The changing face of UK science
In January the Science Council published its list of the 100 leading UK practising scientists. The list includes 40 women, with most representation in the Monitor/Regulator and Communicator scientist categories with 6 and 7 women respectively. Geographically less than 50 work in the ‘Golden Triangle’ - London, Oxford and Cambridge - with the South West, Midlands, and Yorkshire & the Humber well represented, as are the Devolved Regions with 15. Scotland is particularly well represented with 11 of the final 100 working there in some capacity.  

The response has been positive on social media and has been picked up well by media outlets across the country.

We have also had fantastic comments and feedback from a number of those who appear on the list. Looking forward we hope that the list will stimulate further debate around careers in science and provide those who study STEM subjects with excellent examples of the range of science careers available to them. Thank you to all Member Bodies who submitted nominations to the competition. For further information on the list contact Oliver O’Hanlon.

Meeting with Lord Adonis
The Science Council held a roundtable discussion meeting in January with the Labour Peer Lord Adonis, who is undertaking an independent Growth Review for the Labour Party. The discussion focused on the quality of the UK’s education and skills system, particularly how Government can nurture higher-level technician and apprenticeship skills across the whole economy. Other issues discussed included raising education standards in schools; how the science professions can support young people not in education, employment or training into work; how to encourage higher education institutions to play a larger role in driving local economic growth; and the future of Local Enterprise Partnerships.  

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Strategy Group
The Science Council is launching a new programme of work to support increased equality and diversity in the science workforce. Leadership and direction for the project will be provided by a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Strategy Group chaired by James Smith, Chair of the Carbon Trust and former Chairman of Shell UK. For more information contact Director of Policy and Development, Nicola Hannam.

The Royal Society will be holding a Diversity Day on 17 June 2014. Information on last year’s Diversity Day is available here.

New Year Honours List
A number of the Science Council Member Bodies own members were honoured this year including:

• Celia Hoyles, President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications awarded a Damehood for services to education
• Professor Lesley Yellowlees, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry awarded a CBE for services to chemistry
• Dr Barbara Knowles, Society of Biology’s Senior Science Policy Adviser awarded an MBE for her services to science, communication and the environment
• Professor Nigel Brown, President of the Society for General Microbiology awarded an OBE for services to science

A number of Fellows of the Society of Biology and Members of the Energy Institute were also honoured. From the wider science community Professor Julia Slingo, Chief Scientist at the Met Office was awarded Damehood; Technology Strategy Board Chief Executive Iain Gray was awarded a CBE; and Baroness Onora O’Neill was awarded a Companion of Honour for service to philosophy and public policy. This year science and technology made up 2% of the Honours list. The full list of Honours can be viewed here.

Schools and Education
The House of Commons Education Select Committee published a letter on its website from the Education Secretary Michael Gove in which he said that “I remain of the view that the quality of careers guidance in schools is improving”.

The Department for Education published funding allocations for 16 to 19 year olds in full-time education. The funding for 18 year olds will be 17.5% lower for 18 year olds than for 16 to 17 year olds. It was, according to the Education Secretary in the letter written to the House of Commons Education Committee “the least detrimental option, though certainly regrettable”. 

The Department for Education published 2013 secondary school and college performance tables for 16 to 18 year olds. Figures show that 35% of pupils took the English Baccalaureate compared to 23% the previous year. 2013 is also the first year that performance tables have separated vocational and traditional education.

Reaction

• Association of Colleges: “It is disappointing that DfE has once again published the tables without any commentary to put them in context. Their complexity makes them difficult for parents and students to understand”
• Association of Teachers and Lecturers: “we remain deeply cautious about the use of these tables”
• Association of School and College Leavers: “Separate tables are helpful because trying to create equivalences between vocational and academic qualifications does not work. Vocational qualifications are different and they need to be recognised as such”

At The Skills Summit the Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, Matthew Hancock set out plans for a “new generation of elite institutions” to provide technical and vocational training, including colleges that will focus on High Speed 2 and skills in the nuclear industry.

The Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt announced that a Labour Government in 2015 would expect teachers to undertake regular professional development throughout their careers. He also said that Labour would take inspiration from the Singapore education system to create a “framework of new career pathways for teachers”. 

The Department for Education has launched a ’Core Maths’ policy paper. The intention is to encourage the 40% of students with GCSE at grade C or above who do not progress into A level or AS maths to do so. The first cohort to study Core Maths will be in September 2017.

The Edge Foundation has published new evidence that young people are being advised not to pursue vocational qualification routes in favour of academic routes. Over a third (36%) of students who pursued a vocational route were advised by their school that they would be 'more successful' if they chose the academic pathway and almost a quarter (22%) were told that they were 'too clever' for vocational education. 

A McKinsey Center for Government report on youth unemployment in Europe has found that, relative to the other European countries, UK employers are generally satisfied with the skills of the current workforce, but face a shortage of STEM skills to meet demand. The report also claims that young people have access to good sources of career information, but that too few are persuaded of the value of technical and vocational qualifications.

An independent education advisory group chaired by Professor Sir Roy Anderson has recommended that the national curriculum should be monitored by an independent body to “provide wide representation and consistency” across different government and ministerial appointments. The report also recommends that a national careers service whose advice should be “aligned with the areas of the government’s growth strategy” to underpin the national economic strategy.

The Wellcome Trust’s Education and Learning team has set up an email list for science and STEM education. Its aim is to be a forum for discussing and sharing plans, ideas and resources to improve science and interdisciplinary STEM education across the UK. Invitations are open to subscribe and contribute, to the SCI-ED email list. Send an email to Listserv@jiscmail.ac.uk leave the subject line blank and in the message body put: SUBSCRIBE SCI-ED Firstname Lastname. For more information contact Hillary Leevers.

Higher Education

Date from UCAS show that applications to higher education institutions in England for this year have increased by 4% compared to last year. Applications among disadvantaged young people in England have reached 20.7%. 

The House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee has opened an inquiry into Business-University collaboration. The inquiry follows on from the recent publication of Sir Andrew Whitty’s review of universities and growth.

Skills and Careers
The House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee report into women in scientific careers has said that not enough is being done to improve gender equality in science. The report calls on the science community and government to do more to tackle gender perceptions and stereotypes. The Science Council’s reaction to the report can be read here

An Institute of Education study has shown that young people’s education attainment is strongly influenced by their parents’ social class background. The study looked at the historic relationship between adults’ skills and their parents’ education levels, and found that the relationship between parental background and adult literacy and numeracy among those aged 16 to 24 is stronger in England than in all other European countries except Slovakia.

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills 2013 Employer Skills Survey found that skills shortage vacancies across the economy account for more than one in five of all vacancies (22%) up from one in six (16%) in 2011. There was no specific data for science-related vacancies.

The Social Mobility Foundation’s mentor support scheme for 16-17 year old aspiring professionals is open. The scheme exists to support high achieving students from low income backgrounds into the top universities and professions. Mentoring takes place mostly by email, and only requires around 15-30 minutes of your time per week for a year. Volunteers can sign up at http://www.socialmobility.org.uk/sign-up-professionals/) or contact zoe.plant@socialmobility.org.uk for more information.

Science and Industry
Professor Phillip Nelson has been appointed as the next chief executive and deputy chair of the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council. He is currently Professor of Acoustics at the University of Southampton. He will take up his new post for four years starting on April 1st 2014.

European Policy
The European Commission’s Professional Qualifications Directive, which sought to reform the system of professional qualification recognition across Europe passed into law in January. It allows for automatic or mutual recognition of qualifications for a number of professions. The Directive will introduce a European Professional card, which is hoped to provide professionals the “benefit from easier and quicker recognition of their qualifications. It should also facilitate temporary mobility”. Members States, Competent Authorities and Professional Associations have two years to transfer legislation, regulatory functions and administrative processes to bring them into line with the requirements of the Directive.