28/11/07 Scottish Science
CaSE was happy to participate in the Science in the Parliament event organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. There was much discussion of the need for urgent and definitive action to alleviate the effects of climate change, with a stimulating presentation by Professor Anne Glover, Scottish Chief Scientific Advisor, and much debate and discussion with a panel of SMPs. Scotland's unique natural and intellectual resources put it in a strong position to lead in developing the relevant technologies (with the associated economic gains).

Participants then observed a debate on science in the Scottish Parliament. During the debate, SMPs expressed concern about the poor funding proposed for Scottish universities in this month's spending review. Universities had hoped for a rise of £168 million over three years, but were given just £30 million, an increase of less than 3% in real terms. This worrying proposal would stifle the ability of Scottish academic scientists to rise to future challenges, such as climate change, and limit their success in raising money from the UK research councils. Hilary Leevers, Acting Director of CaSE, commented: "The short-sightedness of such poor funding levels is unbelievable. Scotland has the potential to excel in new technologies, improving the global environment and also generating massive economic gain. Instead, the problems created by the skills shortage that many Scottish industrialists and academics told me about today is going to be compounded by funding shortages. We have seen the devastating effect that under-funding can have on science departments, in the rounds of closures south of the border in recent years." CaSE urges the SMPs to fight for an increased higher education budget.

22/11/07 Chemistry Policy
CaSE Acting Director, Dr Hilary Leevers, attended the Parliamentary Affairs Committee meeting of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

12-13/11/07 Belgo-British Bridges
CaSE attended the Annual Belgo-British Conference "Bridges across the Channel". Most of the conference was spent in discussion groups with delegates drawn from the fields of politics, journalism, media, academia, science and business on both sides of the channel. Speaking after the meeting, Hilary Leevers commented "There was much lively and detailed discussion in the education group, and it was interesting to learn from the differences and successes of each other's systems. Among other things, we considered: approaches to ensure sure that all students leave education with qualifications; whether and how to guide student choices to fill skill shortages and make sure that they study subjects that improve their employability; and ways to foster international movement and collaboration - less of an issue in the UK because of the benefit we have as native English-speakers."

8/11/07 International Innovation
CaSE Acting Director, Dr Hilary Leevers, attended the Science and Innovation Network Reception. The network has representatives in 24 countries and territories aimed at fostering international partnerships and collaborations. Hilary Leevers commented that it was an excellent opportunity to learn about the science environment of other countries, how they perceive the situation in the UK, and what the critical factors are for encouraging collaboration and retaining competitiveness.

7/11/07 The Last Report
CaSE enthusiastically supports the recommendations of The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s “The Last Report”. The committee argues for the importance of having a cross-departmental committee in charge of scrutinising all science policy issues, monitoring the Research Councils, and directly questioning the science minister. This should be separate from and not a sub-committee of the DIUS select committee. The report graciously thanks the scientific community for all its work and support, mentioning CaSE several times and including a quote from an open letter to the Leader of the House from Dr Peter Cotgreave, former CaSE Director: “In theory, other committees could investigate [issues outside their remits] but in practice they don’t … it would be a mistake to limit the scope of parliamentary scrutiny of science policy to the narrow remit of the DIUS.”

7/11/07 Biological Science Policy
Hilary Leevers attended the Science Policy Board meeting at the Institute of Biology.

6/11/07 Pearson Science Policy Speech
The Minister for Science and Innovation, Ian Pearson MP, delivered the first Gareth Roberts Memorial Lecture speech on science policy. He emphasised the importance of public engagement with science and the supply of young scientists. However, like many in government, his emphasis was on outreaching to secure the scientists of the future rather than education. CaSE welcomed his consideration of diversity and his vision of "A Society that is excited about science, values its importance to our economic and social well-being, feels confident in its use, and supports a representative, well-qualified scientific workforce". We look forward to working with him towards this goal.

5/11/07 Royal Society Pfizer award Ceremony
David Hawksett attended the Royal Society Pfizer award at the Royal Society in London. The award was established last year with the aim of helping to expand scientific research in developing countries. Congratulations to Dr Hiba Mohamed, of the Institute of Endemic Diseases in Sudan, who was awarded the prize for her research on the genetic basis of differences in human susceptibility to leishmaniasis. This disease affects some 12 million people around the world and has claimed thousands of lives in Sudan.

5/11/07 Research Charities
Hilary Leevers and David Hawksett, CaSE Membership Officer, met with Simon Denegri, Chief Executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities. They enjoyed a thorough discussion of the key issues affecting research charities in the UK, including the projected shortfall in the Charity Research Support Fund that contributes to indirect costs when charities fund research in universities.

2/11/07 Mind boggling measures in science education
CaSE Acting Director, Dr Hilary Leevers, argued in a letter in the Times Educational Supplement today that evidence rather than political motives should drive decisions in science education.

Read text of letter