Opportunity: The Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technolgy - Independent Members (closing date 28 February 2010)

The Council for Science and Technology (CST) is the Government's top-level advisory body on science and technology and reports directly to the Prime Minister.

 

This vacancy is for membership of the CST which meets four times a year - March, June, September and December.

 

The Council is looking to renew its membership from January 2011. We are looking for up to 10 new members from:

1. business - large and small; manufacturing. services and financial sectors.
2. academia - in particular physicial scientists (including information and communications technology), social scientists and an economists, and if possible a vice-chancellor
3. a science and society background
4. an education background

To apply or see further details, visit the Cabinet Office website.

Opportunity: NESTA Trustees (3 positions) - closing date 7 January 2011

NESTA is an independent body with a mission to make the UK more innovative. Three trustee positions are available, to contribute broadly to the Board and the strategic direction of NESTA. All Trustees are required to represent NESTA and play a representative role to a variety of audiences, though especially in the sphere of their particular specialism and expertise.

The specific duties of Trustees are to:

• Contribute to all aspects of Board business and strategic oversight;
• Actively engage with key stakeholders in fields which are relevant to the business of NESTA, acting in an ambassadorial capacity as appropriate;
• Provide specific sector expertise where the Trustee’s contacts and knowledge will be invaluable in supporting NESTA’s activities; and
• Participate in Board decision making on the innovation agenda, and design of new programmes and partnerships.

Three Trustee positions are available:

• NESTA Trustee & Member of the Public Services Lab Board
• NESTA Trustee & Chair of the Innovation & Economic Growth Committee
• NESTA Trustee & Member of the Investment Committee and the Innovation & Economic Growth Committee

The closing date for all applications is 7 January 2011.

Material scarcity – how might it affect your R&D?

Please help the R&D Society and Materials KTN to create an event that is useful to you and your organisation.

Some materials are becoming scarce, or are in danger of becoming scarce in the near future. Some are well-known and frequently discussed - eg oil or natural gas. However, there is increasing awareness that other materials are in danger of becoming scarce, which has challenges and opportunities for future R&D and design.

The R&D Society and Materials KTN are planning to hold an event on this issue, and we would be grateful for your input at an early stage to help us in planning this, by answering a short survey on our website.

We’d be grateful if you could respond at your earliest convenience – preferably by 28 December 2010.

The 2010 R&D Scoreboard

The latest – and last – R&D Scoreboard was published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on 25 November 2010. The R&D Scoreboard is an annual investigation of the top 1,000 UK and top 1,000 global corporate investors in research and development and is endorsed by a number of organisations, including the R&D Society. On publishing the Scoreboard, BIS announced that it was not going to publish any further editions. In 1 December 2010’s issue of Research Fortnight, David Kingham, past Chair of the R&D Society, commented on behalf of the Society that the Government does need to ensure it has methods to monitor the effects of its R&D policies.

The scoreboard shoes that the top one thousand UK companies invested more than £25.3bn on developing new products, services and productivity in 2009; spend by the UK companies listed decreased by 0.6 per cent in 2009 – a smaller decrease than some commentators thought would occur due to the economic downturn. The scoreboard found that the decrease was largely due to lower spend by firms in fixed line telecommunications, banking, aerospace and defence sectors, with automobiles and parts, software and computer services and technology hardware and equipment increasing their overall R&D investment in 2009. 78% of global R&D occurs in five countries: the US; Japan; Germany; France and the UK.

The 2010 R&D Scoreboard is published on the BIS website and is free to access.

Policy input: EU Framework Programme for R&D: Call for Evidence - closing date 4 January 2011

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published a Call for Evidence, inviting the UK’s R&D community to have their say on the European Union’s Framework Programme. The Framework is the EU's main mechanism for funding research, technological development and demonstration. UK participation in the current 2007-2013 iteration of the Framework Programme (known as FP7) has been strong – with UK researchers receiving €1.83 billion of funding from the €12.7 billion awarded to date.

BIS would like to hear from those with first-hand experiences of this initiative – academics, researchers and businesspeople – so that BIS can better equip the UK to maximise on the opportunities on offer and strengthen the UK's negotiating position in advance of the next Programme.

The main call for evidence document can be found at www.bis.gov.uk/fp8-call-for-evidence In addition, a more informal discussion is available via the Technology Strategy Board _connect platform.

The call for evidence closes on 4th January 2011.

