Professor Alice Gast met Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis MP with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan yesterday.

The discussion, which focused on the impact of Brexit on higher education, came as the Government published its position paper, ‘Collaboration on Science and Innovation’, which sets out a vision for a “far reaching” and “ambitious” agreement with the EU after Brexit. 

Professor Gast is a member of the Mayor of London's Brexit Advisory Group. The group advises the Mayor on the risks, challenges and opportunities following the EU referendum, to inform his monthly meetings with the Brexit Secretary. 

While it remains unclear what relationship the UK will have with the ERC after Brexit, Imperial is campaigning for continued access to EU research networks and the College has set out its firm commitment to future European collaborations.  

Speaking up

Imperial’s European Advisory Group (EAG) – led by Professor Nick Jennings, Vice Provost (Research) and Professor Maggie Dallman, Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships) brings together academics holding strong research connections in Europe with College leadership figures to discuss key aspects of Brexit and the future landscape for European research, innovation and education. 

The group generates ideas about how Imperial can deepen its scientific ties with close European partners and centres of excellence in line with the College’s strategy of strengthening collaboration with academia, business, and non-profit, healthcare and government institutions across the globe. 

Professor Nick Jennings said: “European collaboration is central to the College’s success. Imperial researchers play a leading role in European research, and will continue to do so. We will keep working closely with the Government to seek clarity on issues that remain unresolved, and to ensure that our doors remain open to collaborations with Europe and the wider world.” 

Continued collaboration 

The Government’s position paper (published last week), recognises the “pivotal role” of international collaboration in driving forward UK science and innovation. 

Underlining the Government’s commitment to maintaining the UK’s world-leading role in science and innovation, the report says that the UK will “continue playing its part in delivering shared European prosperity” and to remaining “at the forefront of collective endeavours.” 

The UK must continue to recruit the “brightest and best” it says, stating that the UK will “discuss with the EU future arrangements to facilitate the mobility of researchers engaged in cross-border collaboration". 

College leadership will continue to work with key stakeholders to make these ambitions a reality through the Brexit negotiations. 

Transformational support 

The paper recognises the UK’s success in Horizon 2020 and the importance of European Research Council (ERC) funding, acknowledging the need to provide certainty on the UK’s future involvement in these programmes. It reiterates the Government’s commitment to underwrite bids for Horizon 2020 projects submitted while the UK is still a member of the EU and says it will continue to work closely with the Commission and the Devolved Administrations. 

The report highlights several examples of European collaborations involving Imperial, including the Europain consortium network - which brings together researchers and clinicians from both academia and industry to improve the treatment of patients with chronic pain. Imperial is one of 12 European universities involved in the consortium. 

The PAL project, also noted in the paper, is building robots that interact with children to help them manage their diabetes. Imperial’s Personal Robotics Laboratory, led by Dr Yiannis Demiris, is a key partner in the project. 

The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) was established in 2002 to support a coherent and strategic approach to multilateral research initiatives by setting out a European Roadmap for research infrastructures for the coming two decades. One ESFRI project, the Infrastructure for Systems Biology Europe, was coordinated by Professor Richard Kitney, Professor of Biomedical Systems Engineering at Imperial. 

Imperial is one of Europe’s top beneficiaries of ERC funding, which supports more than 100 grants across all four faculties of the College over the past decade. Earlier this year, Imperial hosted the 10th anniversary celebrations for the ERC, where it showcased research projects supported by the grants.