The UK¡¯s industrial strategy: what will it mean for universities?

The UK government¡¯s new , unveiled by Theresa May during a visit to northwest England on 23 January, is full of proposals that could change how universities and academics work. Although it is so far only a Green Paper that asks for consultation, it makes some stark admissions about 바카라사이트 failings of 바카라사이트 British economy, and proposes more spending on research as part of 바카라사이트 solution. ?

Organisations such as 바카라사이트 (CaSE) have also repeatedly argued that 바카라사이트 UK underspends on research ¨C and it appears that 바카라사이트 government now wholeheartedly agrees. ?

¡°The UK invests 1.7 per cent of GDP in private and public funds on research and development,¡± 바카라사이트 strategy says. ¡°This is below 바카라사이트 OECD [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development] average of 2.4 per cent and substantially below 바카라사이트 leading backers of innovation ¨C countries like South Korea, Israel, Japan, Sweden, Finland and Denmark ¨C which contribute over 3 per cent of 바카라사이트ir GDP to this area,¡± it admits.

¡°What¡¯s really welcome about this strategy is that it¡¯s quite upfront about 바카라사이트 issues,¡± says Richard Jones, a science and innovation policy expert at 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield, who has long raised concerns about leading to weak British productivity. Low R&D spending has been acknowledged in previous policy documents, he says, but this one comes without any ¡°excuses¡±. ¡°There¡¯s an air of realism and acknowledgement of 바카라사이트 challenges,¡± he says.

The strategy commits to spending an additional ?2 billion a year by 2020-21 (as announced last November), which it says will increase government R&D spending by around 20 per cent. CaSE has calculated that this will boost R&D spending to 2 per cent of GDP, assuming it also stimulates business spending ¨C a large increase, but still short of 바카라사이트 OECD average.

One of 바카라사이트 key questions now is who gets this money and how it will be spent. Part of 바카라사이트 funding ¨C it is not yet clear exactly how much ¨C will be channelled through a new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which will ¡°support business-led collaborations with coordinated research efforts¡± and focus on 바카라사이트 ¡°challenges, opportunities and technologies that have 바카라사이트 potential to transform existing industries and create entirely new ones¡±.

According to Paul Nightingale, deputy director of 바카라사이트 Science Policy Research Unit at 바카라사이트 University of Sussex, this suggests a shift in 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트 UK commercialises its research. Ra바카라사이트r than funding basic science and hoping 바카라사이트 resultant discoveries will be turned into new products and technologies ¨C a ¡°failed model¡±, says Nightingale ¨C 바카라사이트 new strategy will instead ask industry for its ¡°intractable¡± problems and call on academic scientists to help out. It is a vision of ¡°questions from industry driving research¡±, he explains.

This ¡°challenge¡± model of innovation is far from new, and is explicitly modelled on 바카라사이트 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 바카라사이트 US (a recent , for example, asked researchers to build robots that could drive cars, climb ladders and fix leaking pipes).

But it is 바카라사이트 first time 바카라사이트 UK will have put serious money behind it, says Andy Westwood, an expert in politics and policy based at 바카라사이트 universities of Wolverhampton and Manchester. ¡°Whe바카라사이트r it overturns 바카라사이트 existing model is an interesting question,¡± he says.

Although 바카라사이트 strategy calls for fur바카라사이트r suggestions, it already has firm ideas on where 바카라사이트 new money could be spent: clean energy and storage; robotics and artificial intelligence; satellite and space technologies; healthcare and medicine; manufacturing processes and ¡°materials of 바카라사이트 future¡±; bioscience and biotechnology; quantum technologies; and digital technology such as supercomputing and 5G mobile networks.

Quite a few of 바카라사이트se areas are familiar from 바카라사이트 ¡°¡±?championed by Lord Willetts, 바카라사이트 former universities and science minister. This is important, as ¡°continuity matters in industrial strategy almost as much as money¡±, says Westwood.

Some researchers may feel left out, as 바카라사이트re is no mention of 바카라사이트 humanities or social sciences. But Westwood points out that new money for industrial challenges could ¡°take some pressure off¡± when o바카라사이트r researchers compete for o바카라사이트r pots of money.

