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Are Business Schools On The Brink Of A Brexit Talent Drain?

After the British population voted for leaving the EU, Christer Jepsen, a Danish professor of social sciences, decided to leave his position at one of the best British business schools and join one of its competitors in Europe.

According to Jepsen, Brexit is a slowly incoming train wreck, and he’s happy to leave the UK for a rival school, though, if not for the EU-leaving vote, he wouldn’t consider saying goodbye to Britain. For him, Brexit was the last straw which ultimately made him leave.

Faculty From The Continent Leaving Britain After The Referendum

Jepsen isn’t the only one to make such a drastic decision: the UK’s business schools have been subjected to a brain drain ever since the Brexit vote, due to many European professors leaving the country.

Britain has more than 130 business schools; thirteen of them got into Financial Times global top-100 list of MBA programs (2017). Business schools don’t only compete for student talent and spots in rankings; their main competition lies in the very limited pool of experienced and qualified academic faculty.

According to Financial Times, 60% of British schools lost a large percentage of their European faculty; those that haven’t left yet are considering it and may withdraw from teaching positions in the UK within the next year. For 25% of UK business schools, it has been increasingly difficult to hire new faculty from the continent. Another downside of the Brexit is the loss of European research funding, which concerns the schools to no end. At the same time, the British government is not likely to fund business schools, thus making the problem even worse.

The European Union’s funding for British business schools comprised 13.4 million pounds in 2015-2016, and almost 2 million more came from charities and businesses headquartered on the continent. Additionally, due to Brexit, business schools might lose as much as 119 million pounds in tuition fees, as students from other countries are not as likely to enter British schools.

In 2016, most British business schools saw no increase in applications for MBA programs from other countries. Almost a third of them said that the number of European applications had declined.

The Situation Is Not As Bad As It Seems

Still, for both faculty and students, it’s not as easy as just leaving Britain or moving there; sometimes their personal commitments make matters more difficult. By this time, European business schools have achieved no positive results in trying to attract British students to their midst. For instance, some Dutch schools have appeared more frequently as MBA program options for British students. However, they have attracted more aspiring college students than postgraduates.

At some business schools, the Brexit results haven’t been as damaging: many European professors refused to leave even after the referendum vote. According to Raquel Ortega-Argiles, regions that voted for leaving the EU will suffer the most in the future.

At Henley Business School (Oxfordshire), 25% of the faculty are European, but none of them have left the university. Some are even applying for British citizenship. Their decision may be explained by the fact that, though the aftermath of Brexit might be alarming, Britain still has one of the world’s top education systems.

Learn more about business education on Executive MBA WANTED 2017!

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