Academics bring expertise to Brexit debate

As the potentially historic EU referendum draws closer and voters consider whether Britain should leave or remain part of the European Union, academics at our University have been contributing to the public debate with opinion pieces and media comment.

A dedicated EU referendum microsite has been set up to collect together all the University's news, information and thought pieces on the upcoming vote, and you can read about our latest contributions to the debate below.

Several academics and staff at the University of Leicester have given their reaction to the Brexit result.

Professor Iain Gillespie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, was interviewed by ITV Central for a programme on the impact of Brexit on universities. Also interviewed was student Jackie Ferdinand, who is an EU student studying at Leicester.

Professor Ali al-Nowaihi from the Department of Economics has written an article for Think: Leicester on why he thinks future referenda needs more legislation.

Dr Chris Grocott from the School of Management has written an article for The Conversation discussing the future of Gibraltar following the EU referendum.

Dr Simona Guerra from the Department of Politics and International Relations has written an article for The Conversation discussing attitudes towards the EU.

Leicester economist and Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Hall was among co-signatories to a new statement warning on the risks of Brexit.

Liz Kendall, Leicester West and Labour MP, discussed how the University’s Centre for Medicine has benefited from European Union investment in the House of Commons.

President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle has joined 95 other UK university Vice-Chancellors in outlining why universities are stronger in Europe in a letter for The Independent.

Our President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle joins Professor Panicos Demetriades and Dr Sara Lemos from our Department of Economics; Dr Mark Langan, Dr Simona Guerra and Dr Tara McCormack from the Department of Politics and International Relations; Dr Lisa Rodgers and Pascale Lorber from Leicester Law School; and Dr Benjamin Hopkins from the School of Management in giving their academic views in a podcast interview produced by the University's News Centre:

The University and our Students’ Union have spearheaded campaigns to highlight the importance of students registering to vote for the EU referendum.

Professor Paul Boyle has recently been speaking publicly about the benefits of EU membership to universities and science in general:

• President and Vice-Chancellor's statement to staff and students on the EU Referendum.

• Comment in the Wall Street Journal on science funding post-Brexit.
• Opinion piece in the Leicester Mercury: EU students 'vital' to regional economy and jobs
• Opinion piece by Professor Paul Boyle: 'Students must register to vote to make their voice heard'
• Interview with BBC Radio 4 about science in the UK and debating the ins and outs of being in or out of the EU.
• Professor Boyle was one of 103 university leaders signing an open letter highlighting how the UK membership of the European Union enhances the positive impact of universities.
• Nature feature by Professor Boyle on European research collaboration (from 2013)
• Professor Boyle met with Liz Kendall MP at our new Centre for Medicine to demonstrate the benefits of EU funding
• Podcast interview with Liz Kendall and Professor Paul Boyle:

Academics at Leicester have also been commenting on aspects of the European Union and Brexit debate, tacking a range of issues in the public eye and a few topics you may have overlooked:

• Professor Ali al-Nowaihi from the Department of Economics has written an article for Think: Leicester addressing four fallacies surrounding Brexit.

• Read the full article 'Britain is better in Europe' here

• UK medical sciences may have to ‘scale back its ambition’ if Britain leaves the European Union, according to Professor Andrew Tobin from the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology.
• Dr Sara Lemos from the Department of Economics formed part of an expert panel for a debate organised by BBC Radio Leicester on the arguments for and against leaving the European Union.
• The Leicester Law School's Professor Katja Ziegler has written a piece for The Conversation on why the UK should stay in the European Union from the perspective of international law.

• Professor Clare Anderson from the School of History has written an opinion piece discussing some of the positive benefits of EU membership and how it is vital in securing our influence across Europe and all over the world.
• Panicos Demetriades, Professor of Financial Economics and former governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, explains why he thinks British leaving the EU "will impact massively on the economy, on jobs and on the prospects of the country" in a podcast interview for the University News Centre.

• Comedian and political activist Eddie Izzard visited the University of Leicester on 16 June as part of the Stand up for Europe campaign.
• A Leicester project to help treatment of airway diseases is among several case studies of European collaboration highlighted by Universities UK.
• Leicester Law School Lecturer Pascale Lorber explains how UK workers benefit from the EU in a podcast for the News Centre.
• Dr Sara Lemos has also given a podcast interview to the University's News Centre on 'The EU: Why leaving is bad for Britain'.

• Professors Jo Story and Mark Jobling from our School of History and Department of Genetics were interviewed by BBC Radio 4 on research into diasporas and DNA analysis which adds new facets to the discussion on European identity. You can listen to the interviews online (from 23m 20s).
• Dr Chris Grocott from the School of Management has written an article for The Conversation discussing how leaving the EU would be disastrous for the local economy of Gibraltar.
• Professor Panicos Demetriades from the Department of Economic highlighted the strong economic argument for migration and the implications of leaving the European Union in an interview with Korean radio programme ‘This Morning’.

• Professor Demetriades also commented to the Financial Times on Brexit and what it could mean for the future of the UK’s economy.
• Researchers from Leicester Law School and the School of Management discussed employment rights for workers in the UK as a member of the EU in a piece for Think:Leicester.
• Professor Bernard Ryan from the Leicester Law School discusses possible policies to reform the EU's migration framework in a piece for The Conversation.
• Dr Simona Guerra from the Department of Politics and International Relations discusses the influence of the Polish Catholic Church on Euroscepticism in the country on Democratic Audit UK.
• Dr Chris Grocott from the School of Management asks ‘How Does it Look from Gibraltar?’ and considers the impact of Brexit on the UK overseas territory in a Staff Blog.
• Dr Chris Wilkins, Dr Hugh Busher and Dr Tony Lawson from the School of Education discussed perspectives on Citizenship Education in Turkey and Britain in the context of discourses on the nature of the European Union and European identity at a conference in 2009.

More links will be added here in the run-up to the referendum.