“Higher education requires planned, long-term investment to ensure economic prosperity" says VC
The need for a more sustainable funding model in Northern Ireland to ensure a prosperous economic future was today highlighted by Queen’s University’s President and Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Ian Greer.
He was commenting after welcoming Universities UK – an organisation serving as the voice for Higher Education – to campus to discuss the strengths and opportunities offered by higher education bodies, as well as the challenges facing the sector. Professor Greer said:
"Our economy urgently needs skilled graduates. Northern Ireland universities are limited by a cap on numbers in contrast to English Universities. The MaSN (Maximum Student Number) cap is a budgetary measure set by the Stormont Executive and limits the numbers of students that can be enrolled in Northern Ireland’s universities from across the island of Ireland. Every year 5,000 young people leave NI to study in GB, with greater cost to the Stormont budget than if they could be retained.
"Developing a new sustainable funding model, that can remove the government’s MaSN cap is essential for retaining talent within our region and curbing the increasing brain drain. This will ensure not only economic prosperity, but also provide our young people with equality of opportunity.
"We need to remove all barriers to providing young people with the necessary skills to meet their potential so they can play a significant role in growing our economy and contributing to our society."
Currently, 30% of students in Northern Ireland are lost each year to universities in Great Britain, and it is projected that this number will have doubled by 2030.
The Universities UK Northern Ireland engagement, which included a tour of Ulster University’s campus, comes ahead of A Level Results day and a new cohort of students entering higher education. Professor Greer added:
"This was a timely visit ahead of A Level Results day when students will be considering their choices for further education. This is a crucial time to review the bigger picture and adopt a long-term strategy that allows us to take advantage of Northern Ireland’s unique position and relationships with Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland to retain and attract our talent and provide sufficient university places to meet the needs of the economy."
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