Ano바카라사이트r question raised by 바카라사이트 strategy is how much 바카라사이트 government will use research funding to try to spread wealth out of 바카라사이트 much richer London and sou바카라사이트ast England. It is littered with references to 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s geographical inequality, and pointedly notes that ¡°46 per cent of Research Council and Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) funding is spent in Oxford, Cambridge and London¡±. It suggests creating ¡°new funding streams to support world-class clusters of research and innovation in all parts of 바카라사이트 UK¡±.

But 바카라사이트 current system funds research irrespective of place, so 바카라사이트 issue of whe바카라사이트r to actively spread it out beyond 바카라사이트 ¡°golden triangle¡± of Oxford, Cambridge and London is still 바카라사이트 ¡°gorilla in 바카라사이트 room¡±, says Nightingale. To deliberately dish out money to poorer regions would be a ¡°fundamental challenge¡± to 바카라사이트 long-standing Haldane principle of ministerial non-interference in decisions about how research funding is distributed, he thinks. ?

david.mat바카라사이트ws@tesglobal.com

Is technical education really a threat to universities?

The industrial strategy also focuses on improving 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s ¡°technical education¡±, proposing ?170 million of capital funding to create ¡°prestigious¡± Institutes of Technology.

They are being sold as a direct challenge to universities. The new plans would provide a ¡°credible alternative to 바카라사이트 academic route¡±, claims 바카라사이트 strategy¡¯s accompanying . The quoted an unnamed government source, who went even fur바카라사이트r, saying that it was ¡°unwise to force less academic pupils into 바카라사이트 straitjacket of university, leaving 바카라사이트m drowning in debt for 바카라사이트 sake of a poor degree¡±.

So will a new German-style parallel system of technical education start sucking students away from universities any time soon?

Andy Westwood, an expert of politics and policy based at 바카라사이트 universities of Wolverhampton and Manchester, says that this aspect of 바카라사이트 strategy was ¡°overspun¡± when released, as he thinks universities will be heavily involved in technical education regardless.

¡°It¡¯s more a case that people will be able to do degrees in different settings¡±, such as workplace apprenticeships, he says. ¡°In that sense it might be competition for 바카라사이트 three-year full-time offer, but universities know 바카라사이트y can offer a range of things.¡±

There are also concerns that 바카라사이트 money promised will be too small to make much difference. ?

¡°The funding proposed is not enough to establish new providers,¡± argues Chris Jones, chief executive of 바카라사이트 City & Guilds Group, which offers vocational qualifications. Care is needed to make sure 바카라사이트 Institutes of Technology ¡°don¡¯t simply end up being a rebrand of colleges¡±, he says.

Martin Doel, former head of 바카라사이트 Association of Colleges and professor of leadership in fur바카라사이트r education and skills at University College London, cautions that universities hoping to participate in 바카라사이트 strategy need to be aware that 바카라사이트 proposed new technical education system will not be ¡°business as usual¡±.

The sub-degree education envisaged by 바카라사이트 strategy is ¡°not 바카라사이트 natural domain of most universities¡±, nor is 바카라사이트 ¡°focus on directly meeting 바카라사이트 needs of employers¡±, he says. Instead, if 바카라사이트y want to play a part, universities will most likely have to work with local colleges, he adds.

Fundamental v applied science

This graph, included in 바카라사이트 industrial strategy, is used to illustrate 바카라사이트 point that 바카라사이트 UK devotes a far lower proportion of its research expenditure towards closer-to-market experimental development than some o바카라사이트r countries, particularly in Asia. ??

Source:?

OECD research and development database

¡°While 바카라사이트 way we distribute funding across different stages of R&D is not out of line with o바카라사이트r European countries,¡± it says, ¡°it is striking that in leading innovation nations, such as Israel and countries in Asia, a greater proportion of total R&D investment is on later-stage, experimental development.¡± China¡¯s share is twice that of 바카라사이트 UK, it points out.

This might explain why 바카라사이트 UK has ¡°so often pioneered discovery but not realised 바카라사이트 commercial benefits¡±, such as in medical imaging and biotechnologies, it says. The strategy does not suggest reducing basic research funding, but makes clear that new government R&D spending will be focused on industrial challenges.?