UK leaves the European Union on 31 January
30 Jan 2020
Updates and message from President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Nancy Rothwell
The UK will leave the European Union on Friday 31 January at 11pm though there is now a period until the end of 2020 when many aspects of the withdrawal will need to be negotiated and agreed.
I appreciate that the withdrawal itself, and ongoing uncertainty is very unsettling for many of our staff and students.
I can assure you that The University of Manchester is, and will remain, not just a UK, but also a truly global, university. We greatly value the intellectual and cultural contribution that EU students, members of staff and partners make to our international community and we will do all we can to maintain these important partnerships.
We are doing our utmost to influence securing the best conditions for our EU staff and students, maintaining membership of key European research programmes and Erasmus+ and strengthening our partnerships with EU organisations.
Our people, our values and our global influence are core components of our new strategic plan and will continue to guide the University in its future activity and outlook.
Nancy Rothwell
President and Vice-Chancellor
Further support for staff
The University will continue to help colleagues from the EU who wish to take part in the Government’s EU Settlement Scheme. Please contact hrservices@manchester.ac.uk if you require any support or have any questions. We have also published information on StaffNet.
Information for students
We are committed to maintain a welcome place for our valued EU students, both now and in the future. The latest information is updated regularly on our international study pages.
Information from Universities UK
We will also continue to provide colleagues with updates as they become available. Below are some recent messages from Universities UK International, covering research, Erasmus and opportunities to take part in a webinar. Other information will be posted on our EU website as it becomes available.
Update: Horizon 2020 and research in the transition period
UKRI has posted a news item on their website confirming that their no-deal preparations for Horizon 2020 funding have been wound down. This is in anticipation of the start of the transition period that will last until 31 December 2020.
The transition period ensures that there will no change as far as UK participation in Horizon 2020 is concerned; all existing UK participants will continue to receive funding from the European Commission for the full duration of funded projects (including those which run beyond 31 December 2020), current funding applications will continue to be evaluated by the Commission, and UK researchers can continue to submit applications to Horizon 2020 calls.
As per the UKRI announcement, it is possible that UK researchers will be required to leave a small number of security-related projects which are only open to EU Member States.
Update: Letter of clarification to EU partners
In light of the recent developments on Erasmus+ in Parliament, there continues to be confusion, particularly amongst some EU partners, as to what the General Election outcome, Withdrawal Agreement Bill and the failed amendment in Parliament all means. The EUA has published a briefing paper on the subject.
Event: Webinar on The Withdrawal Agreement and the transition period. What does it all mean for higher education and research? - 12 February 2020
On Wednesday, 12 February 2020 from 1.30 – 2.30 pm (GMT), UUKi in collaboration with in collaboration with the UK Science and Innovation Network and UKRO will discuss what the Withdrawal Agreement Bill and the transition period effectively mean for the UK and European higher education and research sectors. For more information and to register, please do so on the UUKi website.
Reminder: European Universities Initiative UK participation
Included in the 2020 Erasmus+ call for proposals is the second call for the European Universities Initiative’s pilot phase, funded under Key Action 2. The budget stands at €120 million for the funding of 24 new alliances eligible to all Erasmus+ Programme countries; €5 million to each successful alliance. The pilot phase aims to ultimately test how viable this scheme for its future wider implementation. More information on the scheme can be found on the European Commission website.