Prof.dr.ir. Stefan Bon had a pleasant conversation with freelance writer Chris Woolston on the UK visa and immigration policy of the UK and the impact on his research team. Stefan stressed that "the changing landscape of the UK with respect to immigration and work permits is of great concern and highly worrying. The UK is increasingly fast squandering its international reputation."
An article written by Chris was published in the scientific leading journal Nature today (02 March 2017, 543, 139–141) containing an excerpt of the discussion: "Long waits for English-proficiency tests have also vexed Stefan Bon, a chemical engineer at the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK. Last year, one of his postdocs had to travel from Germany to the Netherlands to take the test, and the whole process — scheduling it, taking it and waiting for the results — took almost six months. Bon says that principal investigators (PIs) should expect delays, and that all prospective lab members should take the test as early as possible."