Threats of no-deal Brexit demand bold thinking

Universities should prepare for the worst by forming international partnerships, lobbying government, and reconnecting with their communities, says Smita Jamdar.

The UK is the European Union’s research superpower, as the figures for successful funding applications to Horizon 2020, the flagship EU research and innovation programme, show. But with the prime minister reeling from a landmark parliamentary defeat for her Brexit deal, concerns over what universities stand to lose from a no-deal scenario are at an all-time high.

To maintain the UK’s leading position in global research, and address the issues facing institutions in the event of a no-deal Brexit, bold new thinking is required urgently.