tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/eu-research-29978/articlesEU research – The Conversation2023-09-20T15:34:27Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2134752023-09-20T15:34:27Z2023-09-20T15:34:27ZThe UK re-joining the Horizon research funding scheme benefits Europe too – the data backs it up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549329/original/file-20230920-29-d80p8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C6934%2C4637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/male-scientist-analyzes-studies-research-organic-2237778033">Amorn Suriyan / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK has <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-rejoins-eus-horizon-science-scheme/">just rejoined</a> the EU’s flagship research funding programmes, Horizon Europe and Copernicus. This is great news for science, the EU and the UK. </p>
<p>The reasons are simple: science progresses through the individual efforts of scholars and through <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048733398000547">international cooperative research</a>. The latter process involves different scientific institutions and organisations working towards common goals on a variety of different projects. </p>
<p>Science has never really been confined to what we define today as national borders. The life path of the astronomer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicolaus-Copernicus">Nicolaus Copernicus</a>, provides a good example of this.</p>
<p>Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland, in 1473. After studying in Krakow, in his home country, he moved south, studying in the Italian cities of Rome and Padua. He ended up with a doctorate in canon law <a href="https://www.unife.it/en/unife-world/history">from the University of Ferrara</a>, also in Italy. </p>
<p>Afterwards, Copernicus moved back to Poland to further his studies. Here, he developed a model of the universe with the Sun at the centre, replacing the traditional model where the Earth was central. His <a href="https://www.pas.rochester.edu/%7Eblackman/ast104/copernican9.html">“Copernican model”</a> helped kick off the scientific revolution.</p>
<p>When the ability of researchers to work across borders is limited, <a href="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/frozen-out-of-horizon-europe-swiss-science-feels-the-pinch/4015987.article">science suffers</a>. For this reason, Brexit has damaged the UK in terms of retaining European scholars. Some of the evidence comes from research using data on citations – the number of times a given scientific work has been mentioned in the literature by other researchers. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2022-019.pdf">A study</a> led by Ebru Sanliturk at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany, which I participated in, showed that, in the three years following Brexit, scholars who originated in the EU almost doubled their likelihood of leaving the UK. On the other hand, researchers originally from the UK have become more likely to stay in their home country or move back from the EU to the UK.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="European Commission in Brussels." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549357/original/file-20230920-27-j8xen6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549357/original/file-20230920-27-j8xen6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549357/original/file-20230920-27-j8xen6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549357/original/file-20230920-27-j8xen6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549357/original/file-20230920-27-j8xen6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549357/original/file-20230920-27-j8xen6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549357/original/file-20230920-27-j8xen6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Horizon Europe deal gives UK scientists access to the world’s largest research collaboration programme.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/eu-flags-front-european-commission-brussels-162128453">Symbiot / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Why is this the case? One of the key EU funding agencies is the <a href="https://erc.europa.eu/homepage">European Research Council (ERC)</a>. It does something unusual: it funds research projects led by a scientist who is then free to change institution after the grant has been awarded. </p>
<p><a href="https://dashboard.tech.ec.europa.eu/qs_digit_dashboard_mt/public/sense/app/afe00964-3272-45c4-b60c-b64ed20d98d1/sheet/61a0bd1d-cd6d-4ac8-8b55-80d8661e44c0/state/analysis">ERC data shows that</a>, since 2007, 98 UK institutions have been awarded 2,397 projects and a total of more than four million euros. Put another way, the UK took 16% of all projects and total ERC funding. </p>
<p>The ERC has large individual grants: <a href="https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/starting-grant">between 1.5</a> and <a href="https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/advanced-grant">2.5 million euros</a> per project. It has contributed to raising the stakes in European science, and being awarded an ERC grant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/apr/25/brexit-row-threatens-250m-in-uk-research-funding-from-eu">has become a badge of honour</a> for principal investigators – the scientists who lead research projects. </p>
<p>Moreover, <a href="https://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/erc-glance">12 ERC awardees</a> have received a Nobel Prize. The UK has benefited too, by attracting principal investigators from <a href="https://dashboard.tech.ec.europa.eu/qs_digit_dashboard_mt/public/sense/app/afe00964-3272-45c4-b60c-b64ed20d98d1/sheet/61a0bd1d-cd6d-4ac8-8b55-80d8661e44c0/state/analysis">59 different nationalities</a>.</p>
<h2>International networks</h2>
<p>In many scientific areas, Europe has a comparative advantage when it pools resources and minds. Networks of scholars and institutions make discoveries, push forward our knowledge and transform scientific findings into applications.</p>
<p>So EU institutions and scholars can significantly gain from interacting with UK-based scholars and institutions. The UK undoubtedly houses the top institutions in Europe in many fields. If we take the <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2024?&page=1">general top 20 ranking of universities</a> from the company QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), four UK institutions are included, one from Switzerland and none from the EU.</p>
<p>Research infrastructure – the facilities, equipment and tools used for science – are <a href="https://www.esfri.eu/esfri-events/esfri-20years-conference">fundamental to enabling discoveries</a>. Some of them are viable only by investing a large amount of money and resources. </p>
<p>In some cases, no single country in Europe can afford the infrastructure needed – one example is the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/07/05/how-much-does-it-cost-to-find-a-higgs-boson/">Large Hadron Collider at Cern</a>. The more members there are, the easier it is to spread the costs of such projects.</p>
<p>Another example is Copernicus, an <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Europe_s_Copernicus_programme">EU-funded Earth observation programme</a> using satellites to monitor the health of our planet. It provides open data, with everybody able to access it in real time – which is particularly useful in cases of environmental emergencies. As part of its deal to join Horizon Europe as an associate member, the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_23_4373">UK will become part of Copernicus</a>.</p>
<p>However, the UK has not negotiated an <a href="https://www.esfri.eu/people/delegates">associate membership of ESFRI</a>, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures. ESFRI projects, such as the <a href="https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/">European Social Survey</a> and the <a href="https://share-eric.eu/">Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe</a>, provide important scientific insights. These translate into social and economic policy assessments by comparing results across countries – effectively using Europe as a natural laboratory. </p>
<p>So, there are potential wins and losses to everyone involved from the particular way the new deal has been negotiated between the EU and UK.</p>
<h2>Prospects for the future</h2>
<p>Some 17 countries are associate members of Horizon Europe, including science powerhouse Israel (which is a per capita <a href="https://dashboard.tech.ec.europa.eu/qs_digit_dashboard_mt/public/sense/app/afe00964-3272-45c4-b60c-b64ed20d98d1/sheet/61a0bd1d-cd6d-4ac8-8b55-80d8661e44c0/state/analysis">leader in receiving ERC research grants</a>), and major players such as Norway, as well as countries with large populations like Turkey and Ukraine. Switzerland, on the other hand, <a href="https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/sbfi/en/home/research-and-innovation/international-cooperation-r-and-i/eu-framework-programmes-for-research/horizon-europe.html">does not have associate member status</a> with Horizon Europe, but does collaborate with other research teams in Europe using other sources of funding.</p>
