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Diary
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15/09/11 Imran Khan met the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland, Professor Anne Glover.
14/09/11 Imran Khan met with CaSE organisational member Merck Sharp & Dohme
12/09/11 Imran Khan attended a conference on the history of scientific governance in the UK, hosted by the University of Kent
09/09/11 Dave Hawsett met with the National Grid
06/09/11 Imran Khan met with Dr Tom Crick from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff
05/09/11 CaSE held a meeting of its Finance & General Purpose Committee and Executive Committee
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Please forward this on to any colleagues or friends you think would be interested in supporting science and engineering.
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Investing in Science and Engineering
| | CaSE has welcomed Chancellor George Osborne's announcement that £195m of new investment will be spent on science and engineering, after he said that he wants Britain to be "home to the greatest scientists and engineers" - but warned that more has to be done to keep Britain's pre-eminent place at the top table of global research.
CaSE Director Imran Khan said, "Investing in knowledge-intensive sectors, which the UK will simply have to focus on for future growth, is even more important at times of economic turmoil - we'll only be able to successfully rebalance the economy if the Government actively supports and promotes these areas".
A recent report by CaSE (Public Funding of UK Science and Engineering: Putting Government Rhetoric to the Test) has revealed an alarming decline in UK science and engineering funding. The analysis shows that by 2014-15 the research base will be £1.7bn worse off, in cash terms, as a result of funding decisions taken since the Spending Review last year. Inflation will lead to a further erosion of investment available for science and engineering.
The report received wide media coverage, including an article in The Times. A PDF version of the report is available here. |
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Extraordinary General Meeting & Status Change
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CaSE is currently undergoing a legal change of status to become a charity organisation. We will be holding a General Meeting later in the autumn to elect the new CaSE Executive Committee and discuss CaSE's future strategy. All members are welcome to attend. For further details please go to our website or get in touch.
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Versatility of Science Graduates
| | Writing for The Guardian, Imran Khan has welcomed the career diversity of science graduates. This comes in response to a paper entitled 'Is there a shortage of scientists?', produced by the University of Birmingham, which suggests there is no shortage of scientists and engineers in the UK, and coverage by The Guardian which claims that 'only about half of all science graduates find work that requires their scientific knowledge'.
AS Imran counters in his article, while it's true that about half of STEM graduates end up in careers outside science, that's not an argument to say that too many young people are studying science. A STEM degree gives you a huge range of skills that are in demand in a wide variety of jobs, not just in science, but in teaching, politics, and running companies.
Imran was supported on the issue by Sarah Blackford, Head of Education & Public Affairs at the Society for Experimental Biology, in her article for the CaSE blog. |
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Science Question Time
| | The fifth Science Question Time (organised by CaSE, the Biochemical Society, and staff at Imperial College London) will be
held on 25th October at King's College London and will discuss the Future of Drugs. For more information, please check the CaSE website, get in touch, or follow us on Twitter.
The fourth Science Question Time was held at Charles Darwin House and focused on Higher Education. James Lush, Policy Officer at the Biochemical Society, has written a two part summary of the event for the CaSE blog here (1) and here (2).
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Teaching Evolution in Schools
| | CaSE has added its name to a statement, alongside the British Humanist Association, the Association for Science Education, the British Science Association, and Ekklesion, supporting teaching evolution in school science.
The statement calls on the Government to make statutory and enforceable the current, non-statutory, guidance that creationism and 'intelligent design' should not be taught in school science, while at the same time calling for the teaching of evolution to be included at both primary and secondary levels in the National Curriculum and in all schools. |
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Putting Evidence into Policy-Making
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Conservative MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST), and former Shadow Science Minister, Adam Afriyie MP, has written an article for the CaSE blog ahead of the 2011 Conservative Party Conference, making the case for a scientific approach to policy-making.
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Internship Applications
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We are now considering internship applications for the autumn. At CaSE you would join our small team in a fast-paced office environment, helping us shape policy at the highest levels and influencing media coverage of the sector.
For further details about applying please see here.
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| Other issues that CaSE is working on |
- Chief Scientific Advisers
CaSE has responded to the House of Lords' S&T Committee inquiry into the work of departmental Chief Scientific Advisors. CaSE has compiled a scorecard to rate the suitability of each CSA on a number of key criteria, including relevant expertise, independence, regular meetings with ministers, and sufficient oversight powers.
- Practical Experiments in Schools
CaSE has published its response to the House of Common's Science and Technology Committee inquiry into practical experiments in school science lessons and science field trips. The committee's report can be found here.
- Scientists and engineers into policy-making
CaSE consistently encourages scientists and engineers to get directly involved in campaigning for the interests of our sector. We will be publishing a 'how to' guide shortly. For further details please see the 'Get Involved' section of our website.
- House of Lords Reform
CaSE is planning a meeting on the implications of House of Lords reform to the representation of science and engineering in the upper chamber. The Royal Society has kindly agreed to host the event. Please get in touch if you are interested in this work.
If you wish to feed into any of the above policy areas please
get in touch.
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Upcoming Consultations and Events
| Attracting, Training and Retaining the best teachers
House of Commons Education Committee Inquiry Deadline: 12th October
Inside Pharma event 19th October Deadline: 1st November
Deadline: 7th November
Scottish Government Consultation Deadline: 23rd December
For details about futher events see our policy events calendar |
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