Provost's View: Freedom of movement and academic excellence

Yesterday, the Times Higher Education released the

timeshighereducation.com/features/worlds-most-international-universities-2017" target="_self">results of the World's Most International Universities 2017, ranking universities according to the strength of their global connections, their cultural disposition to think beyond borders and their global reputation.

I was delighted to see that UCL came in at number nine in the ranking and that, in total, five British universities made the top 10 (the others were the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics).

It is just one more indication - if it were needed - of the excellence of UK higher education institutions, and how well we represent our country on the world stage. As Jo Johnson tweeted, it's a great national asset.

When you have spent your career in higher education, you know at first hand the level of commitment in all areas of university life that it takes to become truly global.

International research collaborations, students engaging with enthusiasm in intercultural and study abroad programmes, institutional level partnerships, staff and students who come from all corners of the world to form part of our community - these are just some of the requirements of a leading global university with a truly international outlook, and I'm proud to say that UCL exemplifies all of them.

UCL's own global activities and aspirations are encapsulated in our Global Engagement Strategy, to which so many of you contributed and which is a cornerstone of delivering UCL 2034, especially the sixth principal theme ('global impact'). 

As demonstrated by the quality of the universities ranking highly in the 'THE Most International Universities', excellence and internationalism are inextricably linked. Sharing education and ideas, improving the world through research, drawing on global intellectual expertise are a university's core functions.

Universities and Brexit

Small wonder, then, that the referendum vote to leave the European Union has caused considerable trepidation within UCL.

We're an international community, with staff and students from many countries across the world - 36% of our staff come from countries outside Britain, while 13% of our students and 20% of our staff were born in EU countries (excluding Britain).

With last night's vote in the Commons empowering Theresa May's government to trigger Article 50, we naturally have many concerns for our colleagues, our research partners, our friends - and about many aspects of life at this global university.

The creation and sharing of knowledge is a fundamentally international activity.

Issues that you have raised following the EU referendum vote have ranged from the need to safeguard the right of our international staff and students to live and work in the UK, through to questions about the future of our EU research funding.

Both in the run-up to the referendum and ever since its outcome, I have worked with media, UCL colleagues, ministers, MPs and peers in the wider HE sector to try to make the case for universities and to emphasise to the public and to government the critical importance of our continued close collaboration with the EU.

On 25 January, the House of Commons Education Select Committee held an oral evidence session at UCL as part of their enquiry The Impact of Exiting the European Union on Higher Education, to which UCL has already submitted written evidence.

As one of the witnesses to speak at the event, I was able to express how much UCL values its international staff and students and describe our redoubled commitment to nurture international partnerships and offer student mobility opportunities in EU countries and beyond.

In my capacity as a witness, I also added a plea to the government that I would like to repeat to you now. I said that a very important thing that could be done swiftly would be to agree the right to remain for existing EU staff and students in universities.

I was pleased to see that the Prime Minister included this issue fairly prominently in her recent speech and I challenged her to go one step further - to take a lead by indicating to European citizens working here in the UK that they will be allowed to stay and challenge the rest of Europe to reciprocate.

I hope that this is a message that is heard and acted upon with urgency, and I can assure you that I will take every opportunity to reiterate it.

Global concerns: President Trump and immigration

Forces of anti-globalisation are felt as keenly in the US, at present, as they are in the UK.

I want to touch briefly on the executive immigration order signed by President Donald Trump on 27 January, with respect to the order's potential impact on higher education and on our staff and students.

President Trump's order - which severely restricts immigration from seven Muslim countries, suspends all refugee admission for 120 days and bars all Syrian refugees indefinitely - has been called into question in terms of its legality, including under international human rights law.

Leaders of higher education institutions globally have denounced the order. An excellent statement from the Council for the Advancement of Higher Education (CASE), which represents 3,600 member higher education institutions globally, sums up the argument very well.

In short, the freedom of non-US students - particularly those from the countries named in the order - to study at US universities is now under threat. The order also threatens the mobility of both US and international academic staff from these countries.

This limiting of free movement can only be a bad thing for the advancement of knowledge and global understanding.

I would like to add my voice to those who are expressing these concerns. Although President Trump has executed this order on the basis of his concerns about national security, such blatant discrimination solely on grounds of nationality is against everything that UCL stands for.

The order has also raised some practical concerns about travel to the US for our staff and students. An article in this week's Week@UCL outlines our advice on this matter, based on FCO guidance.

Returning to our core values

Finally, in these troubling circumstances, I'd like to add a word about UCL's founding ethos and present-day values.

UCL was founded in 1826 to open up higher education to groups who had previously been excluded from it on religious grounds. We quickly became one of the first universities to welcome international students to our midst and they came from many different countries around the world.

Adhering to these principles, we've found so many ways to influence the world for good. Our global engagement strategy and our Grand Challenges are present-day incarnations of our ongoing commitment to this process.

Freedom of movement is essential if we are to maintain high levels of international academic excellence - it is as simple as that.

Successive generations of UCL leaders have been charged with safeguarding and delivering upon our inclusive and internationally focused ethos. My own commitment to this ethos is unwavering.

Professor Michael Arthur
President & Provost

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