<p>Whether the UK’s relationship with the EU on science will evolve towards a strong and stable partnership model similar to the one of Israel or Norway, or towards a more ad hoc one like Switzerland’s, is hard to foresee. </p>
<p>If science and impact are key, a complementary, strong and stable partnership is in the interests of both the UK, the EU and other countries with associate membership of Horizon Europe. This can make us cautiously optimistic about the future for all parties.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francesco Billari received funding from the European Research Council, Horizon Europe, and the Economic and Social Research Council (UK). </span></em></p>Science works better when barriers to collaboration are removed, say experts.Francesco Billari, Professor of Demography, Bocconi UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1964732023-03-22T12:39:31Z2023-03-22T12:39:31ZBuilding better brain collaboration online – despite scientific squabbles, the decade-long Human Brain Project brought measurable success to neuroscience collaboration<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515898/original/file-20230316-1755-h1n8e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2101%2C1427&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bringing scientific research online can help improve collaboration to a degree. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/image-of-people-walking-in-a-high-speed-data-space-royalty-free-image/1349695388">Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent years have seen both impressive <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3578">advances in computational technologies and neuroscience</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00395-3">increasing prevalence of mental disorders</a>. These forces sparked the launch of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4371">brain science initiatives</a> worldwide. In the past decade, a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-brain-race-can-giant-computers-map-the-mind-12342">brain race</a>” between Europe, <a href="https://theconversation.com/illuminating-the-brain-one-neuron-and-synapse-at-a-time-5-essential-reads-about-how-researchers-are-using-new-tools-to-map-its-structure-and-function-187607">the U.S.</a>, Israel, Japan and China has taken off with the goal of <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/the-science-of-big-science">understanding human brain function</a>.</p>
<p>One of the earliest brain initiatives was the 10-year, 1 billion-euro (US$1.33 billion in 2013) <a href="https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/about/overview/">Human Brain Project</a>, which launched in 2013 as a flagship science initiative of the European Commission’s <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181222034306/https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/fet-flagships">Future and Emerging Technologies program</a>. The project <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqMpGrM5ECo">initially sought</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2011.12.015">simulate the entire human brain</a> in a supercomputer within a decade, continuing the work its founder, neuroscientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=W3lyJF8AAAAJ&hl=en">Henry Markram</a>, started with his 2005 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1848">Blue Brain Project</a>. Not only did it seek to digitize the brain, but research and laboratory work were also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2011.12.015">designed to be completely digital</a>, with researchers distributed across Europe.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LS3wMC2BpxU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The initial goal of the Human Brain Project was to simulate the entire human brain in a supercomputer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>However, the project was rife with controversy among neuroscientists worldwide. It <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/482456a">faced skepticism</a> before it even started and gathered <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/513027a">heated criticism</a> and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-human-brain-project-went-wrong-and-how-to-fix-it/">debate</a> once funded. After over 800 neuroscientists worldwide <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160621075754/http://neurofuture.eu/">signed an open letter</a> calling for a revamp of the program, it was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/511133a">completely reorganized</a> in 2015. From then on, its aim was to develop a European digital research infrastructure to advance brain science and create “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.046">brain-inspired information technology</a>.”</p>
<p>Now, 10 years later, the project is coming to a close. It remains an open question whether it achieved its goals.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.lucyxiaoluwang.com/">We are</a> <a href="https://www.ip.mpg.de/en/persons/kreyer-ann-christin.html">economists</a> who study how <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=M0QlVjcAAAAJ&hl=en">digital infrastructure</a> can help scientists collaborate in challenging times. Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">recently published research</a> found that while the Human Brain Project experienced major changes in its structure and goals, it was able to promote collaboration through its online forum. </p>
<h2>Evolving research focuses</h2>
<p>The project was composed of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.046">scientists from various disciplines</a>, including neuroscience, computer science, physics, informatics and mathematics. More than 500 scientists and engineers at over 120 research institutions across Europe and beyond have <a href="https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/about-hbp/human-brain-project-ebrains/">engaged in HBP research activities</a>.</p>
<p>Although many neuroscientists view <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.03.027">brain network simulation</a> as an important step to advance brain science, many others criticized the project’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2015.18704">initial focus on computer simulations</a>. Scientists argued that simulations will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/07/human-brain-project-researchers-threaten-boycott">never be enough</a> to explain the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/511125a">function of the entire brain</a> without complementary experiments on animals or tissues. Some viewed the program as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/513027a">an IT project</a> rather than one on neuroscience. Others worried that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/513027a">other important research areas</a> would be neglected. Combined with perceived <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-human-brain-project-went-wrong-and-how-to-fix-it/">lack of transparency</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/513027a">mismatch between</a> the size of its task, time frame and setup, the reorganization the open letter called for was inevitable.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Timeline of Human Brain Project milestones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Human Brain Project aimed to achieve ambitious milestones despite major restructuring and controversy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">Lucy Xiaolu Wang and Ann-Christin Kreyer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>After revamping, the project dropped its original goal of complete brain simulation to focus on advancing brain sciences with computational science. </p>
<p>The project also started hosting supercomputer-powered online research platforms <a href="https://wiki.ebrains.eu/bin/view/Collabs/the-collaboratory/">on the Collaboratory</a> for researchers to virtually collaborate in 2016. This infrastructure enabled the development of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.046">advanced software and complex brain simulations</a> by providing cloud-based platforms for collaboration and data storage, as well as data analytics, supercomputers and modeling tools. </p>
<p>In 2018, the platform host transitioned from the project to <a href="https://ebrains.eu/">EBRAINS</a> as an upgraded and permanent version powered by new E.U. neuroscience supercomputing centers. EBRAINS is intended to serve as the backbone for a pan-European online neuroscience research platform after the project ends. Through EBRAINS, the project’s research data, models, tools and results <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.118973">will be made accessible</a> for further research.</p>
<h2>The HBP online forum</h2>
