Ministers and experts to speak on education and independence

Description

Whether an independent Scotland can continue to charge students from the rest of the UK to study there is one of several questions that will be addressed at a special event about how the referendum will affect higher education.

 

Organised by the University of Edinburgh, the seminar takes place on Wednesday 29 January 2014 in the National Museum of Scotland.

 

Two senior ministers from the Scottish and UK governments - Michael Russell, Cabinet Secretary for Education, and Alistair Carmichael, Secretary of State for Scotland - will address the event. Sir Andrew Cubie will also present several future scenarios for higher education in Scotland.  

 

The seminar will draw upon the Scottish Government’s recent White Paper on independence and the UK Government’s Scotland Analysis paper on Science and Research.

 

Experts will discuss how September’s vote could impact Scottish universities’ ability to access research funding and how it may affect their recruitment of international students.

 

The future of shared services such as the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and university pension schemes will also be looked at, alongside whether a yes vote would change the cross border flow of students.

 

This is the third in a series of seminars that forms part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Future of the UK and Scotland Programme.

 

Its broad aim is to consider the future challenges and opportunities faced by higher education in Scotland and the rest of the UK in the case of further devolution or a vote for independence in autumn 2014.  

 

All the presentation slides of the speakers will be available online from Thursday 30 January. 

 

To register, please visit the website: http://bit.ly/1ek1vR5   

For further information, please contact:
Edd McCracken, Press and PR Office, tel 0131 651 4400; email [email protected]