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Summary
Scotland is - and has been long recognised as - a science nation. Excellence in science, engineering and technology ( SET) research and teaching are key factors in Scotland's current international and economic position - in terms of:
- recognition, reputation and influence
- provision of teaching, learning and qualifications (in schools, colleges and universities);
- research partnerships - at individual, institutional and strategic levels; and
- securing sustainable inward investment (particularly in research).
Scotland had over 36,000 international students in 2006/07, of which around 24,000 were from outwith the EU (15,000 were at postgraduate and 9,000 at undergraduate level). There has been a 50% increase in EU students in last 5 years and a 118% increase in students from outside the EU. Scotland's International Lifelong Learning Strategy was launched in March 2007. It aimed to position Scotland as a world-leader in international post-school education. It included supplementary aims concerned with, for example, attracting talent to Scotland and fostering international partnerships and strategic alliances.
Scotland has a high level of public investment in R&D, at 0.95% of GDP, compared with 0.6% for the UK as a whole and 0.7% for a comparator group of countries. Also, Scotland's scientific research base is ranked first in the world in terms of the rate our research papers are cited, relative to our GDP and second in the world behind only Switzerland. We are ahead of the USA in terms of impact (measured as the average number of citations per paper). The best performing research fields, in terms of impact, are clinical sciences (2nd in the world), health and related sciences (1st), and biological sciences (3rd). That said, a step change in the economic value derived from the Scottish science base and cultural change in both academia and business will be required to deliver sustainable economic growth and the other outcomes set out in the Government's Economic Strategy and National Performance Framework.
The main - inter-related - challenges for Scotland's science base are:
- Global competition, and the need to maintain our national pre-eminence in SET teaching and research;
- Developing a SET workforce which is aligned to the needs of the science base in business and academia, by retaining or attracting scientific talent and expertise;
- Increasing business R&D and utilisation of the science base
- Attracting SET-related inward investment; and
- Improving the international marketing of Scotland's science, engineering and technology, and seeking broader and deeper international collaborations with new and existing partners.
There is a clear consensus that sustaining the global competitiveness of the science base in Scotland - in the face of anticipated changes such as the current scale and pace of SET capacity building in India and China, or other unforeseen factors - is the optimum way to build on that success and support sustainable economic growth if coupled with:
- the enhanced skills utilisation and open innovation which are the aims and outcomes of the Skills for Scotland and the Innovation Framework
- A range of interchange programmes which support the development of science and scientists in Scotland and sustainable strategic partnerships with the best in the world;
- more effective collaboration to foster and exploit future opportunities to attract inward investment in our science and research base in research institutions and companies; and support for increased international activity in the SME base; and
- a shared commitment to communication, raising awareness of Scotland's distinctive SET capacity and ambition.
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