<p>To complement the research platforms, the <a href="https://forum.humanbrainproject.eu/">Human Brain Project Forum</a> was launched in July 2015 to facilitate informal collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Users discussed both project-related activities and broad neuroscience programming challenges on this public forum. All topics and discussions could be viewed freely online, and anyone could make an account to post a question or comment on an existing thread. Opening the forum to the public was intended to facilitate the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.046">exchange of results and expertise</a> with outside researchers to help achieve the project’s ambitious goals.</p>
<p>We wanted to know if the forum succeeded in its goal of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">connecting researchers</a> both within and beyond the project community. To answer this question, we examined patterns of user interaction and problem-solving on the forum from when it opened in July 2015 through March 2021. We measured user interaction by collecting data on all posted questions and replies, linked with available user information on the site or via public search. To analyze what factors facilitated collaborative problem-solving, we examined the solution status of the questions and users within each thread. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram of Human Brain Project research focus areas and structure" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The structure of the Human Brain Project platforms and the online forum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">Lucy Xiaolu Wang and Ann-Christin Kreyer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>We found that the average interaction within each posted thread is comparable to <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/">Stack Overflow</a>, a popular Q&A website for programmers. On average, each Human Brain Project forum thread <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">received 3.7 replies</a> compared with <a href="https://data.stackexchange.com/stackoverflow/query/50588/minimum-maximum-and-average-number-of-answers-per-post">1.47 replies per question</a> on Stack Overflow. Despite a drop in usage during early 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, forum use rose substantially in late 2020 and early 2021.</p>
<p>Questions about programming related to the project’s core research areas gathered more attention, active discussion and faster resolution. While questions that attracted users from many countries are discussed more actively, they took longer to resolve. Problems with administrator support were solved faster overall. Patterns of online interaction did not significantly differ by project affiliation status, gender or seniority level. </p>
<p>Overall, the forum appeared to be an inclusive online community that fostered collaboration.</p>
<h2>Digitizing the life sciences</h2>
<p>There is a need to partially digitize the traditionally more laboratory-based life sciences. The U.S. Department of Energy highlighted this need when it created the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/national-virtual-biotechnology-laboratory-unites-doe-labs-against-covid-19">National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory</a> in 2020, a consortium of national laboratories that uses supercomputer facilities to help scientists coordinate a united response against the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>But digitization doesn’t guarantee successful collaboration. While Europe’s Human Brain Project began with one specific goal that soon fell apart with controversy and disagreement, the ongoing U.S. <a href="https://braininitiative.nih.gov/">Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative</a> had no single vision. Following a more traditional research approach, multiple teams <a href="https://theconversation.com/illuminating-the-brain-one-neuron-and-synapse-at-a-time-5-essential-reads-about-how-researchers-are-using-new-tools-to-map-its-structure-and-function-187607">work independently on various topics</a>. The BRAIN Initiative had received <a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BRAIN_Initiative_Technical_Summary_Flyer_508C.pdf">over $3 billion in funding by 2022</a> – three times the amount for the Human Brain Project.</p>
<p>While the long-term impact of the project may not be fully understood, the <a href="https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/summit-2023/">Human Brain Project Summit 2023</a> from March 28 to 31 is set to provide a venue for open discussion with the broader community on what the HBP has achieved. Institutional support for neuroscience research can yield tremendous returns, but it remains unclear how to best design scientific organizations and use digitization in the process. We believe studying the science of science research could help achieve the collaboration and shared goals these initiatives seek.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The European Union’s 10-year Human Brain Project is coming to a close. Whether this controversial 1 billion-euro project achieved its aims is unclear, but its online forum did foster collaboration.Lucy Xiaolu Wang, Assistant Professor, Resource Economics Dept., UMass AmherstAnn-Christin Kreyer, Ph.D. Candidate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and CompetitionLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1222762019-09-06T12:16:54Z2019-09-06T12:16:54ZHorizon Europe: the EU plans to spend €100 billion on research – here’s how to get the most from it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291089/original/file-20190905-175705-8zhoha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/illustration-european-union-long-shadow-flag-289194734?src=-1-5">Blablo101/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine that you could decide how to invest €10 billion in research projects. Now imagine that you have to make this decision not once, but every year for the next decade. This is effectively what the EU needs to do in preparation for its <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05105-0">next programme</a> of funding for research and innovation, known as <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe-next-research-and-innovation-framework-programme_en">“Horizon Europe”</a>, which will cover €100 billion of investments from 2021 until 2027.</p>
<p>What could seem like a dream job for those who simply want to find and support some of the world’s best research is actually a daunting game of political negotiation. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01566-z">EU politicians disagree</a> on whether to solely promote excellence or to use the funds to compensate existing imbalances in Europe’s research. </p>
<p>But there’s also another factor at play. As the EU research budget has grown (up from €3.8 billion for <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31983Y0804(01)">1984-1987</a> to the €100 billion for 2021-27), so has the pressure for the investment to produce greater economic and social benefit. The European commissioner for research, science and innovation, Carlos Moedas, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/commission-invest-eu11-billion-new-solutions-societal-challenges-and-drive-innovation-led-sustainable-growth-2019-jul-02_en">recently said that</a> “for every €100 invested, we expect to add €850 to the European GDP by 2030”. Yet the evidence on the impact of innovation programmes is subject to <a href="https://whatworksgrowth.org/policy-reviews/innovation/evidence-review">extensive debate</a>.</p>
<p>Horizon Europe actually represents <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/R_%26_D_expenditure#Gross_domestic_expenditure_on_R_.26_D">just about 5% of the EU’s total spend on research and development</a> when you include all national public and private investment. This means how the money is allocated will have to be spot on if the EU really expects it to have a significant effect on GDP growth and productivity. So how can we get the most from this investment?</p>
<p>First, you don’t just have to give money directly to researchers to improve the impact of R&D. <a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/jep.33.3.163">Recent research</a> shows that relaxing immigration rules or broadening STEM education access might have a stronger long-term effect on innovation and economic growth than direct public funding.</p>
<h2>Collaborative projects</h2>
<p>Second, we could change the way that publicly funded researchers work with the private sector. Most public innovation programmes focus on funding collaborative projects between <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733312002235">firms and universities</a>.</p>
<p>This assumes companies can combine their market knowledge with the advanced research of academics to accelerate innovation. It also allows companies to explore high-risk innovation without it threatening their future operations, and helps researchers better understand the problems that actually matter to the marketplace. </p>
<p>The problem is that <a href="https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/00d78651-a037-11e8-99ee-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-77975709">research shows</a> these types of project aren’t actually that good at bringing scientific research to market, helping innovative small businesses grow or accelerating the high-tech transformation of the economy.</p>
