At a London event on 29 November the University’s Dean for Europe Professor Jeremy Carrette spoke to Universities UK (UUK) members about the importance of securing relationships with European partners before and after Brexit.
During his speech he discussed wider concerns such as educational diplomacy and staff/student mobility in a post-Brexit world and, more specifically, how Kent is preparing for the future by developing its existing strengths. These include its strong links in teaching and research across the continent, its four European postgraduate centres, and its unique brand and position as ‘the UK’s European university’.
He said: ‘Education is built on relationships and collaboration in exchanging knowledge and ideas. Europe is a major part of this knowledge economy and our research culture depends vitally on continuing such relationships, in science, social science and the humanities. We learn together, not separately. As the UK’s European university we have established long traditions of exchange in teaching and research and our Centres offer specialist opportunities that show the value of Europe for learning beyond the challenges of Brexit.’
Earlier this year Professor Carrette delivered a talk in Paris reflecting on the importance of continuing international exchanges in education.
Kent is the only UK university to have specialist postgraduate centres in four European capital cities: Athens, Brussels, Paris and Rome. Many of its programmes offer dual UK and European qualifications at Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral level.
The UUK event aimed to provide delegates with an opportunity to think about the possible scenarios they may find themselves in post-Brexit and the most practical ways to deal with what comes next.