Failure to guarantee rights of staff and students will damage ability to recruit, say academics

More than 1,300 academics from the European Union have left British universities in the past year, prompting concerns of a Brexit brain drain.

There has been a 30% rise in departures of EU staff in just two years, according to data released by dozens of universities under the Freedom of Information Act.

Among those universities most affected were Cambridge, which lost 184 staff in the past year, up 35% on 2014-15, and Edinburgh, which lost 96 EU staff, up from 62 in 2014-15. However, the figures do not take into account new staff arriving from the EU.

The 64 universities that offered a figure for the past year said that 1,393 EU staff were leaving. While many will leave as part of natural turnover, it has prompted concerns that the government’s refusal to guarantee the rights of EU nationals is having an adverse effect on their ability to retain staff.

A recent analysis by the Russell Group, which represents 24 of the UK’s leading universities, found that there are 24,860 members of staff from other EU countries at UK universities, making up 23% of all academics.

Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “These findings are worrying and highlight how damaging the government’s refusal to guarantee the rights of EU staff can be. Theresa May may wish to style herself as the strong and stable candidate, but she is creating dangerous insecurity in our universities.

“By its very nature, higher education is international, and the exchange of knowledge across borders is critical to its success. If we are to preserve our global reputation for excellence, our universities must be unencumbered when it comes to attracting and retaining overseas staff and students.”

Tim Bradshaw, the Russell Group’s acting director, also called for reassurances. “Students, lecturers, researchers and professional services staff from across Europe have helped make our higher education sector a world leader,” he said. “We want them to stay after the UK leaves the EU. We need an immigration system that lets us recruit and retain the best minds from around the globe.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, says Theresa May is creating ‘dangerous insecurity’ in universities. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

“We have called on the government to guarantee that EU citizens living and working in the UK will be able to stay and the rights they have at present will be respected. International staff and students are our number one Brexit priority bar none.”

Julian Huppert, an academic and Liberal Democrat candidate for Cambridge who compiled the data on the departure of EU academics, said Brexit risked leading to a “sharp rise” in people from Europe leaving.

“Theresa May bears some responsibility, for pursuing an extreme version of Brexit that will rupture our ties with Europe and failing to guarantee the rights of EU nationals,” he said. “But Labour’s refusal to back free movement, instead giving their backing to May over article 50, means that there is no comfort there.

“Lib Dems will stand up for the rights of EU citizens and give people the final say, with a chance to reject a bad Brexit deal and remain in the EU.”

Universities minister Jo Johnson said that throughout the Brexit process, the Tories would “ensure the UK remains the go-to place for scientists and innovators, securing the status of EU nationals in Britain and British nationals in the EU and increasing spending on R&D”.

“Theresa May has a plan to make a success of leaving the EU so our world-leading universities continue to thrive,” he said. “All the Lib Dems offer is Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, in a coalition of chaos that would disrupt the Brexit negotiations and put our future at risk.”