Southampton Solent to face HUGE cuts after Brexit

The Times Higher Education has revealed Southampton Solent University will face enormous cuts post-Brexit as they depend on EU funding for more than 90% of their research income.

After Britain voted to leave the EU on Thursday, cash flow from the EU is expected to stop in the near future – meaning Southampton Solent will have no way of funding the vast majority of research conducted by its staff.

At the moment, the UK is the second largest beneficiary of EU research grants, behind Germany. Whilst Norway and Switzerland, non-EU members, still benefit from the EU fund, they take a much smaller amount – £2.5 billion collectively in the last decade.

On Friday, Southampton Solent’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Graham Baldwin, said he was “naturally very disappointed at a decision which will have future implications for UK universities.” but reassured students that “any future changes will not happen overnight, and that the sector’s participation in EU programmes and the immigration status of current and prospective EU students and staff will not see any change for some time to come”.

The survival of Southampton Solent and the 17 other universities which depend on the EU for more than half of their research funding depends on whether the post-Brexit government would cover the fallout.

Britain gives around £8billion to the EU’s research funds each year – this would need to be reinvested in UK research order to avoid catastrophic cuts to Southampton Solent and other universities.