AUSTRALIA-UNITED KINGDOM

Universities push for deeper ties post-Brexit

University leaders in Australia and the United Kingdom have taken first steps towards expanding higher education and research collaboration ahead of Brexit, holding high-level talks in London, writes Natalie Marsh for The PIE News.

On 25 May, vice-chancellors from both countries, the Australian High Commissioner to the UK Alexander Downer, and representatives from Universities UK, Universities UK International and Universities Scotland, met to put plans in motion for strengthening ties and identifying priorities for the sectors to work together.

“The focus for a number of vice-chancellors is really developing a very strong new energy in terms of our international collaboration as a whole,” said Richard Williams, principal and vice-chancellor of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. The discussions, he added, are based on “the recognition that there’s great comparability in terms of the quality of the university provisions, the investment there’s been in research infrastructure, and of course a very long-standing collaboration in terms of academic staff and professional services”.
Full report on The PIE News site