Scan through the columns of the 探花视频 World University Rankings, and it鈥檚 always a bit of a surprise that Europe doesn鈥檛 do better.
Wasn鈥檛 the university as we know it invented in Bologna and Berlin? Why, then, do the Continent鈥檚 best 鈥 with a few notable exceptions 鈥 languish so far behind those of the UK, US and Australia?
In reality, treating the Continent as one homogeneous lump is far too simple, and there are great strengths to be found: German universities, for example, climbed impressively in our most recent world rankings.
But there are areas where continental Europe is clearly limping behind the UK, both in terms of national performance (particularly in eastern and southern Europe), and structures (for example, the relative lack of autonomy in many European universities).
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One result of this power imbalance is that the UK has done particularly well out of the European Union in terms of research funding, taking far more than its 鈥渇air share鈥 from the European Research Council.
But it would be wrong to paint a picture of the UK as a one-sided 鈥渢aker鈥. Speaking to THE last month, Bernd Huber, president of LMU Munich, was clear that a Brexit would be 鈥渁 catastrophe鈥 for European higher education, because 鈥渢he UK always stands for competition and for performance鈥.
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There is real admiration for UK higher education on the Continent, and a sense that it drives up performance by offering what Huber calls a different 鈥減hilosophy, view and perspective鈥. A similar point is made in this week鈥檚 cover feature, which ranks Europe鈥檚 top 200 universities.
Simon Marginson, professor of international higher education at the UCL Institute of Education, says that the top universities in northwestern Europe have 鈥渟ignificantly lifted their performance鈥 after being 鈥渆nergised鈥 by the global league tables.
One example of this is the German Excellence Initiative, which has funnelled unprecedented levels of funding to a select group of universities (the effect of which is discussed in our feature by Huber, and will be explored in detail in a forthcoming issue of THE).
This initiative was sparked by external comparison and a desire to compete internationally. Such an outward-looking stance is equally important to the UK, and at a time when so much political debate is dominated by talk of border controls, it鈥檚 worth emphasising that openness to staff and students is crucial to our universities鈥 competitiveness.
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The point was made by Anton Muscatelli, vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow, who recently told a seminar in London that it was a mistake for university leaders to focus only on a 鈥渃ost-benefit analysis鈥 when arguing to remain in the EU. 鈥淭he lifeblood of universities is the mobility of scholars and students鈥obility was part of the university from the very beginning,鈥 he said.
The movement of people may be the story of our time, but universities have for centuries been the beating heart of a connected world.
International recruitment wouldn鈥檛 grind to a halt if a Brexit were to happen, but it could only be harmed, especially if the UK鈥檚 exit from Horizon 2020 makes it less attractive regardless of visa issues. That would be a practical and cultural blow for the global higher education system, not just for those of us who inhabit a small island in the north Atlantic.
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Print headline: A question of give and take
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