Nature has published research by authors Robert Tijssen, Wout Lamers and Alfredo Yegros on Brexit: UK universities and European Industry which claims that ‘many decades’ worth of UK investment [with the EU] in valuable human capital and vulnerable social capital is at risk’.
Analysing data of university-industry research collaboration and cross-sectoral mobility patterns, the authors reveal the importance of European industry to UK universities.
An overview on the Centre for Global Higher Education website states:
…findings show that UK research collaboration linkages and staff mobility relationships involve large numbers of partner companies located abroad and that there are hundreds of active researchers straddling and moving between UK universities and the corporate world. The results also reveal the importance of European industry to UK universities: research-active companies located in EU member states represent 24 per cent of these UK academic-industry connections.
