This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Science and the Parliament
11/11/2002
Scotland's science and research base has the resources
it needs to play a major role in developing the knowledge
economy, MSPs and leading members of the science community
will be told tomorrow.
Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Minsiter Iain Gray will
speak at the Science and the Parliament event on Wednesday
night, highlighting how the country's Higher Education
institutions has benefited as part of the Executive's
spending review.
The event, held during European Sciences Week, aims to
raise awareness and improve science education. More than
100 scientists are exepcted to attend.
The Minister said:
"Science, and its many applications, is a key driver in
our future economic success and in improving Scotland's
quality of life.
"Following last year's excellent Research Assessment
Exercise results, we awarded an additional £10 million per
year for research in higher education through the Scottish
Higher Education Funding Council.
"In the September Spending Review, we announced further
investment in science and research in higher education,
worth £25 million from 2004-05 and £35 million from
2005-06.
"This means that in 3 years' time, SHEFC's funding for
research will be nearly 20% higher in real terms than last
year.
"A key priority in making these investment must be to
ensure that science and research in the higher education
sector in Scotland remains fully competitive with the rest
of the United Kingdom, able to attract and retain the best
staff and students.
"I have recently written to SHEFC to outline the
strategic purposes of these additional funds.
"This funding will also enable SHEFC to take forward
initiatives such as its Strategic Research Development
Grant scheme, to help ensure that strategically important
research is properly supported and the commercialisation of
research is further encouraged.
"Such grants may be used to support our existing world
class research departments, for example in bioscience and
e-science, or for new up-coming research areas which are
expected to become strategically important.
"The funding is also vitally important if our
universities are to have the skills and infrastructure to
be able to tap into new UK funds for research announced in
the summer, including the Science Research Investment Fund
(SRIF).
"I have also asked SHEFC to ensure their programmes
continue the momentum on knowledge transfer and
commercialisation activities, to help meet the Executive's
target of assisting 150 joint academic and industry
ventures by 2006.
Mr Gray continued:
"The Executive has also invested £8 million in school
science projects directed at helping schools in support of
objectives of the Executive's Science Strategy.
"The Science and the Parliament event this year is
mainly about how we attract more young people to study
science and technology and we have put a lot of effort into
specific initiatives to boost that interest.
"We also recently announced a significant increase in
funding for the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The funding,
which will rise from its present level of £900,000 to £1.3
million a year, will enable the RSE to further develop its
role in science promotion both here and abroad.
"But perhaps the best advertisement to pupils, students,
parents and teachers is to show we mean business with the
funding of science and research.
"This message appears to be getting through with recent
figures showing the number of students accepted into
full-time science and engineering undergraduate courses
rising by more than 4 per cent from 2000 to 2001. During
the same period, acceptances to mathematics and computing
courses have increased by more than 8 per cent.
"Science is integral to the economy and so to jobs and
quality of life of the rising generation."