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26 January 2018 / Simon Boyes , Matthew Homewood
Issue: 7778 / Categories: Features , Brexit
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The post-Brexit brain drain

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How will Brexit affect the flow of EU students to UK universities? Matthew Homewood & Simon Boyes share their predictions

With EU leaders agreeing in December to move to the critical second phase of Brexit negotiations, it is notable how few column inches have been devoted to the impact of a Brexit deal on the free movement of students to the UK.

Student finance

UK universities make a significant contribution to the UK economy. Indeed, a recent study for Universities UK by Oxford Economics reported that, once student expenditure is included, UK universities generate some £95 billion for the country’s economy and support more than 940,000 jobs (see 'Education post-Brexit', NLJ, 26 January 2018).

Non-UK EU students are an important contributor to this, with data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) showing that such students accounted for some 5.5% (127,440) of the 2.3 million student enrolments at UK institutions in 2015/16. Figures presented in January 2017 to the Commons educations select committee showed a 7% fall in applications

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