CPHC Statement on UK withdrawal from the European Union

Before last week’s referendum, commentators expressed serious concerns about the impact of the UK withdrawal from the EU, and the inevitable uncertainty leading up to it, on the UK's academic and industrial computer science sectors. CPHC believes it is vital that withdrawal negotiations are based on the best possible information about the current state of the various sectors and what is at stake under various options. The withdrawal of the UK from the Union could have a potentially profound impact on UK Computer Science education, research and industry. CPHC recognises that the referendum was the first step in a potential withdrawal from the EU, and that many discussions, decisions and negotiations are required before any exit is complete, indeed before Article 50 is even invoked. We aim to contribute to the information that will form the basis of any discussions and below we provide an overview of the potential impact of UK withdrawal, issues to be considered in any post-exit plan, and issues to consider in withdrawal negotiations.

Potential Impact:  The UK technology sector could be significantly affected by the withdrawal. A number of international companies have explicitly located R&D bases in the UK. It is entirely feasible that we could see these companies move facilities to elsewhere in Europe; reversing such moves would be very difficult once enacted.  The UK HE system relies heavily on students from the EU (but outside of the UK). This provides a rich educational experience for all students, including those from the UK. After withdrawal it is likely that we will see significant reductions in the number of students studying Computer Science in the UK. Equally, the opportunity for people from the UK, whether enrolled at a UK HEI or not, to study within the EU will also be diminished.  UK Computer Science will have issues in retaining and recruiting academic and research staff.  It is possible that there will be a withdrawal of European Union funding for UK research, in an area where the UK wins more than the government contributes.

Issues to be considered in the UK post-exit plan:  How will we continue to make the UK an attractive base for the R&D of international companies to ensure the UK remains an innovator in technology, building on recent improved perceptions of the value of technology?  How will we ensure that we have the ability to attract and retain outstanding international educators and researchers?  How will the financial and experiential impact on UK Computer Science Education, caused by reductions in non-UK EU students, be managed?  How can we ensure the availability of funding from the UK Government to cover the removal of or reduction in EU research funding, to prevent the UK falling behind in Computer Science Research?

Issues for negotiation on UK withdrawal:  The UK is able to recruit the brightest talent to maintain its position as a leading hub for technology R&D and Computer Science Education and Research.  The UK is still able to participate in EU research funding, in a manner similar to Norway.  The UK is able to effectively undertake collaborative research and teaching through ease of movement of scholars and students, on short and medium term visits.

Professor Carsten Maple, Chair of the Council of Professors and Heads of Computing and Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering, WMG, University of Warwick Supported by:

