UK-France collaboration to keep EU research funding post-Brexit

The new partnership between Imperial College London and France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) will see UK academics continue to access research funding from the European Union post-Brexit.

Researchers from Imperial, as well as or those from other UK institutions working at The International Joint Research Unit – Unité Mixte Internationale (UMI) – based at Imperial’s South Kensington campus in London will have the same funding status as their French counterparts, the BBC reported.

“All members of the UMI, whatever their nationality, will have equal access to funding, resources and most importantly, opportunities for collaboration,” said an Imperial spokesman.

“This could include Imperial or other researchers seconded as members of the UMI Abraham de Moivre.”

Professor Cédric Villani and Imperial’s Professor Martin Hairer, two of the world’s best mathematicians, launched the Imperial-CNRS research centre earlier this week.The venture will let students and researchers from both institutions advance Britain and France’s collaboration in mathematics.

Imperial said the work at the laboratory will advance knowledge in “number theory, mathematical analysis, biomathematics and financial mathematics”.

Britain’s referendum vote to leave the European Union has left the question of whether UK academics will continue to receive EU research funding in flux. Leaving the EU has concerned many in academia as the UK had previously been the highest net beneficiaries from EU research funds such as Horizon 2020.

UMI director Richard Craster, professor of applied mathematics at Imperial, said the project showed a commitment to “strengthening our ties with Europe by improving mobility and giving new opportunities for researchers to exchange ideas”.

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