Research Councils UK (RCUK) has today published its new research careers strategy. The strategy outlines how the Research Councils, the UK's biggest public funders of cutting-edge research, will continue to attract the brightest minds to research careers and maintain a supply of skilled people in the country's universities and institutes to underpin the UK's growing knowledge economy.
The Research Councils will promote access for all to research careers, encouraging people regardless of their background to look differently at scientific, technological, mathematical and creative & cultural roles in order to attract the most skilled and creative minds.
Key to the RCUK strategy will be the need to enthuse school pupils in these subjects as well as promote the wider attractions of a research career. At the same time, the Research Councils will work to ensure that both women and ethnic minority groups are fully represented across the research community.
For organisations such as universities and research institutes the new strategy from Research Councils UK will help them manage their staff, identify training requirements and promote career development ensuring that researchers across the country can advance their skills and manage their careers successfully.
The sharing of ideas and best practice will form an integral focus of the RCUK strategy, creating a solid research foundation on which to respond to the needs of employers and the labour market. In this way, the Council aims to enhance the international reputation of UK research training to attract the best minds to UK research from across the world.
Professor Julia Goodfellow, speaking on behalf of RCUK, said: "The government has identified a high-skilled workforce as central to the UK's knowledge economy. RCUK's research careers strategy outlines how the Research Councils aim to attract the brightest, most creative and most talented individuals into careers in research, regardless of their background or circumstances. This is a task that starts by enthusing schoolchildren and continues through to ensuring attractive career paths provide the researchers that academia and industry need."
The strategy document and accompanying highlights booklet, entitled Research Careers: A Strategy for Success, are available at: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/Publications/archive/Pages/rcdstrategy.aspx
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Contacts
Alun Roberts, Research Councils UK
01793 444474
Notes to Editors
The eight Research Councils are independent non-departmental public bodies, funded by the Science Budget through the Office of Science and Innovation (OSI). They are incorporated by Royal Charter and together manage a research budget of over £2.8 billion a year. Through RCUK, the Research Councils work together to champion the research, training and innovation they support.
The RCUK Research Careers and Diversity Unit was set up in April 2005 and builds upon the existing activities and facilitate new developments across the Research Councils to help address the key government objectives of:
- Ensuring that the UK economy has a sufficient supply of scientists and engineers.
- Increasing the involvement of women and ethnic minority groups in science and its governance.
The unit is responsible for a number of joint Council schemes such as the UKGRAD skills programme and the Academic Fellowships and Dorothy Hodgkin awards schemes, reporting on the implementation by the Councils of the Roberts recommendations, co-ordination with OSI and the RCUK Science in Society unit, partnership with HESA (e.g. on first destination data for students) and provision of SET statistics on careers.
The eight UK Research Councils are:
- Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC);
- Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC);
- Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC);
- Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC);
- Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC);
- Medical Research Council (MRC);
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC);
- Particle Physics & Astronomy Research Council (PPARC)