Professor Carsten Maple University of Warwick Professor James Davenport University of Bath Professor José Fiadeiro Royal Holloway, University of London Professor Tom Crick Cardiff Metropolitan University Professor Nik Bessis Edge Hill University Professor Ross Anderson University of Cambridge Professor Ann Copestake University of Cambridge Professor Leslie Smith University of Stirling Professor Glynn Winskel University of Cambridge Professor George Spanoudakis City University London Professor Jawed Siddiqi Sheffield Hallam University Professor Steve Schneider University of Surrey Professor Greg Michaelson Heriott-Watt University Professor Wiebe van der Hoek University of Liverpool Professor Helen Petrie University of York Professor Tim Norman University of Aberdeen Professor Girijesh Prasad Ulster University Professor Ian Allison University of the West of Scotland Professor Paul Krause University of Surrey Professor Reyer Zwiggelaar University of Aberystwyth Professor David Hutchison Lancaster University Professor Ian Wakeman University of Sussex Sally Smith Edinburgh NapierUniversity Professor John Shawe-Taylor University College London Dr Nick Savage University of Portsmouth Professor Susan Stepney University of York Professor Patrik Holt Robert Gordon University Professor Sally Fincher University of Kent Professor Bernd Stahl De Montfort University Professor Faron Moller Swansea University Professor Oliver Lemon Heriott-Watt University Professor Anil Seth University of Sussex Professor Susan Eisenbach Imperial College London Professor Francesca Toni Imperial College London Professor Nobuko Yoshida Imperial College London Professor Alessio Lomuscio Imperial College London Professor Bashar Nuseibeh The Open University Professor Berc Rustem Imperial College London Professor Sophia Drossopoulou Imperial College London Professor Simon Thompson University of Kent Professor John Carroll University of Sussex Professor Rachel Harrison Oxford Brookes University Dr David England Liverpool John Moores University Professor Austin Tate University of Edinburgh Professor Jie Xu University of Leeds Professor Phil Husbands University of Sussex Professor Shirley Williams University of Reading Professor Qi Wang University of the West of Scotland Professor m.c. schraefel University of Southampton Professor Edmund Robinson Queen Mary University of London Professor Mike Paterson University of Warwick Professor Plamen Angelov Lancaster University Professor Gordon Blair Lancaster University Dr Stuart Allen Cardiff University Professor Geoff Coulson Lancaster University Professor Zhiguo Ding Lancaster University Professor Adrian Friday Lancaster University Professor Harold Thimbleby Swansea University Professor Hans Gellersen Lancaster University Professor Qiang Ni Lancaster University Professor Utz Roedig Lancaster University Professor Jon Whittle Lancaster University Professor Katie Atkinson University of Liverpool Professor Pete Sawyer Lancaster University Professor Michael Kölling University of Kent Professor Keshav Dahal University of the West of Scotland Tracy Lewis Staffordshire University Professor Garik Markarian Lancaster University Professor Dariusz Kowalski University of Liverpool Professor Awais Rashid Lancaster University Professor Weiru Liu Queen’s University Belfast Professor Phil Trinder University of Glasgow Professor Rob Procter University of Warwick Professor Mike Fraser University of Bristol Professor David Pym University College London Professor Vic Grout Glyndwr University Professor Niloy Mitra University College London Professor Daniel Kral University of Warwick Professor John Derrick University of Sheffield Dr Scott Turner University of Northampton Professor Eric Goodyer De Montfort University Professor Ian Nabney Aston University Dr Nigel Crook Oxford Brookes University Professor Mark Zwolinski University of Southampton Professor Roger Whitaker Cardiff University Professor Perdita Stevens University of Edinburgh Professor Marcos Rodrigues Sheffield Hallam University Professor Netta Cohen University of Leeds Professor Julie McCann Imperial College London Professor Vasilis Katos Bournemouth University Professor Alex Lascarides University of Edinburgh Professor Peter Hall University of Bath Professor Grigoris Antoniou University of Huddersfield Professor Tom Thomson University of Manchester Dr Danni Novakovic University of West London Professor Mark Handley University College London Professor Francisco Chiclana De Montfort University Professor Abdennour El Rhalibi Liverpool John Moores University Professor Ian Gent University of St Andrews Professor Kenny Mitchell Edinburgh Napier University Raymond Farmer Coventry University Dr Saad Mansoor Bangor University Professor William Buchanan Edinburgh Napier University Professor Shengchao Qin Teesside University Professor Ann Blandford University College London Professor Vladimiro Sassone University of Southampton Professor Annalu Waller OBE University of Dundee Professor Maribel Fernandez King’s College London Professor Richard McClatchey University of the West of England Professor James Marshall University of Sheffield Professor Peter Andras Keele University Professor Stephen McKenna University of Dundee Professor Carron Shankland University of Stirling Professor Helen Pain University of Edinburgh Professor Lachlan MacKinnon University of Greenwich Professor Marcus Kaiser Newcastle University Professor Eamonn O'Neill University of Bath Professor John Ffitch University of Bath Professor Robert Gaizauskas University of Sheffield Professor Hui Wang Ulster University Professor Pat Healey Queen Mary University of London Professor Amir Hussain University of Stirling Professor Ben Paechter Edinburgh Napier University Professor Richard Jones University of Kent Dr David Coward University of the West of England Dr Adam Sampson Abertay University Professor Robert Stevens University of Manchester Professor Adrian