Brexit brain drain: 2,500 academics quit Scotland

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Beatrice Wishart on the way to First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament.

Almost 2,500 academics have left Scotland since the UK voted to leave the EU.

The figures, released following freedom of information requests, show almost 1,000 academics from EU countries left Scotland in the past year, nearly double the 530 who quit in 2015-16, the year before the vote for Brexit. At least 2,462 staff have left since.

Edinburgh University lost the highest number of staff, with 1,272 departures, followed by Glasgow with 776, Aberdeen with 178, and Stirling with 68.

The latest figures were obtained by the Liberal Democrats.

Beatrice Wishart, the Scottish Lib Dems’ education spokeswoman and Shetland MSP, said: “It is deeply concerning that Brexit has already driven many talented academics to abandon the UK.

“Scotland has some of the best universities in the world but their excellence is anchored to the talents of their people, many of whom are from the EU.”

The National Union of Students Scotland has also raised concerns about Brexit.

Liam McCabe, the union president, said: “We are losing talented EU staff and missing out on the abilities and contributions of EU students. The UK Government must heed the warnings coming from the education sector.”

Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Brexit brain drain: 2,500 academics quit Scotland