"First Minister Alex Salmond," said the education secretaryMichael Russel had "opened up the possibility of mergers as we've seen in the further and higher education sector, and indeed the university sector."

So would that would imply that perhaps Queen Margaret's and Napier will be urged into talks also? Aberdeen University could be teamed with Robert Gordon as both are quite closely ranked in the tables.

In Glasgow, inevitably Strathclyde and Caledonian would be seen as symbiotic partners. While the West of Scotland could be merged into a combine of The Highlands & Island University and Stirling.

Lucky soloists are likely to remain St Andrews, Edinburgh, Heriot Watt and Glasgow which are running relatively high in the UK excellence league tables  and so can probably evade the merger movement.

Merger talks comes at a time when it is reported  the number of Scots going to Scottish universities has fallen, against a huge rise in the number of foreign students coming to Scotland for degrees.

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service figures show a 1.35% fall in the number of Scottish undergraduates in the past five years  a near-60 % rise in the number of students from elsewhere in the EU a and a 2.1% rise in students from the rest of the UK.

Dundee University confirmed it had received a ‘request’ from the Scottish Funding Council to enter into discussion with Abertay over a merger. This correspondence from the council, received after the debate at First Minister’s Question on Thursday, was “totally unexpected” and a “surprise”.

Dr Andrew Samuel, president of the Abertay branch of the University and College Union, said that staff reacted with "horror" to merger proposals reports the Scotsman of the shotgun wedding.

In August, Universites Scotland selected Seamus McDaid to succeed Professor Bernard King, but Abertay University was told by the funding council, to delay finding a new principal after Professor King's departure.

Dundee University spokesman had said the University received a letter from the Scottish Funding Council requesting that they join them in discussions with the University of Abertay on the possibility of merger.

Dundee University "stressed that there are significant differences between ourselves and Abertay."

"It is important that any discussions are driven forward by willing and autonomous partners, and where they make clear academic and financial sense."