Launch of RIA Brexit Taskforce

This meeting was chaired by the Academy’s Secretary for Policy and International Relations, who said:

Higher education and research are key drivers for future growth and prosperity on the island of Ireland. The Free movement of researchers and students, and a deep network of research collaboration and cooperation characterise the higher education sector, north and south, east and west. The UK’s exit from the EU poses significant challenges in all of these domains.

As an all-island body, the Royal Irish Academy not only represents a closely intertwined academic community (north and south), it works closely with UK partners such as the British Academy, the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and engages, on Ireland’s behalf, with a variety of global and academic research networks.

The Royal Irish Academy therefore has a critical role to play in representing the entire academic community on the island, as we begin to grapple with the various implications of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

I am delighted therefore, to chair the inaugural meeting of the Royal Irish Academy’s high-level Brexit Taskforce. This Taskforce will perform a signal service to policymakers across the island, by providing evidence-based and solution-focused contributions to inform their understanding of the needs of higher education and research and the pathways to a successful post-Brexit outcome for the sector on both parts of the island.

The RIA Brexit Taskforce will consider how the higher education sector can best address the implications of the UK’s exit from the EU and identify sector strategic priorities for Ireland’s Brexit negotiators. The Taskforce is divided into two working groups (chaired by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer and Professor Gerry McKenna) to consider the implications of Brexit on the Irish and Northern Irish higher education systems.  The Taskforce is due to report by June 2017.

To learn more about the work of the RIA’s Brexit Taskforce and to review relevant Brexit related outputs, statements and submissions, please click here