This event is part of the School of Education's Bristol Conversations in Education research seminar series. These seminars are free and open to the public.

Hosted by: Centre for Higher Education Transformations (CHET)

Speaker: Dr Vassiliki Papatsiba (School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University)

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The repercussions of Brexit for the UK higher education sector continue to unfold. However, there seems to be a reluctance to engage in discussions regarding the wide-ranging effects and challenges that arise from this geopolitical event, as well as a difficulty in disentangling it from other relentless challenges that the sector has been facing in recent years. In this presentation, I will discuss some of the observable impacts, including the significant decline in EU student enrolments, the uncertainty surrounding access to EU research funding, the weakening appeal of UK institutions for EU researchers and academics, and the disruption of longstanding collaborative partnerships with EU institutions (Highman et al., 2023). In addition to these impacts, it is crucial to consider the emotions (Marginson, et al., 2020), perceptions, and use of figurative language that arise when discussing political evens such as Brexit. These all raise concerns about the perception of the UK higher education sector as a thriving global brand (Lomer et al., 2018).

While proponents of Brexit argued for the benefits of a ‘Global Britain’, this presentation critically examines perceptions of Brexit and its actual impact on UK universities, which largely favoured a pro-Remain stance (ICEF Monitor, 2016). With Brexit now a reality, it is crucial to examine not only its geopolitical and economic implications on universities but also the visions and sense of purpose that universities started to formulate for the post-Brexit era. To delve deeper into these issues, I will draw on an ESRC-funded research project involving 127 participants from twelve universities across the four nations of the UK in the lead-up to Brexit. The participants include institutional leaders, senior academics and administrators, student representatives, and governing body representatives. I will discuss how leaders within a sector vulnerable to Brexit have considered and confronted its implications on demography, quality, diversity, external connectedness, and evolving cultural identity. Despite the inevitability of Brexit, it remains unclear what, if anything, will replace the multifaceted EU links in terms of resources, activities, people, cultural immersion, and the sense of belonging within the global space. Of particular concern is the decrease in EU student numbers, which threatens the quality and diversity that UK universities take pride in as well as perceptions of an inward-looking UK with a weakened global standing. Additionally, I will present findings from a follow-up study that investigated the use of metaphors to gain a deeper understanding of participants' perceptions of the Brexit process and its effects on UK universities. By delving into these critical issues, this presentation contributes to a broader understanding of how UK universities are preparing to navigate the post-Brexit landscape and are striving to maintain a narrative of excellence and global prominence.

References:
- Highman, L., Marginson, S., and Papatsiba, V. (2023). Higher education and research: Multiple negative effects and no new opportunities after Brexit. Contemporary Social Science, 18(2), 216–234. DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2023.2192044
- ICEF Monitor (2016). UK universities lobby against a British exit from the EU. Available at https://monitor.icef.com/2016/03/uk-universities-lobby-against-a-british-exit-from-the-eu/ (1 Mar 2016).
- Lomer, S., Papatsiba, V., & Naidoo, R. (2018). Constructing a national higher education brand for the UK: Positional competition and promised capitals. Studies in Higher Education, 43(1), 134-153
-Marginson, S., Papatsiba, V., & Xu, X. (2020). Feeling the Brexit shock: European connectedness and the existential crisis in UK higher education. In C. Callender, W. Locke and S. Marginson (eds) Changing Higher Education for a Changing World. Bloomsbury, pp. 67–83.

About the speaker:

Vassiliki Papatsiba is a Reader in Social Sciences–Education at Cardiff University. Her research focuses on Political Sociology applied to international higher education, with three main areas of interest. Firstly, she examines internationalisation in higher education, academic mobility, and migration. Secondly, she investigates international research collaboration, global (in)equity, and public policies. Finally, she explores the role of universities in knowledge exchange with their international and local communities and networks. Throughout her career, Vassiliki has held various leadership roles and made significant contributions to the field. She served on the Steering Group of the Global Challenges in Higher Education and Research (GHEAR) at the World Universities Network (WUN) from 2018 to 2022. In 2021, she led the OECD's Country Review on Knowledge Exchange in Lithuanian Universities and Research Institutes. From 2018 to 2020, she was a member of the Research Management Committee of the ESRC/RE Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE). Additionally, she provided strategic direction for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Sheffield from 2017 to 2020. Vassiliki has also led significant research projects and received prestigious fellowships. She was the Principal Investigator of the EU-funded project “European Universities in Knowledge Societies: Collaboration and Networks in Research and Teaching” (EuKnow, 2009-2013). Furthermore, she held a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Intra-European Fellowship (EIF) at the University of Oxford from 2005 to 2008. She was a Co-Investigator in the ESRC funded “Brexit, Trade, Migration, and Higher Education” project (2017-2019), which received the Brexit Priority Project award ES/R000166/1.

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