University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood has today joined his West Midlands counterparts in calling on the Government to support higher education institutions during Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

In an open letter, addressed to Universities Minister Jo Johnson, Vice-Chancellors at Birmingham, Aston, Birmingham City, Coventry, Warwick and Wolverhampton Universities asked Government to “prioritise the needs of the world-class universities in the West Midlands”.

The University of Birmingham contributes £3.5 billion to the UK economy every year – enough to build seven flagship hospitals or 140 new secondary schools – according to recent research carried out by London Economics.

Professor Sir David Eastwood said: “The University of Birmingham is not only a major economic force in the West Midlands region, but also nationally and internationally. We are building talent and skills in the region and almost one in 50 jobs in Birmingham depend on the University.

“The University plays a significant part in attracting international visitors to the region, with our international students alone contributing more than £160 million to the economy. We are extremely committed to the region and contributing to its economic, social and cultural success.”

There currently are 8,000 EU students and around 5,000 EU academics at West Midlands universities, and 1,500 students from West Midlands universities in Europe through the Erasmus+ programme.

The letter urges Ministers to ensure no additional barriers are raised for students and staff moving between EU countries and the UK for teaching and study, and to prioritise continued UK participation in Erasmus+ programmes in negotiations with the European Union.

Non-EU international students are worth over £400 million per year to the city of Birmingham alone, and EU research funding for West Midlands universities totalled over £100 million over the last three years.