Students express serious concerns about the future of science in the UK
During National Science & Engineering Week, the British Science Association’s CREST Youth Panel met to discuss their feelings towards their future in UK Science. They have composed an open letter to the Science Minster, David Willets to raise a number of concerns that they feel needs to be addressed, along with some suggestions of how the Coalition Government can ensure the UK remains a leading scientific nation in future generations.
Dear Minister, 17th May 2011
As members of the CREST Youth Panel, we feel representative of young people in science and we wanted to write to you during National Science & Engineering Week to express our concerns about the short-termist attitude towards science in the UK and the lack of guidance and information we have at this crucial stage in our lives.
We know that it is a very difficult time across the board for public spending, so firstly we would like to say that although the science budget will decrease in real terms over the course of this budget period, we recognise that science has been spared more ruthless cuts and this makes us feel that a career in this field is more secure and valued.
Furthermore, we feel confident that science is a stable career that isn’t likely to become redundant due to continued developments and innovation.
However, a major concern of ours is the issue of tuition fees and other expenses that will build up during our studies. At the moment almost half of us would rather do an apprenticeship, where we can learn on the job and still be paid a wage rather than go to university and start our lives in debt. Sadly we don’t feel that we know enough about the existence of science related apprenticeships, but we are very aware of the number of possibilities for those wanting to pursue engineering apprenticeships. Can you please publish more information about science specific apprenticeships and any plans to provide more opportunities like this?
We would also appreciate more information about expected long term earning potential of people working in the sciences, as when making this life decision, earnings are as much a consideration for us as job satisfaction is.
In terms of following a career in the UK, we feel that the decision not to increase the budget for research is a very short-termist attitude to take. We strongly believe that science and innovation will lead the UK out of the recession, given our highly skilled workforce. However, to follow a future in research, half of us would seriously consider leaving the UK to work another country more willing to invest in research budgets.
We feel that the UK is beginning to stagnate in scientific advancement on the global stage and feel that we have dropped to about 4th or 5th behind countries like the USA, Canada and Germany. This is not because we’re in decline, but because other nations are advancing faster than us.
In order to counteract this, we believe you need to rethink the way science is taught in school. At the moment we feel that school is like a workhouse, where we learn theories and study for exams, but get very little opportunity to put our learning into practice in real world situations. A balance of 70% theory and 30% application through research based projects would give us a much better chance of developing useful skills in science.
As the next generation of scientists in the UK, we are well aware that we will have some serious issues to deal with. All we ask is that you give us the necessary skills and opportunities to ensure the UK is at the top of its game.
Yours
The CREST Awards Youth Panel
Aysha (16), Bethany (17), Chris (19), Danya (17), Natasha(17), Raghd (19), Sally (16) and Sarah (15)
READ DAVID WILLETT'S RESPONSE HERE
Dear Minister, 17th May 2011
As members of the CREST Youth Panel, we feel representative of young people in science and we wanted to write to you during National Science & Engineering Week to express our concerns about the short-termist attitude towards science in the UK and the lack of guidance and information we have at this crucial stage in our lives.
We know that it is a very difficult time across the board for public spending, so firstly we would like to say that although the science budget will decrease in real terms over the course of this budget period, we recognise that science has been spared more ruthless cuts and this makes us feel that a career in this field is more secure and valued.
Furthermore, we feel confident that science is a stable career that isn’t likely to become redundant due to continued developments and innovation.
However, a major concern of ours is the issue of tuition fees and other expenses that will build up during our studies. At the moment almost half of us would rather do an apprenticeship, where we can learn on the job and still be paid a wage rather than go to university and start our lives in debt. Sadly we don’t feel that we know enough about the existence of science related apprenticeships, but we are very aware of the number of possibilities for those wanting to pursue engineering apprenticeships. Can you please publish more information about science specific apprenticeships and any plans to provide more opportunities like this?
We would also appreciate more information about expected long term earning potential of people working in the sciences, as when making this life decision, earnings are as much a consideration for us as job satisfaction is.
In terms of following a career in the UK, we feel that the decision not to increase the budget for research is a very short-termist attitude to take. We strongly believe that science and innovation will lead the UK out of the recession, given our highly skilled workforce. However, to follow a future in research, half of us would seriously consider leaving the UK to work another country more willing to invest in research budgets.
We feel that the UK is beginning to stagnate in scientific advancement on the global stage and feel that we have dropped to about 4th or 5th behind countries like the USA, Canada and Germany. This is not because we’re in decline, but because other nations are advancing faster than us.
In order to counteract this, we believe you need to rethink the way science is taught in school. At the moment we feel that school is like a workhouse, where we learn theories and study for exams, but get very little opportunity to put our learning into practice in real world situations. A balance of 70% theory and 30% application through research based projects would give us a much better chance of developing useful skills in science.
As the next generation of scientists in the UK, we are well aware that we will have some serious issues to deal with. All we ask is that you give us the necessary skills and opportunities to ensure the UK is at the top of its game.
Yours
The CREST Awards Youth Panel
Aysha (16), Bethany (17), Chris (19), Danya (17), Natasha(17), Raghd (19), Sally (16) and Sarah (15)
READ DAVID WILLETT'S RESPONSE HERE
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