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From tech transfer to Brexit—2019 in tweets

Image: Sattalat phukkum, via Shutterstock

A selection of UK stories that made the most impact on Twitter

A focus on the European Union and Brexit has threaded through our popular stories on Twitter this year, with the most popular posts in many months relating to these topics.

In January, one of the most retweeted posts was about science minister Chris Skidmore consulting with research leaders to develop alternatives to the hugely popular EU grants, which the UK stands to lose access to after Brexit.

The top tweet for February concerned universities in the UK and the United States committing to exchanging good practice and expertise in technology transfer. 

In March, our story about the president of the European University Institute saying he was shocked that the UK had decided to withdraw from the prestigious research centre located just outside the Italian city of Florence made the most impression. 

In the same month, the top mention of our Twitter name was related to a tweet about our brand new, digital edition.

In April, one of the top tweets was about the Francis Crick Institute and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory signing an agreement that will enable Crick researchers to access facilities and create partnerships in Europe.

In a break from Brexit, in May, social media users were most excited about how the UK will need an extra 260,000 researchers by 2027 for the government to reach its target of spending 2.4% of GDP on R&D.

Europe returned in June though, when the most popular tweet was about Robert-Jan Smits, the EU’s former top R&D official, warning that there is no chance of the UK becoming an associate member of the bloc’s next R&D programme if it leaves the union without a deal.

In July, Skidmore’s promise that the UK will continue to offer support for postgraduates from the EU in the 2020-21 academic year, took the top spot.

August saw research groups calling for urgent clarity over the future status of EU academics in the UK, after the government announced an immediate end to freedom of movement after Brexit.

September’s top tweet was about the European Commission noting that the holders of European Research Council grants under the Horizon 2020 programme might need to terminate their contracts or relocate their grant to another country in case of no-deal Brexit.

Gratifyingly, if surprisingly, as the Brexit deadline loomed in October, our top tweet was not about Europe or Brexit, but about our newly launched website: Research Professional News.

By November, the UK general election overtook Brexit in the interest stakes, with top tweets including our exclusive letter by Skidmore in which the Conservatives revealed their R&D election plans, and our tweet from election hustings at the British Academy where former science minister Sam Gyimah said that an open immigration system is key to success of UK’s science.