EU staff in higher education

Scotland’s Higher Education Minister, has welcomed the contribution made by EU staff in our thriving universities and has called on the UK Government to protect their status post Brexit. 

Latest statistics from Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that Scotland’s higher education institutions have a higher proportion of EU workforce than the UK as a whole, with more than 26 per cent of our academic staff in biological, mathematical & physical sciences coming from other EU countries. 

Minister for Further, Higher Education and Science, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said: 

“Scotland’s universities are world class and much of this is down to the nature and make-up of the staff that teach and research in them.  The latest HESA statistics show that EU staff make up a higher proportion of the total academic workforce in Scotland’s higher education institutions when compared to the rest of the UK.

“The international dimension of our universities is one of their key strengths providing a real breadth of knowledge, expertise and experience on our campuses.  It is crucial that we maintain this diversity going forward and ensure our universities continue to attract the very best of staff from the EU and beyond.   

“That is why it is essential that the UK Government provides urgent reassurance to the EU staff working in Scotland’s universities and protects their immigration status post-Brexit. The academic staff from the EU deserve nothing less as they continue to make a significant contribution to life and work in Scotland’s education sector.”

Background

Further information on the HESA stats can be found on the HESA  website:  https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/23-02-2017/departmental-demographics-academic-staff