In a letter today, the Presidents of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy and the Royal Society have called for a wider debate on the risks facing academic research if Scotland becomes an independent country.
They said: "We believe that if separation were to occur, research not only in Scotland but also in the rest of the UK would suffer. However, research in Scotland would be more vulnerable and there could be significant reductions in range, capability and critical mass. We have all gained much from integration and interaction in academic and research life, in which Scotland plays such a strong role.”
The full letter can be read here.
Academy of Medical Sciences Fellows views
In a recent survey of Academy Fellows living in Scotland, 93% of respondants did not think Scotland should be an independent country.*
91% considered that independence would have a negative effect on medical and life sciences research in Scotland.**
* The survey had a 73% response rate (76 out of 104 Fellows living in Scotland responded)
** Strongly Positive (0%), Positive (1%), Neither Negative nor Positive (8%), Negative (25%), Strongly Negative (66%)