The Impact of Brexit on the Relations of UK Universities with East Asia

Abstract

This chapter discusses the impact of Brexit, the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, on UK universities’ relations with East Asia. Following the referendum in June 2016, the UK Government has developed a series of policies in response to Brexit while the negotiations between the UK and EU are still ongoing. This chapter assesses the likely impact of these policies on UK universities’ main activities, namely student recruitment and student and staff mobility, research funding, recognition of qualifications and transnational education (TNE) activities/operations, in particular in East Asia. The findings suggest that Brexit will have a positive and indirect impact on UK universities’ relations with East Asia, in particular with the People’s Republic of China, in terms of student recruitment and student and staff mobility, research collaboration, including funding and TNE activities/operations. Brexit will not have an impact on the mutual recognition of academic and professional qualification between the UK and East Asian countries. This chapter also identifies a number of factors that influence UK universities’ relations with East Asia that are not related to Brexit, but to more general economic, social, political and cultural trends. The most important of these factors are the ongoing trade war between the United States and China and the COVID-19 pandemic, which affect the number of students from East Asia in the UK, and a growing competition from East Asian universities.