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| Diary Highlights |
28/09/10 CaSE met with Nick Hillman, Special Advisor to the Universities & Science Minister
27/09/10 Hilary Leevers attended a policy meeting on STEM education, hosted by the Science Council
27/09/10 Imran Khan met with Prof David Price, Vice-Provost for Research at UCL
24/09/10 Imran Khan and Dave Hawksett met with EON Energy
23/09/10 Hilary Leevers gave the key note speech at the Naturejobs Career Expo 2010
22/09/10 Imran Khan met with Syngenta
20/09/10 CaSE's Executive Committee and Finance & General Purpose Committee met
15/09/10 Hilary Leevers attended a meeting
on key issues in mathematics education
14/09/10 Imran Khan met with the Medical Research Council
13/09/10 Imran Khan spoke on science funding at the Green Party Conference
09/09/10 Dave Hawksett attended the launch of IET Annual Skills Report
07/09/10 Imran Khan met with Prof Mary Smyth, Dean of Science and Technology at Lancaster University
06/09/10 Imran Khan attended a Policy Exchange event with David Willetts MP, the Universities & Science Minister
04/09/10 Imran Khan spoke at the Science OnlineUK Conference
01/09/10 Iman Khan met with Reuters
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Please forward this on to any colleagues or friends you think will be interested in protecting science and engineering
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Science is Vital
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| This week saw the launch of the Science is Vital campaign - a grassroots movement aimed at highlighting the important role of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in supporting economic growth as well as wider society, before the Comprehensive Spending Review on 20th October.
Supported by CaSE, Science is Vital is:
- Hosting a petition against proposed funding cuts, which has already attracted over 6,000 signatures
- Organising a parliamentary lobby of MPs on 12th Oct
- Organising a rally outside HM Treasury, London on 9th Oct.
Please show your support for science by signing the petition and writing to your MP, asking them to attend the parliamentary lobby and sign the Science is Vital Early Day Motion 767
Then on 9th October, 3.30pm, join fellow scientists and supporters as we rally outside HM Treasury to make a positive case for science and engineering funding. A range of speakers will be confirmed nearer the time.
See the Science is Vital website for further details or contact CaSE.
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Protecting Science and Engineering Funding
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| Vince Cable Speech
On 8th September the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, gave a speech on science funding, in which he warned of considerable government spending cuts and urged the scientific community to achieve "more with less". CaSE, and many others in the scientific community, responded strongly to these comments, arguing that sustained investment, rather than cuts, are needed to secure the UK's economic recovery.
Read the CaSE press release
CaSE has compiled a comparison of Cable's comments with those of current world leaders, on the CaSE blog.
Read the blog
University Vice-Chancellors Press Briefing
CaSE and the Science Media Centre jointly organised a press briefing with Lord Rees, President of the Royal Society, and the heads of five British Universities to warn against the proposed cuts to science funding.
Read the CaSE press release
Read the press coverage of the event
Letter in Times Higher Education
Imran Khan, Case Director, was one of the signatories on a letter in Times Higher Education criticising an earlier article that had questioned the link between STEM skills and growth. The letter was also signed by the leaders of learned societies across the sector: the Society of Biology, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Physics, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.
CaSE also produced a two page briefing describing how research is funded in the UK. |
Post-CSR Policy Meeting
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CaSE has organised a member and collaborator meeting to discuss the actions of CaSE and other organisations in response to the CSR, on Monday 1st November, 3-5pm. We will also be planning our work on the devolved elections. The Institute of Physics has kindly agreed to host the event - organisational members and collaborators can register here. |
Ed Miliband as new Labour Leader
| | CaSE welcomed the new leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband MP. Read Imran Khan's Guardian blog on Ed Miliband's science challenge
Over the summer, Scientists for Labour, in collaboration with CaSE, asked the five candidates for the Labour Leadership what role they thought science would play in their future policy plans. In his response, Miliband commented on the importance of STEM for growth, writing that if investment is neglected now "we will pay a heavy price in the growth, productivity and employment foregone in the future".
CaSE is keen to work with the new Leader of the Opposition, and has written to him about how we can help the Labour Party hold the Government to account on science and engineering policies.
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Other issues that CaSE is working on
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- Non-EU Migrants. CaSE responded to the Home Office and Migration Advisory Committee consultations on the proposed cap on migrants. We have also produced a new briefing document on the cap and worked to secure media coverage of the issues, including the Wall Street Journal and BBC News
- Reform of the House of Lords. CaSE will be looking at how reform of the House of Lords might impact upon science and engineering policy-making.
- Haldane Principle. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will be making a policy statement on the Haldane principle in the autumn - we are seeking to input into this.
- HOC Inquiry into Emergencies. CaSE has submitted evidence to the House of Commons Science & Technology Select Committee Inquiry into Scientific Advice and Evidence in Emergencies.
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CaSE Blog
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The CaSE blog provides ideas and analysis on science and engineering policy developments in the UK. Recent posts include:
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