Alex is packing.
His personal treasure - a collection of books
in the 15 languages he's mastered.
He's fluent in German and Russian, Spanish
and Serbo-Croat.
In 2012, the Oxford graduate was named the
most multi-lingual student in
the UK.
Every book represents a moment of my life.
So I can't throw books away, because I don't
want to throw my life away.
Alex is flying the coop.
He's leaving his stylish London apartment
with a view over the City, leaving the UK,
because his country feels claustrophobic.
But Britain can't afford to lose young talent
like Alex.
Many highly qualified professionals and academics
are reconsidering their future in the country.
That's a blow to a country that prides itself
on scientific excellence.
Take Cambridge - home to star researchers
and legendary academics.
No other university in the world has produced
more Nobel laureates.
Darwin and Newton are famous among its alumni.
The beautiful buildings along the River Cam
are emblematic of Britain's claim to academic
excellence.
But can it maintain its reputation?
Greg Hannon has his doubts.
His cancer research laboratory is one of Europe's
leading facilities, heavily subsidized by
Britain AND the EU.
Funding from Brussels alone amounts to 10
million pounds.
Cooperation with European partners is key
to its success.
The prospect of visas and settlement restrictions
makes Britain less appealing to researchers.
Top research is always the result of collaboration
- especially on a European level.
Access to findings of case studies, lab results
and tissue samples is vital.
A loss of such networks would be a bigger
blow than losing subsidies, researchers here
say.
Matthias Landgraf has been in Cambridge for
almost 30 years.
He teaches and researches at the Department
of Zoology.
The disappointment and uncertainty of Brexit
has taken its toll - he's suffering from stress-related
hair loss.
Cambridge is world famous because it's very
creative.
Creativity is generated by the diversity of
cultures that meet here.
That creativity emerges from that mix that
brings together different ways of thinking
- and that's changing.
His laboratory faces an uncertain future.
The focus of its reserarch is the Drosophila,
the fruit fly, and how its brain develops.
His studies have yielded important insights
into aging.
He does get British funding, but if European
money dries up, it could spell the end of
his branch of research.
Everyone stands to lose - the big labs that
will lose access to European funding, and
labs like mine, where competition for research
funds will get much much tougher.)
But an exodus has already begun - long before
Britain actually leaves the EU.
Alex, the language genius, is leaving London
shortly.
His friends respect his decision, but wonder
why the country isn't doing more to hold on
to such stellar talent - as he enjoys a last
pint before he heads to Barcelona, asnd a
new life
in Europe.