<p>The EU hopes to address this problem by focusing part of Horizon Europe on narrower, more specific outcomes. This so-called “<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/designing-next-research-and-innovation-framework-programme/mission-oriented-policy-horizon-europe_en">mission-oriented</a>” strategy will receive up to 10% (or about €5 billion) of the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/research_and_innovation/strategy_on_research_and_innovation/presentations/horizon_europe_en_investing_to_shape_our_future.pdf">overall budget</a> for global challenges and industry competitiveness. </p>
<p>This plan mimics some of the assumptions behind the UK’s <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/publications/2019/may/mission-oriented-uk-industrial-strategy">recent industrial strategy</a> in that it tries to align research efforts towards specific goals. A model for this is the UN <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, which include eliminating poverty, improving health and education and generating clean, affordable energy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291091/original/file-20190905-175700-f18dwz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291091/original/file-20190905-175700-f18dwz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291091/original/file-20190905-175700-f18dwz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291091/original/file-20190905-175700-f18dwz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291091/original/file-20190905-175700-f18dwz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291091/original/file-20190905-175700-f18dwz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291091/original/file-20190905-175700-f18dwz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Researchers and business need new ways to work together.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/electronics-engineer-businesswoman-shake-hands-conference-1297774399?src=-1-22">Air Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For this to work, we will need to see changes in the way universities and industry work together. It means that researchers will, in many cases, have to shift their current research trajectories. For example, a nanotechnology researcher might have to increase attention to how their nanostructures could contribute to healthier oceans or energy-efficient cities, in line with society’s current big challenges.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20180518&&from=f">A recent study</a> of medical research shows that it might cost over €3m for a scientist to redirect their attention in this way. The decision to enter a new research field depends on the similarity to what the researcher is already doing. The more radical the change, the bigger the threat that the switching researcher will be less competitive than those already in that application area and so won’t win the available grant.</p>
<p>The shift to mission-based funding will also mean that firms will have to be more open to engaging with universities. <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MD-11-2018-1182/full/html">My own recent study</a> shows that this can take more than tax subsidies or generous grants. We need to encourage firms to reconsider who they engage in their innovation efforts. For example, I found that just being invited to get to know researchers and become familiar with a university’s activities can be a first step for a company to take part in a joint research project.</p>
<p>While it will be important to target specific goals, <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amp.2017.0206">a bigger change</a> in how we think about science innovation policy could better justify spending €100 billion on research. It may just be that to trigger more unexpected and disruptive innovations, firms and universities <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/what-are-we-learning-policy-experiments-increase-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">need more support</a> to be open to experimentation and to potential failures. In the end, why should we expect different results if we insist on doing the same things?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122276/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ferran Giones receives funding from the Innovation Growth Lab (IGL).</span></em></p>The EU’s next research programme needs to change how universities and business work together.Ferran Giones, Assistant Professor in Technology Entrepreneurship, University of Southern DenmarkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/786872017-06-22T13:35:19Z2017-06-22T13:35:19ZHow European academics are feeling about life in Britain a year after Brexit vote<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174984/original/file-20170621-30227-enjc2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Worrying times. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">via shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“I remember very distinctly the morning when the final counting was done,” recalled Joaquín de Navascués Melero. “My wife and I – she is also Spanish and she doesn’t have a British passport – we were sitting in the kitchen after breakfast and saying, ‘well which country do we go to now’?” </p>
<p>For de Navascués Melero, a research fellow in stem cell biology at Cardiff University who has worked in the UK for nine years, the vote for Brexit came as a shock. Since then his life in the UK has been characterised by uncertainty and a heightened consciousness of his own “alienness”. He told me that for him “the most straining point is not knowing how the social situation is going to evolve: We are already seeing an increase in hate crime – that is all very worrying.”</p>
<p>As an academic from another EU country – though he also has a British passport – de Navascués Melero’s experience is not unique. In an <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/great-escape-boltholes-for-academics-fleeing-brexit-and-trump">online survey</a> published by the Times Higher Education magazine in March, academics cited the hostile climate generated by the rhetoric around Brexit and a related sense of “diminished psychological safety” as the main reason for considering leaving the UK. The future rights for EU citizens were also a key concern. Of the 131 who responded, 53% said they were actively looking to leave the UK, while 88% indicated they were more likely to consider doing so in the medium to long term. </p>
<p>In a separate <a href="https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/8584/Academics-survey-shows-little-support-for-HE-Bill-amid-Brexit-brain-drain-fears">YouGov survey</a> for the University and College Union (UCU) published in January, three-quarters (76%) of EU academics indicated that they were more likely to consider leaving the UK as a result of Brexit. A <a href="http://sruk.org.uk/documents/brexit/brexit_declaration_en.pdf">survey</a> by the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK found that 43% of their members would consider leaving.</p>
<p>Attracting and retaining academics from other EU countries is one of the major issues facing the university sector after Brexit – fears have been raised of a potential “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-39693954?SThisFB">brain drain</a>”. The latest indications point to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/03/brexit-universities-academics-eu-rights?CMP=share_btn_fb">a rise</a> in EU academics leaving British universities.</p>
<p>There are three key reasons for this, which were highlighted by representatives of the university sector in <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/education-committee/the-impact-of-exiting-the-european-union-on-higher-education/written/42873.html">evidence</a> to a recent House of Commons <a href="https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmeduc/683/68302.htm">select committee inquiry</a>. First, the uncertainty over future status and rights of EU nationals in the UK for both staff and their dependants. Second, uncertainty over future access to EU research funding and, third, the perception that the UK is becoming a less welcoming place for people from abroad. </p>
<p>In order to understand more about the impact of the Brexit vote, I spoke with three fellow academics who, like me, come from another EU country: <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gianluca-demartini-151886">Gianluca Demartini</a> from Italy, a data scientist at the University of Sheffield who has worked in the UK for three years, <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/monica-giulietti-105007">Monica Giulietti</a> also from Italy, an economist at Loughborough University who has worked in the UK for 23 years and the aforementioned <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joaquin-de-navascues-155980">Joaquín de Navascués Melero</a> from Spain. I asked them to share their personal experiences of how the result of the EU referendum has affected them. Their stories highlight the issues raised by the university sector and provide insight into the personal impact of the climate in the UK since the referendum – and the shift in social status of people from other EU countries living in Britain.</p>
<h2>It’s personal</h2>
