Brexit: Irish Higher Education and Brexit

Royal Irish Academy Brexit Taskforce

Royal Irish Academy is Ireland's leading body of experts in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It represents Irish scholarship and research internationally and works closely with global academic and research networks including the British Academy, the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Higher education and research are key drivers for future growth and prosperity on the island of Ireland. 'The UK's exit from the European Union raises questions as to the long-term consequences for European co-operation in research generally, but particularly so for Ireland (North and South) and Britain, given our historic and mutually beneficial traditions of academic and research mobility, collaboration and co-operation. Following the UK withdrawal from the EU, the Royal Irish Academy, as-all island body, will be unique in representing an academic community which straddles the EU land border.

In response to this the Academy has established a high-level Brexit Taskforce to consider how the higher education sector can best address the implications of the UK’s exit from the EU and identify potential sector strategic priorities for Ireland’s Brexit negotiators.  The Taskforce is divided into two working groups to consider the implications of Brexit on the Irish and Northern Irish higher education systems. The taskforce will deliver an agreed action plan which will consider how the higher education sectors in Ireland and Northern Ireland can best address the implications of the UK’s exit from the EU.