This snapshot taken on 26/07/2008, shows web content selected for preservation by The National Archives. External links, forms and search boxes may not work in archived websites.
Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleScience Council |
 |
|
| (Click picture for biography) | |
| Sir Gareth, Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here today at this special meeting of the Science Council. I was very interested to hear of your plans for the future. I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the Council two years ago, and it is encouraging to see the very real progress that is being made. The Importance of Science Science is important, and it is important that we make the case for it. It provides the new knowledge which forms the bed-rock of the industries and technologies of the future. As Tony Blair remarked in his speech to the Royal Society, a few weeks ago "Science is vital to our country's continued future prosperity" It can improve the quality of our lives by enabling us to live more healthily, and longer. It makes an invaluable contribution in informing us how best to create a sustainable environment. Our Policy for Science In the last five years we have made good progress in correcting the underfunding of the past, and providing incentives to universities for knowledge transfer. The universities are at the heart of a productive economy. Indeed our successes have only been possible because of the excellence of our universities in basic research and in educating our young people. To enable them to perform their critical role in the knowledge economy, the Government has put in significant extra resources for research, education, and especially infrastructure. The 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review increased the science budget by 15% over three years. And in July last year, the Government continued its programme of investment. The 2000 Spending Review added £725 million to the Science Budget over three years including specific funding to boost research in key new areas, such as genomics, that will shape life in the 21st Century. To give you a scale of that funding, from 2001 to 2004, the Science Budget will increase by 7% per year in real terms. New ideas are part, but only part, of the wider process of innovation that is essential to wealth creation, of course, but also, equally, quality of life. In the Science and Innovation White Paper published in 2000, we also set out a range of policies to speed up and support the rate of innovation. We have introduced schemes such as University Challenge (which provides seed corn funding to universities), Science Enterprise Centres (which provide access to entrepreneurial skills to undergraduates and graduates in science and engineering), and the Higher Education Innovation Fund (which provides funding to universities to encourage them to do knowledge transfer). These are already beginning to show impressive results. Last year there were 199 spin-off companies from universities, compared to an average of 70 each year for the previous 5 years. There has also been a sharp increase in the number of patents filed, up 22% between 1998/99 and 1999/2000, and the proportion of research income funded by companies in the UK is also up and is now at a higher level than even the USA. It is also encouraging that we are now getting more than our fair share of fast growth high tech businesses in the UK. Recently, Deloitte and Touche published a survey of the 500 fastest growing European high-tech companies - 150 are in the UK, compared with 97 in France, 51 in Germany, and 43 in Ireland. But we need to turn more of our spin-off companies into world-beating ones. It is very encouraging that we now have companies in Cambridge such as Virata, ARM, Autonomy, CellTech and CAT, but we need many more to be successful in world markets. Three areas into which we put significant extra resources in the Spending Review 2000 were E-Science, Basic Technology and Genomics. These key areas will shape life in the 21st Century, and we have committed a total of £252 Million to boost research in them. In this connection, I would like to say a word about the progress we are making in two of them: 'E-Science' What has come to be known as 'E-science' is a key component of the Government's strategy for ensuring that UK researchers have access to very large data collections, terascale computing resources, and high performance visualisation. That is why we have invested more than £100 million for the development of a research 'GRID' which will dramatically improve the capacity of our scientists to exchange and manipulate data in collaborative research programmes. We now have an 'e-science' centre in Edinburgh, a UK 'first' in the field which has attracted great interest internationally, including from the USA. Possibly of even more importance, in view of the impending decisions on the Science Budget next month, we also managed to get Gordon Brown to open it! One of the reasons for investing in E-science is that there are clear indications that the changes going on today in the way scientists work together will soon come to influence not only the research laboratory but also the wider world of business, and the professions. It is important for the UK to be at the leading edge in E-science, as from the research GRID will come the technologies to create the next generation of infrastructure for the internet and the telecommunications industries. Nanotechnology But this is not the only