higher education and
research sector is even more substantial in the context of the referendum on EU membership.
In conclusion, there are a number of EU policies and funds that are of major importance to
the higher education and research sector within the East of England Region. Namely, the
Erasmus programme, allowing students to travel in the EU during their studies, the European
Regional Development Fund, and its offshoot Low Carbon Innovation Fund, which bring
financial support for infrastructure and low-carbon development to the region via the region’s
universities, and EU supported pan-European research networks, that connect academics and
researchers from across the globe. Combined, these policies and funds have enabled
institutions like UEA to contribute massively to the regional economy, ‘people in the region
should take [The EU] seriously, because this university contributes £800,000 per year, 15,000
students, 3000 of those being international students coming into the region, and 3000 staff.’25
,
with other universities from Cambridge to Essex also able to utilise and rely on those policies
and funds to make similar impacts on the region’s economy, it is clear that the EU’s impact
23
Appendix 01, Q7
24
Morgan (2015), Brexit: The Perks & Pitfalls for Higher Education
25
Appendix 01, Q5

6
on the higher education sector within the region is phenomenal. With the upcoming
referendum on EU membership potentially putting these substantial policies and funds at risk,
and assurances from those advocating Brexit seemingly less reassuring than the continuation
of the existing policies, it is little wonder that UEA’s Vice-Chancellor says he is openly
‘fearful’26
. If a ‘Brexit’ led to the loss of these policies and funds, then the knock-on effect
on the sector, and on the economy of the region as a whole, could be devastating.
26
Appendix 01, Q7

7
Appendix 01 – Interview with UEA Vice-Chancellor David Richardson:
Q1 – How do you think remaining in the EU, in this referendum, will benefit UEA?
VC – I think it will benefit UEA in a number of ways, for me the EU gives the UEA access to
a wide range of networks through which we can form important partnerships. Those
partnerships include opportunities to exchange students and staff through Erasmus, they give
us opportunities to form research networks that engage in research on global issues (such as
Climate Change), they give us access to high quality academic staff because of the freedom
of movement across borders. Likewise many of our students come from mainland EU
countries, and they can enter without the problems many international students have (through
visa requirements). We also get substantive infrastructure funding from the EU, for example
£5 million that helped us build the Enterprise Centre.
Q2 – You mentioned Erasmus, which is quite important to many students, how
important would you say Erasmus is to UK universities in general, but also to UEA
specifically?
VC – In general I think it’s been hugely important – hundreds of thousands of students, and
more recently staff under Erasmus+ have come to the UK and at UEA we’ve developed a
large number of research programmes which incorporate a year in Europe. So every year
hundreds of students at UEA are spending time in European universities and vice versa. For
me that enriches the cultural experience of students on this campus and equally enables us to
give some of our students a global experience and I want to see more of our students to have
that experience, not less, it stands at around 10% at the moment and I’d like to get that up to
at least 20% going overseas as part of their study. To my mind withdrawing from the EU
would make that more difficult for us.
Q3 – In your first response you also mentioned the direct funding that the university
and the wider Norwich Research Park gets as a result of the EU. Could I ask you how
much funding that is, and where specifically it comes from?
VC – So there’s a number of funds, one is the European Regional Development Fund, used to
invest in regions to help develop projects that will stimulate jobs and skills in the region, and
for example it was the European Regional Development Fund that contributed the £5 million
to the Enterprise Centre. That fund that also contributes around £30 million to the Low

8
Carbon Innovation Fund, which helps us support low carbon innovation. That fund itself has
drawn matching funding from businesses to the tune of about £50 million, so that’s a whole
investment of some £80 million into low carbon business in the region, as a consequence of
UEA winning that funding for the region. So again that’s stimulating business in the region,
and that’s what the European Regional Development Fund is all about, and we’re good at
getting access to that money, and looking forward with the Enterprise Centre and growing
businesses on this park to seeing more of that.
Then there’s the actual funding for research networks, for example the Marie Curie
international training network which provides funds for PHD students and early-career
researchers to study and do research in networks around Europe. I’m actually a member of
one, and those networks provide an average net worth of around €5 million amongst ten
different partners and UEA is part of approximately 20 or so networks, covering things from
climate change to agriculture to pharmacy and extending into social sciences, arts and
humanities, so big areas, in respect to training and of course the institutions on the Norwich
Research Park are also part of such networks.
Then there’s another fund called the European Research Council (ERC), and they support
fellowships for academics in different stages of their careers, early through to senior, on the
Norwich Research Park, our academics have been very successful at winning those
fellowships. I think we count ten or more of such fellowships, and their normally worth
around £2-5 million each, because they fund technicians, students, post-doctoral research and
infrastructure. Now some people may tell you ‘Ah yes, we pay into Europe for those’, and we
do, people estimate that a penny in every pound of income tax goes to the EU; you will hear
economic and business groups, such as the CBI, saying that we get back from that many
times the value of what we put in in economic terms. From my perspective as a Vice-
Chancellor, as things stand, I’ve not heard anyone reassure me that the things I’ve told you
about – the research networks, the funding, the infrastructure funds, would be protected if we
were to come out of Europe, for me that’s the unknown. When I look at Norway and
Switzerland, associate countries of Europe which aren’t full members, they do not get a seat
at the high table, they are not part of the group that are formulating the science and
innovation strategy of the European Union. If we were not to be at that table I think that’d be
a big danger for us.