Johnstone Royal Holloway, University of London Professor David Bustard Ulster University Professor Guy Brown University of Sheffield Professor Haris Mouratidis University of Brighton Professor Tony Cohn University of Leeds Professor Alastair Irons University of Sunderland Professor Rajeev Raman University of Leicester Professor Dimitrios Nikolopoulos Queen’s University Belfast Professor Jane Hilston University of Edinburgh Professor Alexander Kurz University of Leicester Professor Danny Crookes Queen's University Belfast Dr Rob Aspin University of Salford Professor Ebroul Izquierdo Queen Mary University of London Professor Reinhold Behringer Leeds Beckett University Professor Yaochu Jin University of Surrey Professor Shengxiang Yang De Montfort University Professor Sabah Jassim University of Buckingham Professor Balbir Barn Middlesex University Dr Keith Burley Sheffield Hallam University Professor Sunil Vadera University of Salford Professor Jon Crowcroft University of Cambridge Professor Philip Wadler University of Edinburgh Professor Stephen Furber University of Manchester Professor David Chadwick University of Kent Professor Maciej Koutny Newcastle University Professor Shushma Patel London South Bank University Professor David Elizondo De Montfort University Professor Duska Rosenberg De Montfort University Professor Frank Wang University of Kent Professor Saleem Bhatti University of St Andrews Dr Giuseppe Di Fatta University of Reading Professor Jonathan Rowe University of Birmingham Professor Chris Williams University of Edinburgh Professor Alan Burns University of York Professor Rick Thomas University of Leicester Professor Reiko Heckel University of Leicester Professor Geraint Wiggins Queen Mary University of London Professor Andrew Ireland Heriott-Watt University Professor Chrisina Jayne Robert Gordon University Dr Iain Phillips Loughborough University Professor Laurence Paulson University of Cambridge Professor Marian Petre The Open University Professor Tony Pridmore University of Nottingham Dr Rupert Ward University of Huddersfield Professor Anthony Ho University of Surrey Professor George Coghill University of Aberdeen Dr John Taylor University of Brighton Professor Richard Mitchell University of Reading Dr Bernard Tiddeman Aberystwyth University Professor Richard Clayton University of Sheffield Professor Malcolm Atkinson University of Edinburgh Professor Andrew Martin University of Oxford Professor William Wong Middlesex University Professor Michael Fourman University of Edinburgh Professor Luca Viganò Kings College London Professor Steve Furnell Plymouth University Dr Colin Johnson University of Kent Professor Jessie Kennedy Edinburgh Napier University Dr James Shuttleworth Coventry University Professor Jean Bacon University of Cambridge Professor Jim Miles University of Manchester Professor Muffy Calder University of Glasgow Professor Simon Rogerson De Montfort University Professor Keith Miller Manchester Metropolitan University Professor Luc Moreau University of Southampton Dr Wamberto Vasconcelos University of Aberdeen Professor Leonid Libkin University of Edinburgh Professor Angelo Cangelosi Plymouth University Professor Peter Buneman University of Edinburgh Professor Michael Zakharyaschev Birkbeck, University of London Dr Atif Waraich Manchester Metropolitan Professor Bev Littlewood City University London Professor David Duce Oxford Brookes University Professor Tim Ellis Kingston University Professor Ella Pereira Edge Hill University Professor Rebecca Strachan Northumbria University Professor Daniel Alexander University College London Professor Aad van Moorsel University of Newcastle Dr Helen Treharne University of Surrey Professor Kaspar Althoefer Queen Mary University of London Professor Xiaohong Gao Middlesex University Professor Morris Sloman Imperial College London Professor Atulya Nagar Liverpool Hope University Professor Christian Huyck Middlesex University Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier University of Essex Professor Andrew Ware University of South Wales Professor Martin Shepperd Brunel University Professor Alan Bundy University of Edinburgh Dr Hugh Shanahan Royal Holloway, University of London Professor John Arnott University of Dundee Professor Tom Anderson Newcastle University Professor John MacIntyre University of Sunderland Professor Nigel Smart University of Bristol Professor David Arnold University of Brighton Professor Stephen Jarvis University of Warwick Professor Jim Smith University of the West of England Professor Stevan Harnad University of Southampton Professor Mark Ryan University of Birmingham Dr Matthew Hague Royal Holloway, University of London Professor David Brailsford University of Nottingham Dr Gregory Chockler Royal Holloway, University of London Professor John Howse University of Brighton Professor Michael O' Boyle University of Edinburgh Professor Chris Hankin Imperial College London Professor Anthony Atkins Staffordshire University Professor Martyn Amos Manchester Metropolitan University Professor Alexandra Poulovassilis Birkbeck, University of London Professor Emanuele Trucco University of Dundee Professor Thomas Nowotny University of Sussex Professor Donald Sannella University of Edinburgh Professor Tony Atkins Staffordshire University Professor Liz Bacon University of Greenwich Professor Wolfgang Faber University of Huddersfield Dr Andrew Crampton University of Huddersfield Professor Thomas Leo McCluskey University of Huddersfield Professor Anthony Hunter University College London Professor Thomas Connolly University of the West of Scotland Professor Colin Pattinson Leeds Beckett University Professor Maribel Fernandez King’s College London Professor Emma Hart Edinburgh Napier University Professor Seth Bullock University of Bristol Professor Daniel Rueckert Imperial College London Professor Angela Sasse University College London Professor Bob Coecke University of Oxford