<p>“All of a sudden the world has changed,” de Navascués Melero told me. “You may not perceive it all the time, but it’s there … you are more conscious of your alienness after Brexit.” </p>
<p>But the daily experience at university has not changed, as Giulietti, the Italian economist, emphasised: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the kind of environment where we work, we are certainly privileged that there is a sense of being valuable. There is an international environment where it is just normal to have people of all different nationalities. You are respected for your role and no one questions your nationality. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>All the academics I spoke to said they felt valued by their universities. The concern is with what is going on outside this “bubble”. Nationalist and anti-immigration rhetoric in public debate and media coverage has generated a sense of an increasingly alienating climate for those now categorised under a broad label of “EU migrants” and “<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-bill-lord-tebbit-right-eu-nationals-foreigners-comments-a7606456.html">foreigners</a>”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174987/original/file-20170621-27026-1odyja3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174987/original/file-20170621-27026-1odyja3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174987/original/file-20170621-27026-1odyja3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174987/original/file-20170621-27026-1odyja3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174987/original/file-20170621-27026-1odyja3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174987/original/file-20170621-27026-1odyja3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174987/original/file-20170621-27026-1odyja3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Life can be less friendly outside the university bubble.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">via shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While it is often stated that EU migrants are valued for their contribution to society, the use of these terms define them as outsiders. This form of <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0011392100048003003">social categorisation</a> can have a significant impact on people’s lives and sense of belonging. As the anthropologist Fredrik Barth (1969) argued in his <a href="http://www.waveland.com/browse.php?t=165">seminal work on ethnic relations</a>, distinctions between people that emerge at the societal level, whether based on nationality, ethnicity or religion, have implications for everyday social interactions.</p>
<p>“It made me feel more different,” Giulietti told me. “Whereas in the past I never had to think about it, I was just a person doing a job and bringing up a family.” In the wake of the Brexit vote she “started questioning things, questioning whether I belong” – even within her British family. She found this feeling, and the new sense of vulnerability that came with it, very surprising. </p>
<p>“I’m a self-confident person,” Giulietti explained, “I don’t easily feel vulnerable, I know I can defend myself in any situation”. But now she feels “more vulnerable” than she has ever been. “Despite the fact that … as a rational person, I know that there is nothing dangerous, there is nothing really to worry about, but things are different.”</p>
<p>Demartini, the data scientist, talked about how he could feel this where he lives – a small town outside Sheffield. He said that when talking to people in the shop for instance, “you get questions, people asking when I’m going to be leaving and this sort of thing. It has happened to me and it has happened to a lot of my colleagues”. </p>
<p>De Navascués Melero said people in the Spanish community had started wondering if they could speak freely in Spanish to their children. “We do, we haven’t changed that, but we look around, just in case,” he said. Other European academics <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/03/07/abused-in-the-street-invited-to-a-brexit-bbq-the-limbo-of-being-german-in-the-uk/">have spoken</a> about being abused in the street for speaking German.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Giulietti raised a different, but related reaction: “The argument everyone makes is: it’s not about you, it’s about the others.” But as she says, there may be another family just down the road telling another European person it’s not about you. “So it could be about me. It depends on who is looking.” </p>
<h2>Cosmopolitan to the core</h2>
<p>The sense of alienation potentially produced by such a climate can change the way you see yourself in relation to society. Until last year, Giulietti was a member of a panel of technical experts for a government department. She was in the process of interviewing for the same role for the following year, but decided to pull out. This was in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37561035">the aftermath of statements</a> by the home secretary, Amber Rudd, at the Conservative Party conference in October 2016 about further curbs on immigration and proposals such as companies having to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/05/amber-rudd-defends-proposal-to-make-firms-reveal-foreign-staff-numbers">publish the number of international staff they employ</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had been mulling over it because of the rhetoric about foreign workers generally. Basically this idea that all of a sudden people are no longer welcome. Useful members of society, who have been contributing, are no longer relevant. Why would I want to help make decisions for a society where I’m no longer considered a fully functioning member. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Statements by leading Brexiteers such as Michael Gove that the country had had <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3be49734-29cb-11e6-83e4-abc22d5d108c?mhq5j=e3">enough of experts</a> contributed to this feeling. She said: “As an intellectual, as an expert, you are not allowed to talk. Yes, the experts should be challenged, but they should not be kept quiet.”</p>
<p>The Leave campaign and the debate in parts of <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/05/16/acrimonious-and-divisive-the-role-the-media-played-in-brexit/">the media</a> was also rife with strong appeals to patriotism. “The concept that seems to be underpinning that rhetoric is difficult to accept,” said Giulietti. “This idea that you have to be attached to the place where you were born.” </p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2010.00298.x/full">Research</a> has shown that migrating career professionals from a range of occupational groups often identify with some sense of being “citizens of the world”. <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726717714042">My own research</a> shows that those who develop such a cosmopolitan identity have a strong preference for social environments that are open, diverse and international and tend to feel alienated when the opposite is the case. They embrace the idea of transcending national attachments, but this does not mean they are rootless. They also maintain their national identities as part of a broader cosmopolitan sense of community. </p>
<p>As Giulietti put it: “I see myself as Italian, European, part of a bigger picture than what is being proposed here.” She feels that, in the current climate, the message seems to be that there is something wrong with what she was trying to achieve by going elsewhere to seek opportunities. </p>
<p>De Navascués Melero also emphasised that he is attached to Spain, but not that strongly. “I’m Spanish the same way I’m a man or heterosexual or white – it’s an accident of birth. I build my identity through what I do, not what was bestowed upon me.” As a result of this personal stance he said he found it “uncomfortable to be in a country where identity is something that goes with the accent, with the colour of your skin and with your culture”. He added: “I may be over-dramatic, but unfortunately that is something that is happening worldwide, it’s not just in the UK.”</p>
<h2>Will I stay or will I go?</h2>
<p>Demartini has decided to leave. He is in the process of moving to Australia where he has accepted a new position. He told me that the decision was a complex one.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m not saying that I’m leaving because of Brexit, that would be too strong a statement, but out of many reasons this is one as well. The plan was to stay for a longer period of time. So things have changed. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>De Navascués Melero is staying for now but hinted that his longer-term intention might also change. “We will see how things evolve.” Putting things into perspective, he said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If we were going through this in Spain, for instance, my immediate reaction would be to leave the country as soon as I would have a professional opportunity – and in that sense I feel the same in Britain. So if things become too untenable and this is a society that turns its back on reason, I would just leave. I’m not going to subject my family to that. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>For Giulietti, who has a British husband and two daughters, leaving is not on the cards – although she has started to wonder whether this is an environment where she wants to work. Whereas before she would not have thought about moving back to the continent, she now considers it a possibility. “To be honest for many of us there are other opportunities in more fulfilling environments, so I started doubting whether I did want to continue. Certainly, I decided I didn’t want to work for the government.”</p>