9
Q4 – Would it be fair to say that you would be afraid that research at UEA would be
negatively effected in the event of a ‘Brexit’?
VC – Yes. As things stand I know that UEA has access to all of the various pots of European
money, if we were to exit, I have no guarantee that that would be the case and it might take
years of renegotiation to renegotiate the terms on which we contribute. What I have seen, is
that it is more difficult for countries outside the EU, associate members, to access EU funds.
Of course, if you’re going to access EU funds and continue doing so not as a full member,
then self-evidently you’re going to be asked to make contributions, so the idea that you’re
going to make savings is simply not true. You still have to put money in, but now you’re not
on the top table anymore, you’ve lost your influence and for me that’s madness – to lose that
influence but to still have to make the contributions. So I think there are big risks there.
If I can add one more thing; we think about these networks I’ve spoken about as being
important for EU countries, but they also draw in partners from around the world, because
research groups and universities in China, in Canada, in Australia can all join EU networks
and work with countries in the EU in return for access to that wider set of networks. So we
actually risk isolating ourselves from other international partners if we exit from the EU.
Q5 – Moving to the referendum more generally, do you think that the voting public are aware
of the benefits of EU membership when it comes to higher education and research?
VC – I don’t think they are as aware of it as I would like them to be, and I doubt very much if
they’ll be thinking about that as an issue when they go into the polling booths, and that is one
reason why I have tried to be vocal on my view; publishing a blog and talking to regional
press. Obviously my views are very much focussed on the university, because that’s who I
represent, that is my business; higher education, and some commentators said ‘this is very
university focussed’. Well that’s the point. I’m trying to get across to people why this is
important to the university and people in the region should take that seriously, because this
university contributes £800,000 per year, 15,000 students, 3000 of those being international
students coming into the region, and 3000 staff. Anything for me which harms the economic
performance of this university, this universities ability to bring students to the region and this
universities global reach and reputation, is bad, I think, not just for this university but for the
whole region.

10
Q6 – Much has been made about the differences in opinion regarding age when it comes to
this referendum. Young people tend to be more pro-EU but less likely to vote, Older people
slightly more anti-EU but more likely to vote. If you could say one thing to an undecided
young voter who may not be sure whether they’ll vote, or who may even be tempted by the
idea of ‘Brexit’, what would you say?
VC – I would say don’t put your future at risk and vote for ten years of uncertainty, because
that’s what you’ll be doing [if you vote to leave]. All you’ll be voting for is an unknown
arrangement, an uncertain future which will take a long time to unravel and in that time that
could cause a lot of economic and reputational damage to the UK which could affect your
future job prospects and impact on your opportunities as a student graduating in this country
and around the world. You suddenly wouldn’t be a European citizen, you would suddenly not
have access across borders, free working rights around Europe, you would only be a citizen
of the UK and many employment opportunities around Europe could potentially be lost to
you.
Q7 – What would you say to those that would say that all of that is just fearmongering?
VC – I am fearful! And I’m entitled to be fearful when somebody asks me to vote on the
unknown. When I do not have any clarity from them, on what arrangement will be agreed on
for the UK when operating outside the EU. If you ask me to go in a polling station and vote
for the known, or for the unknown, I can see the known; I can see areas where I would
improve it, of course, there always are. But at least I can see with some clarity. Then I see the
unknown, for which there is only uncertainty, huge economic disruption, damage to
universities, damage to business, and damage to the UK’s global position, because
uncertainty always leads to that kind of damage.

11
Bibliography of Sources:
BBC News, EU Referendum: Cameron Says UK Exit Could Put Peace At Risk,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36243296, Published: 09/05/2016,
Accessed: 10/05/2016
Bours, Louise, Britain’s NHS Can’t Survive Staying in the European Union, The Telegraph,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/eureferendum/12196908/Britains-NHS-cant-survive-
staying-in-the-European-Union.html, Published: 21/03/2016, Accessed: 10/05/2016
East of England Regional Competitiveness & Employment Report, Beneficiaries of Funding through
ERDF,
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/274309/East_of_E
ngland_ERDF_list_of_Beneficiaries_January_2014.pdf, Published: January 2014, Accessed:
10/05/2016
Europa, Erasmus+ Programme, http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/, Statistics,
http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/statistics_en.htm, and European Regional Development Fund,
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/, All published 2014, All accessed 10/05/2016
Helm, Toby, EU Referendum: Poll Shows Young Voters Could Hold Key in June Vote, The Guardian,
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/02/eu-referendum-young-voters-brexit-leave,
Published: 02/04/2016, Accessed: 11/05/2016
Lelieveldt, Herman & Princen, Sebastian, The Politics of the European Union, Cambridge University
Press, First Published 2011
McCormick, John, Why Europe Matters: The Case for the European Union, Palgrave MacMillan,
Published 2013
Morgan, John, Brexit: The Perks & Pitfalls for Higher Education, Times Higher Education,
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/brexit-the-perks-and-pitfalls-for-higher-
education, Published: 16/07/2015, Accessed: 08/05/2016
UK Parliament, Select Committee Reports (2010-12), European Regional Development Fund,
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmcomloc/writev/erdf/erdf45.htm,
Published: 04/05/2012, Accessed: 05/05/2016
YouGov, EU Referendum: Remain Lead at 2, https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/05/09/eu-
referendum-remain-lead-two/, Published: 09/05/2016, Accessed: 10/05/2016

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