Opportunity: Member of the Science and Technology Honours Committee, closing date 1 October 2010

The Science and Technology Honours Committee is one of the eight specialist honours committees which consider candidates for honours recommended by members of the public, government departments and professional bodies. The Committee considers candidates for honours who work in the science community. The Committee selects those it wishes to recommend for inclusion in the list which the Prime Minister submits to The Queen for the New Year and Birthday Honours Lists.

The requirement is for a candidate who is an expert in the worlds of science and technology and who is to able to command the confidence of other experts in the sector. Members will be persons with a track record of success in their own fields who are well qualified to judge the relative merits of competing candidates for honours.

Full details of the honours system, membership of the Science and Technology Committee and the areas of work covered by each committee, can be found at www.direct.gov.uk/honours

Working arrangement: Part Time - Two days and some preparatory reading.
Remuneration: Unpaid but reasonable travel expenses will be paid
To find out more, and apply, visit the Cabinet Office Public Appointments website. Closing date 1 October 2010

Opportunity: National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) Trustee, closing date 3 October 2010

The Department for Culture Media and Sport invites applications for up to 6 Trustee vacancies at the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI). Trustees are appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Secretary of State.

The National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) is Britain’s National Museum for science, technology, medicine, transport and media and is one of the world’s great museum organisations. It operates three of the top museum ‘brands’ in the United Kingdom: the Science Museum, the National Media Museum and the National Railway Museum.

NMSI Trustees have statutory duties, under the National Heritage Act 1983, for the general management and control of NMSI and for the well being of the collections in its care. They are expected to familiarise themselves with, make regular visits to and attend meetings at each of the museums in London, Yorkshire and Co. Durham.

Time commitment: 1-2 days per month (average).
Remuneration: not remunerated, however, reasonable expenses are paid.

To find out more and apply, visit the Cabinet Office Public Appointments website. Closing date 3 October 2010.

R&D Society: Government must maintain support for all areas of UK R&D, from academia to business

In response to Vince Cable’s Science, Research and Innovation speech of 8 September 2010, Sir Richard Sykes, President of the R&D Society comments:

The Government must maintain the support of UK R&D - from academia to businesses large and small - if we are to prosper financially and socially in future. This includes maintaining investment in our world-class science base to attract investment and people from all over the world, and finding ways of encouraging businesses and academia to work together effectively.

Vince Cable asks how to encourage academics to collaborate with industry to maximise the benefit of their research. Universities cannot simply increase the commercial viability of their research by turning on a tap. They need encouragement and support to do so – but they also need businesses who are willing, able and capable of working with them. For academic-business links to succeed, businesses need encouragement too, especially now, when many are having to focus on short-term survival in place of longer-term, R&D-based investment. The commercial R&D sector has been under severe pressure in this recession, and we have seen several commercial R&D labs close or scale back in the UK over the past year.

Though Vince Cable did mention support for the Small Business Research Initiative, he omits to discuss how business might be encouraged to work with academia – for example R&D tax credits, networking support, skills transfer schemes. Businesses want to get on with their job in hand, so Government must be a supporting catalyst, not prescriptive – a midwife, not a nanny. This should not happen at the expense of support for business-business knowledge transfer - the Cinderella largely ignored by successive Governments, but one that powers much of UK innovation, especially around smaller enterprises.

The UK is an attractive place to do R&D, and Vince Cable is rightly proud that many multinational companies locate their R&D operations in the UK. But they will only do so whilst it is in their best interests to. Businesses have told the R&D Society about many different reasons why they choose the UK, and one of the most important is the high quality of UK universities. This provides local access to world-class research, and a regular supply of skilled graduates. We are very worried at the cuts to UK science hinted at in Vince Cable’s speech will have the double whammy of reducing the research and teaching capacity of UK universities and discouraging students from studying research-relevant subjects – resulting in more top performing graduates "heading straight for high finance rather than science and engineering", as Mr Cable laments. In order to maintain the flow of ideas to wealth in the long term, a broad portfolio of high-class 'basic' research must be maintained as the fruits of the future.

Royal Society Industry Fellowships - closing date 29 October 2010

Applications are invited to this scheme, which promotes knowledge exchange between academia and industry by establishing personal and corporate links.
Funding is available to enable:

1. academic scientists to work on a collaborative project with industry, or
2. someone in industry to work on a collaborative project with a university or not-for-profit, non-publicly funded research organisation

More information is available on the Royal Society website. The closing date is 29 Oct 2010.

Society of Biology; Industry Survey - what do employers want from bioscience degree graduates?

The Society of Biology is in the process of developing a pilot programme of Accredited UK Bioscience Degrees to help both employers and students identify bioscience degrees which provide graduates with the higher levels of skills needed to progress into scientific and research roles in industry and academia. The Society of Biology are adamant that industry and employer perspectives are considered as they develop our Accreditation design and have recently launched an Industry Survey on Accredited Degrees.

Society of Biology - Biology Degree Accreditation

The Society of Biology is currently developing criteria to accredit biological science degrees that will enable business to select those graduates with high quality practical skills more easily. The Society is aiming to pilot an accreditation process in 2010-2011 and will announce its accreditation criteria later this year. The Society is currently seeking the views of businesses on accreditation via a brief online survey.

Please take a moment to complete the Industry Survey on Accredited Degrees; it is an opportunity for your business’ needs to shape an Accreditation Programme which aims to help employers identify those bioscience graduates with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for employment in today’s bioscience-related industries.

Take part in the Industry Survey on Accredited Degrees before the end of December 2010.

Policy: Public consultation events on the Advanced Level Diploma in Science, c/d 4 May 2010

From SEMTA: The Diploma in Science is an exciting new qualification aimed at 14-19 year olds. The Foundation and Higher levels will launch in September 2011 and the Advanced level in September 2012. It will provide students with a combination of essential science knowledge and skills that employers and education look for.

A 12 week public consultation is due to take place on the Advanced Level Diploma in Science Line of Learning Statement (the Vision) and, Line of Learning Criteria (knowledge, skills and understanding). The consultation period will run between 9^th February and 4^th May 2010. Participants will be able to either attend a regional focus group or to complete an online survey.

The regional focus groups run from 24 February to 22 April, and representatives from awarding bodies, colleges, schools, universities, employers and other organisations interested in shaping the new Diploma in Science are invited to participate in the consultation.

Details of the focus groups, and how to apply are on the Diploma in Science website.

Opportunity: The Shell and Institute of Physics Award for the Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year, cd 26 February 2010

From the Institute of Physics: Applications are now being accepted for the Very Early Career Award 2010, the closing date for applications is 26 February 2010. For more information about the 2010 award and how to apply please download the poster and application form.

The Women in Physics Group annually invite applications from women at the start of their careers in physics who have made a substantial contribution to the subject and may also have undertaken activities to support and encourage others in the field. The prize is awarded annually to a woman who is within three years of completing her undergraduate degree in physics and who is either working as a physicist or is engaged in postgraduate study.

The winner will receive £1,000 donated by Shell and an award certificate at a major Institute of Physics Women in Physics event. As well as providing recognition of the winner's work through the prize money, the award will also provide valuable networking opportunities. Applicants therefore must be working in the UK or Ireland.

The Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year Award seeks to recognise the work done by physicists who are embarking on a career in physics and to promote the career opportunities open to people with physics qualifications.

Opportunity: TSB announces £13m crop protection R&D competition, c/d 25 Feb 2010

The Technology Strategy Board has announced a new competition with £13m available for industry-led projects that will help growers respond to the challenge of increasing crop productivity whilst also reducing the environmental impact of crop production.

The competition opens on January 18th 2010 and aims to meet existing and new EU regulation on the approval and use of pesticides. This call is relevant to businesses and stakeholders across the agricultural supply chain, including those involved in the following sectors:

• arable crops including wheat, barley, oilseed rape, potatoes and pulse crops
• horticulture
• grasses and forage crops
• crops for biofuels, and other non-food uses
• in the field or protected cultivation

Further information is available at the Technology Strategy Board website.

The Biosciences KTN, which is free to join, can help assist by providing advice on project scope and fit to eligibility criteria; identification of potential collaborative partners; confidential review of draft proposals.

Opportunity: I'm a scientist, get me out of here, c/d 19 Feb 2010

Do you want to get into schools without having to leave the lab? Do you want to be sure there is a real educational benefit to what you are doing? Do you want to develop your communication skills, and possibly get awarded £500?

‘I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here!’ get teenagers talking to real scientists, online, and learning about real science. Students have fun, but also get beyond stereotypes, learn about how science relates to real life, develop their thinking and discussion skills and make connections with real scientists.

You’d be making a difference. And you’d be learning too. Teenagers ask all sorts of questions - from the cheeky to the thought-provoking. They fizz with energy and can be infectious company. The students chose which scientist gets a grant of £500 for public engagement. This means they engage at a much deeper level, because they have a say over something real.

This award-winning event is funded by the Wellcome Trust, to promote public engagement with science. Find out more, or register to take part at http://imascientist.org.uk/for-scientists/