The government is to double the number of fellowships?that offer ¡°accelerated¡± UK visas in an effort to attract more elite researchers.

The UK currently has 62 fellowship schemes ¨C including those run by the Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, the British Academy and the Royal Society ¨C where the visas of successful applicants are fast-tracked by immigration authorities.

International fellows funded by these organisations need only a letter from the relevant organisation to obtain entry into the UK.

In a on 23 December, the ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Office said that this number will increase to 120 early in 2020, with fellowships run by Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions, Human Frontier Science, European Research Council and the European Molecular Biology Organisation joining the list.

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However, many are likely to regard the move as relatively minor when compared with the potential scale of challenge posed by Brexit when it comes to the UK¡¯s ability to attract leading researchers.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ secretary Priti Patel said that the change was to ensure ¡°the UK continues to be at the forefront of innovation.¡±

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¡°We need an immigration system that attracts the sharpest minds from around the globe,¡± said Ms Patel, who added that the ¡°decisive action¡± would help ¡°boost the number of top scientists and elite researchers who can benefit from fast-tracked entry into the UK.¡±

The announcement comes as Jake Berry, minister for the Northern Powerhouse,?told the?Sunday Times?that he is keen to create a new university in Leeds ¨C dubbed the ¡°MIT of the north¡±.

¡°We want to set up a world-leading institution in the north to rival Oxford and Cambridge,¡± said Mr Berry, who is MP for the Lancashire constituency of Rossendale and Darwen.

The to emulate the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Boston, follows a pledge by Boris Johnson in August to make?the UK a ¡°global science superpower¡±, despite concerns that the country could lose access to several leading scientific collaborations led by the European Union after Brexit.

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Speaking on Radio 4¡¯s Today programme, however, Chris Day, vice-chancellor of Newcastle University and chair of the N8 partnership of northern research-intensive universities, said that investment would be more effective if it were channelled into existing institutions and partnerships, such as the Henry Royce Institute, a nine-institution partnership led by the University of Manchester.

¡°Having networks of these excellent centres, working closely with industry, is the way forward, rather than starting from scratch on a new institution which could take years [to get going],¡± said Professor Day.

?jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com