"The Speech", Europe and Higher Education

Today I will be working on a European Research Bid, discuss my own research into EU funded student mobility and, hopefully, plan a trip to Finland or Lithuania.

Don't get me wrong, I'll also be working on UK based projects and looking at a break in the UK but my life is dominated by Europe. Those that say we should move away from the EU and look towards America, should look at my list of projects. I have one from an American funder compared to 9 within the EU. And, to be frank, the USA's processes are slow and unwelcoming. In Higher Education, certainly at the moment, our eyes are turned towards "Europe".

And what worries me about The Prime Minister's speech and, particularly, his intention to give the people of the UK a vote on the EU is that the media and, thus, the public in general do not see the extent our lives are positively affected by the EU.

Cameron may need to hold his party together but the image this gives off to my colleagues in other European institutions is that Britain is not committed to the EU which affects the work I can do for my University.

This announcement has also brought an element of political instability with it. I thought the general election campaign might wait until after the party conferences this autumn. This divides the coalition & starts the fight now. With fixed term parliaments, we see that election campaigns start half way through a term, as has always been the case with, say, the US Presidentials.

Five years ago the world economic crisis was just starting. Today, five years of European debate starts. For Higher Education, this continues the time we are coping with changes beyond our control. Universities play a central role in the European project. Please allow British ones to continue doing that.