<p>The life and career choices of highly skilled migrants tend to be closely associated with the characteristics of the social and organisational environments where they live and work. The professionals who participated in <a href="http://arro.anglia.ac.uk/701781/">my research study</a> actively sought environments that were culturally diverse, international and where cosmopolitan values of openness, tolerance and mutual respect were collectively upheld. </p>
<h2>Citizens’ rights and research funding</h2>
<p>Uncertainty related to future immigration status and rights is also a significant part of the issue – although the impact of this varies depending on individual circumstances. Giulietti decided to apply for permanent residency, but was rejected in the first instance – a relatively common <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/27/rejections-eu-citizens-seeking-uk-residency">occurrence</a>. Along with the extent of the bureaucratic burden, the process can end up feeling like <a href="https://twitter.com/MazzucatoM/status/862927050214080512">an insult</a> as <a href="https://colinrtalbot.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/brexit-and-eu-academics-in-the-uk-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do/">other academics</a> have highlighted. This further contributes to the perception of the UK as an unwelcoming place. </p>
<p>Successful in her second attempt, Giulietti is now in a position to be able to apply for British citizenship. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I feel in the short term it has to be done. I think in light of the fact that I don’t know what is coming around the corner – what if I’m diagnosed with an illness, what if I had to retire? I think it’s better to address it while at least I know what the rules of the game are. Yes, they are likely to sort it out, but it could be in a way that is even more difficult or complicated for all we know. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are other factors influencing the career choices of academics, particularly <a href="https://theconversation.com/brexit-the-aftermath-for-universities-and-students-61698">access to EU research funding</a> and collaboration, which Brexit has also made uncertain. “If it becomes difficult for the things we need to do in order to have a career, a meaningful, successful career, then I could question the professional choices and also become more open-minded about alternative options,” said Giulietti, who described to me how an EU funding application she was involved in with partners in other European countries collapsed after the Brexit vote. Other scientists have described being <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jul/12/uk-scientists-dropped-from-eu-projects-because-of-post-brexit-funding-fears">dropped</a> from research collaborations and <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/how-brexit-is-changing-the-lives-of-eight-researchers-1.21714?WT.feed_name=subjects_research-management#/scaife">hesitations</a> about applying for EU funding proposals.</p>
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<p>University leaders have called for science and research <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39900509">to be prioritised</a> in Brexit negotiations – in terms of future rights of EU staff and students, access to EU research funding and ensuring that Brexit does not result in barriers to research collaboration. </p>
<p>In a speech in March, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michael Barnier, <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-17-723_en.htm">emphasised</a> the top priority of citizen’s rights on both sides and also indicated the importance of research collaboration. The government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/589191/The_United_Kingdoms_exit_from_and_partnership_with_the_EU_Web.pdf">Brexit white paper</a> set out similar priorities. It also stated that “we will remain an open and tolerant country, and one that recognises the valuable contribution migrants make to our society.” </p>
<h2>An open society?</h2>
<p>While citizens’ rights and the framework for research collaboration are concrete matters for Brexit negotiators, if Britain wants to remain an open and welcoming country, politicians need to take action. Future immigration law and policy should move away from the government’s current <a href="https://www.freemovement.org.uk/hostile-environment-affect/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hostile-environment-affect">hostile environment for migrants</a> and the singular focus on <a href="https://theconversation.com/cut-immigration-and-the-uks-economic-prospects-will-just-get-worse-heres-why-78379">cutting immigration numbers</a>. More also needs to be done to prevent discrimination as well as hate speech and hate crime. And there would need to be a change in rhetoric on immigration and less focus on playing politics with identity. </p>
<p>Brexit will influence the rights, social status, identity, family life and careers of millions of people whose life is intertwined with free movement. The big question is how. For some EU citizens in Britain, the shift in social status brought about by the Brexit vote and the rhetoric around it is profoundly unsettling. It goes to the core of subtle but fundamental matters of belonging, particularly for those who have, perhaps for decades, been fully integrated members of British society.</p>
<p>My own experience echoes much of what the academics I spoke to shared. What I felt that day after the Brexit vote was a sense of loss. Free movement and the rights that come with it has fundamentally shaped my life. Because of it I was able to study, build a career, make a life and a family across several European countries. My British husband is also set to lose his EU citizen rights. For us, this is about what it means to live a life that transcends national borders. Freedom of movement makes it possible in a way that is unique. As a European family we cherish this more than we realised. </p>
<p>Now in light of another unexpected election result, the political debate on Brexit seems to be opening up and shifting. It is becoming even less clear what Brexit will mean and <a href="https://theconversation.com/britains-brexit-options-a-refresh-79364?sr=3">other models</a> are again being discussed. I feel a glimmer of hope, not just for openness and tolerance, but also – however far-fetched – for the preservation of freedom of movement for generations to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78687/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Irene Skovgaard-Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When the political becomes personal.Irene Skovgaard-Smith, Senior lecturer, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/713742017-01-23T09:24:42Z2017-01-23T09:24:42ZWhat the government’s plans for a hard Brexit mean for the UK’s universities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153600/original/image-20170120-5260-15e3y07.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The University of Cambridge is expecting a fall in applications from EU students.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Azeira/Wikipedia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Theresa May’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/theresa-may-confirms-itll-be-a-hard-brexit-heres-what-that-means-for-trade-71417">confirmation that Brexit means leaving the single market</a> has been met with anxiety in many UK universities. The sector <a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2014/the-impact-of-universities-on-the-uk-economy.pdf">currently contributes</a> £73 billion annually to the economy (2.8% of GDP), 757,000 jobs (2.7% of the labour market) and brings £10.7bn in export earnings. Less than half of univerities’ income is from public sources. Graduate unemployment is half that of non-graduates and salaries are 43% higher among graduates.</p>
<p>The government says EU students will continue to study in UK universities, with no impact on loan eligibility or fees. But, of course, that’s only true while the UK remains an EU member. The position after Brexit “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/02/brexit-theresa-may-prioritises-immigration-curbs-over-free-movement">depends on negotiations</a>”. But <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/dec/08/brexit-could-see-eu-student-numbers-nose-dive-cambridge-warns">it has been reported</a> that the Russell Group of research-intensive universities has concerns about EU students and staff – the University of Cambridge has said it has had a 17% drop in EU student applications for 2017 and is modelling for a two-thirds fall in future years.</p>