area where we see the potential for the industries of the future. One of the catalysts for the next wave will undoubtedly be nanotechnology, that aspect of materials science and its applications which is focussed on structures small enough to be manipulated at the molecular level. It is a collective term for a set of technologies, techniques, and processes – effectively a new way of thinking – and a radically new approach to making things. Nanotechnology has the potential to bring us faster computers, bio-compatible materials, pharmaceuticals tailored to the individual needs of the patient, and a whole range of catalysts, sensors, and magnetic materials and devices. It is very important. That is why in April I set up an advisory group on nanotechnology under the chairmanship of John Taylor, our Director-General of Research Councils, to develop a strategy enabling the UK to develop the critical mass which we need in this area so we can reap the full benefits of its potential. John has recently completed his report, and I am grateful for the contributions he received from leading experts in the field, both in academia and business. As the report points out, "it is no exaggeration to say that nanotechnology is set to disrupt the face of much of industry. It promises more for less: smaller, cheaper, lighter and faster devices with greater functionality, using less raw material and consuming less energy. "Any industry that fails to investigate the potential of nanotechnology, and to put in place its own strategy for dealing with it, is putting its business at risk." This, then, is just one area where we all, Government, the universities, and business, need to work together to ensure that our investments in the Science Base are properly focussed to maximise the returns they can produce for both economic development and the quality of life. Reviews While we have taken major steps to improve the funding of science and improve the incentives for knowledge transfer there is still a great deal we need to do to maximise the benefits we get from the major advances in science and technology that are currently taking place. So let me tell you of some of the projects currently underway. The first of these is our quinquenniel review of the Research Councils, designed to improve joint working for the benefit of UK science across the Councils themselves, OST, our stakeholders and customers. The review, completed last December, emphasised that a stronger strategic framework, shared vision, and improved links between sciences' key players together offer the prospect of even better value from the Government's investment in science, engineering, and technology. As a result of that review we have recently set up a forum, composed of the Research Council Chief Executives, and chaired by John Taylor, known as 'Research Councils UK' to develop a collective strategy for their future development. Science & Economic Development Innovation and competitiveness are increasingly dependent on 'know how' and this will be especially true in the field of manufacturing processes. It is for this reason that I particularly welcome the collaboration which has developed between your Council and the Engineering & Technology Board which Gareth mentioned. I announced the creation of the ETB early last year, and its remit to maximise the skills in the engineering and technology professions and take the sector forward into the 21st Century. The establishment of a Board representing leaders from industry, academia and Government, under the Chairmanship of Sir Peter Williams, is now ready to tackle the challenges facing the profession, and I welcome the collaboration between the ETB and your Council. The second project I would like to mention is the recent review undertaken by Sir Gareth on the supply of scientists and engineers in the UK, which has made a number of recommendations on improving the numbers and quality of the workforce in Science and technology based careers. The key recommendations relating to postgraduate study concern the duration and funding of P.hD stipends: and also that the stipends should be conditional upon students' training meeting stringent minimum standards. These minimum standards should include the provision of at least two weeks of dedicated training a year. Sir Gareth's review, 'SET for Success' is of immense importance and is being considered by the Government within this year's Spending Review process. As you will be aware, the results of that process are due to be announced sometime later this month. They will be informed by a Cross-Cutting Review of Science & Research which was initiated by the Treasury to consider how we fund the Science & Engineering Base in the UK, what are the key issues facing the funding system, and how we can maximise the potential benefits flowing from the Science Base. One of Sir Gareth's recommendations, which I very much endorse, is that closer links should be forged between SETNET, the Science Engineering & Technology Mathematics Network (chaired by Ron Oxburgh), and your Council. As you know, SETNET arose from a Government initiative, 'Action for Engineering'. It is about ensuring that we have a flow of well-motivated, high quality people from schools who have an interest in, and understanding of, engineering-related subjects. Science Council Projects Now let me move on to some of the projects you are undertaking this year. They include environmental indicators, integrated diagnostics, and laboratories in schools. Your collaboration