Facts about the EU and the University of Leeds
In response to questions from staff about the University's relationship with the European Union, we have listed some key facts.
The European Union referendum on Thursday 23 June potentially has significant implications in higher education. At the national level, Universities UK (UUK) is running a campaign for the UK’s continued membership of the EU, arguing that it makes our outstanding universities even stronger, which in turn benefits everyone in the UK.
The UUK campaign offers detailed explanations about why it has reached this position and an outline of the EU’s contribution to UK higher education, including highlighting some key facts and an attempt to break down myths and misconceptions.
While the University of Leeds has not taken a formal institutional position, in response to questions from staff about the University’s relationship with the European Union, below are some key facts:
- European research funding accounts for nearly 16% of the University’s research income. In the UK, we rank 10th for EU Government income, which includes Horizon 2020 funding.
- In H2020, we are lead partner (co-ordinator) on 10 multi-partner bids with a total combined project value of more than €40million.
- As an example of research that has been funded, the University leads the largest social science project under FP7 (the programme that H2020 replaced) with FESSUD, a €10million multidisciplinary project, looking at how the financial system affects the world around us.
- The University has secured 28 Marie Curie Individual Fellowships in H2020’s first two calls, bringing top researchers to Leeds from Europe and beyond.
- The University has more than 1,600 European students. In total, more than 125,000 EU students are currently studying at UK universities.
- We facilitate study abroad opportunities with 170 European universities.
- Every year, more than 400 students take part in the Erasmus+ scheme, receiving financial support made available from the European Commission for exchanges to other EU countries. In 2014/15, 222 students studied at European universities, while a further 203 students received support for work placements.