Research Councils UK have released a statement of their position on international collaboration post the EU Referendum (6 July 2016).
The statement is a robust assertion of RCUK’s commitment to enabling and facilitating UK research collaboration across Europe and the rest of the world and its determination to work with Government to ensure that the UK is well placed to maintain its place as a leading research nation. It also states RCUK’s commitment to supporting researchers and students from EU nations currently working in the UK and its advocacy of the value of researcher mobility.
RCUK will continue to work to ensure that UK researchers have access to leading research infrastructure and facilities wherever they are located in the world and confirms that the UK’s participation in major European partnerships that are not part of EU institutions (e.g. CERN, ESO, ESA) will not be affected by the Referendum decision.
In the immediate term, whilst the UK remains a full member of the EU, RCUK encourages researchers to apply for European funding schemes as normal and asserts that the Research Councils will honour existing commitments and obligations through EU funded programmes.
The RCUK’s statement can be found in full at: