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
Monday 13 September 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.
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.
Thursday 9 September 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.
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.
Thursday 2 September 2010
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:
Funding is available to enable:
- academic scientists to work on a collaborative project with industry, or
- someone in industry to work on a collaborative project with a university or not-for-profit, non-publicly funded research organisation
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