with the Chartered Institute for Water and Environmental Management is an excellent example of scientific research being relevant to our daily lives. We must all work to create a sustainable environment, and evolve a way of life which is in harmony with it, and not destructive of its future. One of the ways we can do that, of course, is to take measures to improve our own health. Any work which you undertake to improve the speed and accuracy of medical diagnosis, as recommended in the 'Healthcare 2020' Foresight exercise will contribute to that goal. I consequently look forward to reading your findings in this area, which I understand are due to be reported in the autumn. Diagnosis of course is the first step to deciding what must be done to cure the patient. Our capacity to do that should increase immeasurably once we have identified the relationship between diseases, the environment, and particular sequences in the human genome. In future it should become possible not only to identify which members of the population have a genetic propensity to particular diseases, but also to develop medicines suitable for an individual patient. That is why the Medical Research Council, the Department of Health, and the Wellcome Trust are together providing an initial £45 million for the UK Biobank project – the world's largest study of the role of nature and nurture in health and disease. Science Education Excellent projects as these, of course, need excellent scientists. We are all aware of the issues surrounding the funding of science, and what I might refer to as the 'hard infrastructure' of buildings and laboratories in which it is carried out. But it is crucially important to remember that our science is only as good as the people who do it. Our university and Research Council laboratories need a continuing supply of talented and motivated people to work in them. We need to keep in perspective that today's postgraduate researchers prepared their skills as undergraduate students, and initially developed an interest in science when they were at school. Your Council considers science education to be a priority, and it is right to do so. We need more, and better, science teachers. We need to encourage young people to choose science subjects at 'A' level. We have made a start. At the beginning of this year I launched, as part of Science Year, the 'Science & Engineering Ambassadors' scheme. At the heart of that scheme is a recognition that the best people to encourage and enthuse teenagers to study science are young people working in our universities and research intensive businesses who can explain not only the fascinations of science, but also its crucial relevance both to the world of work and the development of our society. I know that many of your members are actively engaged in this kind of work. The Scheme provides schools with an assurance that the individuals concerned have been appropriately trained, and understand their roles. Anything we can do to encourage more young people to take up careers in science will widen the talent pool contributing to the development of the science base, and thus expanding its contribution to prosperity and development in the UK. In this respect it is encouraging to note that proposals emerging from the current review of the secondary education system by the Department for Education & Skills include the retention of science in the core curriculum for 14 – 19 year olds, together with a flexible structure for GCSE science which is aimed at engaging pupils with contemporary scientific issues, and focusing on their role as users and consumers of science. From the perspective of teachers of science, I would like to say how much I welcome the involvement of your Council in the Science Education Forum. The Forum met for the first time last January, and is due to meet again this month. I shall be attending that meeting, and am looking forward to learning of the Forum's progress in developing support from the public, private, and voluntary sectors for the National Centre of Excellence in science teaching. The creation of the National Centre of Excellence has grown out of recommendations made by a report of the Council of Science & Technology on 'Science Teachers', which highlighted the need for effective continuing professional support because of the breadth of the science curriculum, and the rapid developments now taking place in our understanding of science. The Government is committed to establishing this new organization for supporting the work and continuous professional development of science teachers as quickly as possible. We are aiming for the centre to begin its work next year, and be fully operational by April 2004. Your Council is now two years old. You are developing a strong voice for British Science, and we need that voice at a time when, in some quarters, it is fashionable to be dismissive of the contribution which scientific eneavours make to all of our lives. We have made good progress in positioning the UK to maximize the benefits arising from the opportunities opening up to us from the major advances taking place in science and technology today. I hope soon to be able to announce the further steps we will be taking in this direction. But what we can be sure about is that by working together we can greatly increase the value to this country of our outstanding science and engineering base. Thank you. |
|
|
|
|
Other speeches by Lord Sainsbury of Turville
(the following are available from the archive) |
|
