Scotland will lose its brightest brains if it becomes independent, scientists say
If Scotland votes for independence on 18 September an exodus of the country's best scientists will follow, according to senior academics.
They told The Guardian that a number of scientists at Scotland's top universities had already expressed willingness to relocate in the event of a “yes” vote.
Some of them have been approached by leading English Universities and have put taking up Scottish posts on hold until they know the outcome of the referendum.
Deep education cuts are anticipated for Scotland if it leaves the UK, and this is causing anxiety among university administrators. Independence would result in a loss of billions of pounds worth of funding and would bring an end to a number of joint projects supported by British research councils.
David Weller, director of the Centre for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, said that 80 per cent of the centre's work was done in collaboration with other researchers in the UK. "There's just no way if Scotland was a separate country that kind of arrangement could be sustained. There are huge concerns in the area I work in," he said.
Funding has the potential to fall considerably, since although Scotland has 8.9 per cent of the population, it currently receives around 12 per cent of the UK's project funding and research grants.
Subjects at risk span all the sciences, from advanced computing to genetic research. Jim Naismith, head of the biomedical research complex at St Andrew's University, said: "There will a drift away [of expertise]. It will start slowly but there will be a clear drift. It's not just the people who leave, we won't be able to bring people in from outside."