European learning

This week saw the launch of Universities for Europe, a coalition of the UK’s higher education institutions campaigning for our continued membership of the European Union (your report, 28 July).

Including 16 Scottish universities, the higher education sector is to be applauded in standing up to be counted in backing the case for our continued membership of the European Union.

EU membership has an overwhelmingly positive impact on Scotland’s higher education institutions, benefiting individuals, the economy and society as a whole.

More than 19,200 students from the rest of the EU attend Scottish universities and these institutions have won over £400 million in EU funding between 2007 and 2014 – almost 1.3 per cent of the research funding programme for the whole of the EU.

This has boosted the quality of research, benefited the economy and helped Scottish academics to tap into a continent-wide pool of knowledge, cementing the strong global reputation of Scotland’s universities.

The case for staying in the EU is about ensuring the future prosperity of Scotland, about maximising the chances of new discoveries that enhance the society in which we live, about increasing Scotland’s global profile, about Scottish jobs and about greater opportunities for people in Scotland now and in the future.

Derek Hammersley

The European Movement in Scotland

Cumberland Street SE Lane

Edinburgh