Brexit is short for "British Exit." After the whole world witnessed the June 23rd vote where British citizens expressed their intent to leave the European union, it sent a ripple around the world. The vote spills over to global markets, finance, and industries. In effect, it caused the British pound to fall to its lowest level in years.
And this also affects UK schools and universities. BBC reports that Britain's universities are looking at the European Union to hang on to their resources. Which means they might be looking at opening campuses in Europe to offset Brexit.
Higher education looks like it is going to be expensive more than ever. UK University chancellors and vice-chancellors are saying that there are financial implications coming from Brexit. UK universities are afraid of losing their students, school staff and even research and school funding because of Brexit.
Will Britain's schools be left empty? Maybe not. Some schools are looking at expanding their schools in Europe. It looks like they found a way to avoid the effects of Brexit.
The University of Kent for example has had a site in Brussels for two decades. It also has sites in Athens, Rome and Paris. These sites are recognized by relevant legal and educational authorities in each country and allow the university "to develop and foster connections that enable our students to gain important access to professional networks", said a University of Kent spokesman.
Other universities and colleges could be doing the same. UK universities are already losing research collaboration funding from their European partners. British universities receive millions of pounds each year in grants from the European Union.
While some schools like Oxford University have no intent to expand, they still worry about losing their staff to other countries. "Our academics might decide to leave if they're concerned that they may not be able to get their research funded in the future," says vice-chancellor Louise Richardson.