<p>The EU programme <a href="https://erasmusplus.org.uk/statistics-0">Erasmus+</a> – which supports student and staff mobility and training throughout Europe and beyond – has supported 86,585 individuals and 2,775 projects to the value of €354m between 2014-16. UK participation will not suffer immediate impact, but this will change after Brexit. The vice-chancellors’ group, Universities UK, is demanding continued access – but without financial contributions this is unlikely. Losing Erasmus+ access would dramatically reduce staff and student mobility, including participation in work placements abroad.</p>
<h2>Research after Brexit</h2>
<p>The impact on research is likely to be equally severe. While the UK remains a member of the EU, access to the European Commission’s €80bn funding programme <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/">Horizon 2020</a> is in theory unaffected. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-read-theresa-mays-brexit-speech-71359">In her speech on January 17</a>, May said she would welcome agreement to continue to collaborate with the UK’s European partners on major science, research and technology initiatives.</p>
<p>But funding from Horizon2020 will not be available to the UK without it making contributions to the budget – and these stop on the day the country leaves the EU. Even if access is secured, the UK will have to pay all the costs of its participation. Moreover, there is no guarantee that UK engagement can or will continue. The government has <a href="https://theconversation.com/autumn-statement-2016-experts-respond-69304">guaranteed support for existing projects up to 2020</a>, but thereafter there is only uncertainty. The government has not even formally triggered the exit process yet many academics already <a href="https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/8584/Academics-survey-shows-little-support-for-HE-Bill-amid-Brexit-brain-drain-fears?utm_source=lyr-ucu-members&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=members&utm_term=__all-he-members&utm_content=UCU+update:+Brexit+and+the+Higher+Education+Bill">report difficulties</a> for bids involving UK partners. </p>
<p>The Royal Society says the UK received <a href="https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/uk-research-and-european-union/role-of-EU-in-funding-UK-research/how-much-funding-does-uk-get-in-comparison-with-other-countries/">€6.94bn from Framework Programme Seven</a> – the predecessor to Horizon 2020 – during 2007-13, making it the second-highest recipient. This income, combined with structural funding, amounts to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/02/brexit-theresa-may-prioritises-immigration-curbs-over-free-movement">€8.8bn of the total €107bn</a>. UK-based researchers also receive by far the greatest amount of funding of any nation from the European Research Council and the Marie Curie Fellows Association.</p>
<p>The impact on staffing may also be dramatic if universities cannot easily hire staff from the from the European Economic Area (EU members plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) after Brexit. Currently 14% of senior lecturers are non-UK members of the EEA and a further 10% are from outside the EEA.</p>
<p>Worryingly, <a href="https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/8584/Academics-survey-shows-little-support-for-HE-Bill-amid-Brexit-brain-drain-fears?utm_source=lyr-ucu-members&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=members&utm_term=__all-he-members&utm_content=UCU+update:+Brexit+and+the+Higher+Education+Bill">a survey from the University and College Union</a> (which represents staff at UK institutions), published on January 9, highlights this insecurity. As many as 42% of respondents reported that they were considering leaving the UK – with some blaming reduced access to research funding. Almost half said “they know of academics who have lost access to research funding as a direct result of the Brexit vote”. And Irish universities <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/02/brexit-theresa-may-prioritises-immigration-curbs-over-free-movement">are already attracting UK-based researchers</a> worried about funding or their status after Brexit. Clearly, the confirmation that UK is leaving the single market is not going to make the situation any better.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153603/original/image-20170120-5260-1407lf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153603/original/image-20170120-5260-1407lf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153603/original/image-20170120-5260-1407lf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153603/original/image-20170120-5260-1407lf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153603/original/image-20170120-5260-1407lf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153603/original/image-20170120-5260-1407lf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153603/original/image-20170120-5260-1407lf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Will universities be able to attract the talent they need?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">dannyman/Wikipedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, the Higher Education Policy Institute, a think tank, has reported that the Home Office is also considering further restrictions on overseas student visas, which <a href="https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/uk/politics/2017/1/Crackdown-on-overseas-students-may-cost--2bn-a-year.html">it claims could cost the UK £2bn a year</a> in lost revenue. </p>
<h2>The road ahead</h2>
<p>So where to from here? The vice-chancellors’ group demands that the government maintains and builds international research collaboration in UK universities and wants guarantees that the UK remains attractive to talent. In what may be wishful thinking, the group has also said that <a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/brexit/Pages/policies-post-exit.aspx">there may be post-Brexit opportunities</a> for continued engagement in collaborative international research projects if government support is strong – suggesting universities can thrive outside the EU.</p>
<p>There is some reason for optimism. The prime minister announced an Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund with an extra <a href="https://theconversation.com/autumn-statement-2016-experts-respond-69304">£2bn of R&D investment per year up to 2020</a>. This was subsequently confirmed in the autumn statement in which the chancellor also promised £400m through the British Business Bank to support venture capital and new incentives for investment. </p>
<p>But, of course, none of this allays the acute anxiety in the sector. What is needed is a more assertive approach from UK universities’ leadership. They need to be outspoken in reminding the public, industry and politicians of the risks from Brexit. They must stress universities’ direct and indirect contribution locally and nationally – and particularly that of non-UK staff and students. Damage to research threatens the UK’s industrial base and the reputation of the country’s world class universities. </p>
<p>Going forward in this uncertain climate, UK universities need to enhance trans-institutional partnerships and links with industries. Currently <a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/blog/Pages/What-the-Autumn-Statment-means-for-universities.aspx">76% of all UK publicly funded research is in universities</a>. Yet this isn’t without risks. Increased reliance on industry may privilege STEM subjects and applied research – blue-sky research is less appealing to investors wanting a quick return. Companies will also want ownership of research findings.</p>
<p>Research collaboration with continental universities should also be developed. Universities such as Nottingham, Liverpool and Coventry are already engaged in distance learning or overseas campus operations, but this is not everyone’s choice. There is no substitute for the diverse international appeal of most UK campuses. </p>
<p>Researchers and other staff in the UK’s universities did not expect the hard Brexit that now seems probable. If quitting the single market leads to reduced access to EU funding, reduced opportunities for collaborative research as well as difficulty in attracting students and staff from EEA countries, the impact on universities will be severe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71374/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Sweeney does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is no guarantee that the UK can or will continue to be part of the €80 billion EU research funding programme Horizon2020.Simon Sweeney, Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy and Business, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/633582016-08-08T09:57:41Z2016-08-08T09:57:41ZOnly by keeping close ties with Europe can UK research remain globally competitive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133222/original/image-20160805-496-1dhtokn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Clinging on for now. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">romantitov/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The best ideas do not respect national boundaries. Great research and scholarship has always relied on cross-border interactions. Rivalries, such as that between <a href="https://www.math.rutgers.edu/courses/436/Honors02/newton.html">Newton and Leibnitz</a> over the invention of calculus, and collaborations, such as those <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-european-union-can-learn-from-cern-about-international-co-operation-56456">at the CERN</a> project in Switzerland involve people from different nations working on common problems. Since at least the philosopher <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/duns-scotus/">John Duns Scotus</a> in the 13th century, the mobility of scholars has been a major channel of progress. </p>
