Wittenborg Chair Peter Birdsall Interviewed by MBA Channel on Brexit

Given WUAS’ close ties with Great Britain, its chair of the executive board, Peter Birdsall, was recently interviewed by the MBA Channel about the consequences of Brexit for the education sector.

Birdsall remains optimistic that a compromise will be found that would allow for the free movement of people, goods and services, though he expects the EU to be wary in awarding research funding to projects involving UK partners in the future. He cited the Norwegian model as an example that might prevent too much damage emanating from Brexit.

Though Wittenborg is situated in the Netherlands, it has a long-standing partnership with the University of Brighton in the UK – making it the perfect example of cross-border higher education. In practical terms this means British lecturers regularly fly over to the Netherlands throughout the year to teach classes and some Wittenborg students have the option to spend part of their study period in the UK. These students also receive a double degree upon graduation

“If there is no compromise, then the UK could suffer a tremendous setback and higher education would bear the brunt of the issues caused by the clampdown on immigration, international student fees for EU students and a complete withdrawal of EU funding for research,” Birdsall told the MBA channel.

The full interview can be read here.

WUP 21/7/2016

by Anesca Smith
©WUAS Press