Billions of pounds in science and engineering research grants could be lost when Britain leaves the European Union.
The British public voted 52:48 to leave the EU last week, causing shockwaves in global markets. The IT and tech industries had overwhelmingly supported the campaign to remain.
Universities and research labs received €8.8bn funding from the EU in the six years up to 2013.
IT industry body BCS has called on the Government to ensure this level of support is maintained to keep British universities at the cutting edge of technology and educate the coming generations in computer science to counteract the digital skills gap.
“The world is now watching what happens here in the UK and is rushing to catch up,” said Bill Mitchell, director of education at BCS.
“We need to make sure we continue to be world leaders in computing education for the future of our children.
“The UK has always thrived as an international trading nation and global leader in science and engineering.
“As we leave the EU we need to ensure we maintain our place within the scientific and engineering communities both within Europe and globally.
“It’s important to note though that advances in most basic and applied science and engineering are now achieved through close international collaboration.”
BCS is keen for British academia to continue to participate in pan-European initiatives like CERN and the European Space Agency.