Dear Student

You may not listen to government ministers very often. You may not pay very much attention to any politician, in fact. But on this one issue – the EU referendum – I hope you can spare me a few minutes of your time.

On the ballot paper on Thursday is an existential question about the life chances and job prospects of a whole generation – your generation. Anyone now leaving school, embarking on an apprenticeship, or studying for a degree has a huge stake in the outcome.

The choice is simple: as a country, will we be safer, stronger and better off as part of the EU, or on our own? Will our world-class universities be more successful within this phenomenal knowledge exchange partnership, or outside the European research club? And are your future job prospects brighter inside the world’s biggest free-trade zone, or under the cloud of uncertainty that would surely follow a British exit from the EU?

We’ve heard from leading economists, who have said a vote to leave would cause a profound economic shock that could tip us back into recession. This would be entirely self-inflicted. The economists are not alone. An extraordinary coalition has formed to back the case for remain, spanning trade unions, some of the biggest graduate employers, Nobel prize-winning scientists, and a host of international leaders and close allies.

From all of them we hear the overwhelming message: Britain’s success as a prosperous knowledge economy is closely tied to our membership of the EU. Being in the EU brings the freedom for all members to study and travel abroad. It offers the ability to set up and expand a business in a single market of more than 500 million people. It means lower prices in the shops. And it means closer partnerships between academics as they jointly tackle some of our planet’s most pressing challenges. These are partnerships we would have to negotiate our way back into, without being able to set the rules as we do now.

Our world-class universities are stronger for our membership of the EU. More than 100 university vice-chancellors have backed remain. And polls of researchers have shown near unanimity. Seldom, in an academic community that delights in challenging received wisdom, do we see such striking agreement.

The UK does disproportionately well in winning EU research funding. Overall, we put in about 12% of the EU budget but win back more than 15% of research funds. Universities UK, the umbrella body for university vice-chancellors, reckons this income generates about 19,000 UK jobs.

The truth is that we’re potentially confronted with a funding black hole roughly equivalent to the size of one of our world-class research councils. We should not pretend that replacing these rich additional European funding streams would be easy. The leave campaign claims we could make up the shortfall outside the EU, but its failure to acknowledge any impact of Brexit on the public finances means their promises lack credibility.

This access to EU research funding is only part of the story. The benefits of the EU to students and academics come also from the collaborations, partnerships and networks it supports. About 150,000 EU students study in the UK and provide a £3.7bn annual boost to the economy and shops and businesses in towns throughout the country. More than 200,000 British students have broadened their horizons and improved their job prospects through the Erasmus exchange programme, alongside the many who venture freely across the continent as part of a language course or in pursuit of research careers. I was one: as a student in Belgium and France I was able to brush up on my language skills and experience life in another country. I want everyone to have that chance.

All these opportunities, underpinned by our membership of the EU, enrich our universities and ensure Britain remains a magnet for the brightest and best minds.

Those advocating Brexit argue that countries can join successful research and other programmes without being in the EU, but they fail to explain that being a semi-detached member means we lose a seat at the table when the big decisions about funding and priorities are made. Nor do they say why we would go to all the effort of leaving the EU only to try to negotiate our way back into these programmes, but without any of the influence we previously enjoyed.

The leave campaign has consistently failed to spell out how it would replicate our access to these shared facilities, these important institutional ties and the rich sources of funding, were we to take a leap into the dark this week.

Our success as a prosperous knowledge economy requires us to continue to build academic partnerships and trading relations, not turn our backs on them. That’s why this referendum is potentially more significant than any careers fair or graduate recruitment programme you might consider this year. The decision will affect your life chances for years to come.

If you want a strong and competitive economy, with the broadest range of opportunities open to you, vote remain on Thursday.

Best wishes

Jo Johnson