退欧将危及英国科学大国地位 Want to know what Brexit would mean-bsport官网入口

Anyone who wants to know whether we should leave the EU should speak to Boris. I mean, of course, the vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz. 任何想要告诉我们应不应该解散欧盟的人都应当跟鲍里斯(Boris)谈谈。当然，我说道的这位鲍里斯（本文作者的哥哥是反对英国解散欧洲的伦敦市长鲍里斯约翰逊——译者录）是剑桥大学(University of Cambridge)校长、教授莱谢克博里塞维奇爵士(Sir Leszek Borysiewicz)。This city by the Fens has been a centre of scholarship for more than eight centuries, long before the EU and many of its member states even existed. Monks and scholars flocked here from Paris, Bologna and Salamanca in the Middle Ages and, over the years, our own benefited from reciprocal hospitality across Europe. 八个多世纪以来，剑桥这座坐落于大沼泽旁的城市仍然是学术成就的中心——那时欧盟及其许多成员国显然不不存在。

中世纪时期，大批修道士、学者从巴黎、博洛尼亚和萨拉曼卡涌到这里，在此后的几百年里，我国的修道士和学者在欧洲各地也获得礼遇。Today these continental networks are deeper than ever and help explain why this university has more Nobel Prizes to its name — 92 — than any other institution. They also play a part in its success in turning research into good business. With more than 1,500 technology companies, employing nearly 60,000 people, it is the most successful innovation cluster in Europe. 如今，这些遍及欧洲大陆的网络比以往任何时候都更为了解，而且有助说明为什么剑桥大学孕育出的诺贝尔奖获得者（92位）比其他任何机构都多。在将研究成果转化成为杰出业务方面，这些网络也充分发挥了起到。

享有1500多家科技公司，雇用近6万人，剑桥已沦为欧洲最顺利的创意聚集地。The big question, then, for Boris is how much of this success is due to our membership of the EU? Let us be clear: Britain has been a science superpower since the dawn of the Enlightenment and our scientific temper will help us thrive either way. 那么，对剑桥校长而言，大问题在于这种顺利在多大程度上应得益于英国的欧盟成员身份？让我们具体这一点：英国自启蒙运动开始以来仍然是一个科技超级大国，我们的科学素养将协助我国大大开花结果科学的硕果，无论我们回到还是解散欧盟。

The issue, though, is whether we would be as strong as we could be, without the funding and the partnerships that we gain through the EU. 然而，问题在于，若丧失通过欧盟取得的资助及合作伙伴关系，我们还能无法维持强劲，把我们的优势充分发挥到淋漓尽致？ European research funding offers a good example of how the EU can get things right — and of how the UK benefits from a seat at the table when the rules are framed in Brussels. We have successfully argued for EU research money only to flow to where the best science is done, regardless of geography or pork barrel pressures. And because of the excellence of our research base, we end up winning an outsized slice of EU research programmes. 欧洲研究经费获取了一个很好的例子，解释欧盟需要准确决定事情，解释当布鲁塞尔框定规则时，在谈判桌前享有一席之地让英国获益。我们早已顺利地劝说让欧盟研究经费只流向科研工作做到得最差的地方，而不考虑到地理或“笼络民心的政治经费”压力。

而因为我们的研究基地十分杰出，我们夺得了远超过比例的欧盟研究项目。The UK puts in about 12 per cent of all EU funding yet wins about 15 per cent of research funding, making us one of the largest beneficiaries of EU science programmes. In the latest funding round, we have to date secured 15.4 per cent, second only to Germany. 英国贡献欧盟全部经费的大约12%，但夺得大约15%的研究经费，这使英国沦为欧盟科技项目的仅次于受益者之一。在最近的一轮经费拨给中，英国迄今已谋求到15.4%，次于德国。Britain’s universities flourish under this system. Cambridge topped the list of EU universities for participations in the most recent funding programme. And Oxford, Imperial College London and University College London occupied the next three positions. Some argue non-EU countries also benefit from EU science. But there is a big difference. They may be part of the European Research Area but they do not sit at the table when the European Council or Parliament set rules or decide budgets. 英国的大学在这一体系下蓬勃发展。

在最近的经费分配中，剑桥大学在欧盟所有大学中取得的资金最多。紧随其后的是牛津大学(Oxford)、伦敦大学帝国理工学院(Imperial College London)以及伦敦大学学院(UCL)。有人坚称，非欧盟国家也获益于欧盟的科研。

但这里有相当大的区别。他们也许是欧洲研究区(ERA)的一部分，但当欧洲理事会或欧洲议会制订规则或要求支出时，他们没什么话语权。Of course, British scientists will be able to call for support from the UK government. Indeed, since 2010 we have protected the science budget at a time of significant savings elsewhere, but we should not pretend that replacing these rich additional European funding streams would be easy. 当然，英国科学家有能力从英国政府谋求到反对。

的确，自2010年以来，在其他方面支出大幅度缩减之际，我们挽回了科研支出，但我们不应自欺欺人地指出，替代欧盟的大笔额外经费将是更容易的。To keep our knowledge factories winning Nobel Prizes, we must in addition recognise that research is rarely a solitary undertaking or even a narrowly national one. About half of UK research publications now involve cross-border collaborations. And EU countries are among our most crucial partners, representing nearly half of our overseas collaborations. Free movement of people makes it easier for our universities to attract the best talent. 要之后让我们的“科学知识工厂”取得诺贝尔奖，我们还必需认识到，科研很少是一项孤立无援的事业，甚至很少是意味着一个国家就能积极开展的。

如今，英国大约一半的研究成果都牵涉到跨境合作。而欧盟国家是英国最重要的合作伙伴，占到到英国海外合作的近一半。人员权利流动让英国大学更加更容易更有到最杰出的人才。

I am not suggesting that Brexit would reverse eight centuries of progress, returning “Silicon Fen” to marshland. However, those who want Britain to leave the EU must explain how they will sustain the same levels of investment and the same depth of partnership under different circumstances. 我并不是在似乎解散欧盟将使英国八个世纪以来获得的变革付诸东流，把“硅沼”(Silicon Fen)逆返沼泽。然而，那些期望英国解散欧盟的人士必需说明，在有所不同的环境下，他们将如何保持完全相同的投资水平以及同等深度的合作伙伴关系？ A vote to leave would be a leap into the dark that would put our status as a science superpower at risk. That is why I will be joining Boris in making a positive case for Britain’s future in a reformed EU. 赞同弃欧的公民投票结果将使英国跃入黑暗，进而严重威胁英国的科学超级大国地位。这就是为什么我将重新加入剑桥校长的行列，为英国在改革后的欧盟中的未来明确提出正面的理由。

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