<p>The UK’s vote to leave the EU on June 23 poses a challenge to this status quo. The UK will now have to work hard at exploring new ways of belonging in Europe, because in recent decades, EU mobility, collaboration and funding has lain at the heart of the country’s global research excellence.</p>
<h2>Looking elsewhere</h2>
<p>The referendum result leaves researchers with acute uncertainty about the commitment of the UK to maintain the open environment in which the best research can take place and into which the best researchers are recruited. Unlike many countries, the UK’s recruitment procedures are very open and focused on attracting talent, rather than simply favouring success in a national competition. Many fine people have been able to build whole careers here. </p>
<p>So the uncertainty over the status of non-UK nationals from the EU and European Economic Area is especially disquieting. They <a href="https://royalsociety.org/%7E/media/policy/projects/eu-uk-funding/phase-2/EU-role-in-international-research-collaboration-and-researcher-mobility.pdf">make up 16% of academic staff</a> in UK universities and in certain departments it is far more: more than 50% of professors in <a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk/economics/people/facultyA-Z.aspx">LSE’s economics department</a> for example.</p>
<p>We know of and have heard of colleagues who are being offered jobs elsewhere in Europe, and we know of prospective job candidates who have turned down positions in the UK since the referendum. At this early stage it is difficult to say whether the humanities and social sciences are more affected than other disciplines in this way but the mood music in the community is very uncertain. </p>
<p>The UK is not <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-summer-when-working-in-a-british-university-lost-its-global-appeal-63431">as attractive a place </a>for researchers as it was before the referendum. This may be just an initial shock and it may all die down, but on the other hand a reputation once lost is very hard to regain. We have many competitors overseas and the best people move to the most flourishing environments to work. </p>
<p>The language used in the referendum against migrants was felt as a personal attack by many staff at all levels within the academic community, as well as by students. Facing such emotions, it is understandable that many may re-evaluate what they thought they knew about working in UK research.</p>
<h2>Cementing collaboration</h2>
<p>When it comes to collaboration, UK research is internationally competitive in part because it seeks out the best international partners: <a href="http://www.international.ac.uk/media/3749507/Digital_Research_Report_Collaboration.pdf">60% of our international collaborations</a> are with our EU partners, and in the EU’s Framework Programme 7, for 23 of the 27 member states, collaborations with UK-based researchers <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/fp7_monitoring_reports/7th_fp7_monitoring_report.pdf">ranked the highest</a> or second most frequent. </p>
<p>Since the referendum, our European partners are noticeably asking us to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jul/11/referendum-academic-research-universities-eu-students-brexit">stand aside as principal investigators</a> or <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-uk-leaves-the-eu-36719923">step out</a> of consortia bids entirely. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-on-higher-education-and-research-following-the-eu-referendum">government has said</a> that nothing has changed legally. This is true. But partners in the EU are evaluating their options. They may decide, from a “safety first” perspective, that collaborations with the UK come with too big a risk</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133079/original/image-20160804-493-vmjos8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133079/original/image-20160804-493-vmjos8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133079/original/image-20160804-493-vmjos8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133079/original/image-20160804-493-vmjos8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133079/original/image-20160804-493-vmjos8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133079/original/image-20160804-493-vmjos8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133079/original/image-20160804-493-vmjos8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Collaborations under threat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lightspring/www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One simple solution would be for the UK government to guarantee or underwrite every application to the EU’s <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/">flagship Horizon 2020</a> research programme from now until a new relationship with the EU is stabilised. This would mean promising to pay for research if European funding is withdrawn at a later stage. Legally, if nothing has changed, then the government ought to be happy to put its best foot forward in the short term, and thereafter, negotiate accordingly in order to support its world-leading research base. Here is a challenge that the government needs to meet squarely head on if it values national research excellence and its contribution to economic competitiveness and creativity.</p>
<h2>Funding at risk</h2>
<p>Until now, the UK has been very successful in gaining EU research funding. Such success should not be punished. In the humanities and social sciences, UK-based researchers have <a href="https://erc.europa.eu/projects-and-results/statistics">won a third</a> of all advanced grants and starting grants ever awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). This is an incredible achievement – a sign of established research excellence. </p>
<p>There is no UK equivalent of the ERC in terms of scope and size so what will happen if we leave the EU and cannot access funding streams such as Horizon 2020? The success and international standing of the humanities and social sciences needs to be protected. </p>
<p>From our rough calculations using data on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/422477/bis-10-1356-allocation-of-science-and-research-funding-2011-2015.pdf">past</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/505308/bis-16-160-allocation-science-research-funding-2016-17-2019-20.pdf">future</a> research allocations in the UK, and data sent to us by the ERC, the value of the awards won by UK-based researchers each year from 2007-15 from the ERC is equivalent to 23% of the annual budgets of Economic and Social Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council combined. It was around 8.5% for the life sciences and physical sciences and engineering. </p>
<p>As the government negotiates its new relationship with the EU, it should realise that until now the EU has provided resources that do not exist in the UK. These instruments may well need to be created anew in the UK. If that is the case, the government will need to take some clear and prominent steps to ensure the UK remains bound to and relevant to the global scholarly endeavour if it wants the country to remain attractive to researchers from around the world.</p>
<p>The challenge Britain now faces is one that raises risks for its purpose, identity and capability to compete internationally and remain relevant at home. Business as usual it cannot be. Of course, new international collaborations will be sought and nurtured by UK researchers and institutions. UK research will not remain paralysed after Brexit, but it does not make sense to walk away from the European interactions that have served us so well so far. </p>
<p><strong>This article was updated on August 8 to correct a currency discrepancy in the ERC funding percentages, which have now been amended.</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ash Amin has received funding in the past from the Economic and Social Research Council and he has been a member of the European Research Council Advanced Grant Panel. He is the Foreign Secretary & Vice President of the British Academy.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Bell receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. He is Chair of the British Academy’s Europe Working Group and the All European Academies Social Sciences and Humanities Working Group.</span></em></p>Brexit has put scholarly endeavour in Britain under a huge new strain.Ash Amin, 1931 Chair in Geography and Fellow of Christ's College, University of CambridgeJohn Bell, Professor of Law, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.