Science now has a cabinet seat, but Britainโs world-leading reputation is fading fast
Another day brings yet another cabinet reshuffle to a weary Britain, but to the university community, it was welcome news to see โscienceโ getting a dedicated department and a seat at the cabinet table. It fits with Rishi Sunakโs pledge to make the UK a โscience and technology superpowerโ and was partially in response to a cross-party House of Lords science and technology committee report on the UKโs โsomewhat incoherentโ international science policy.
Across the world, Britain is renowned for its universities and world-leading research. A scholarship to study at Oxford, the worldโs oldest English-speaking university, is what brought me from tropical Miami to England, and then Scotland. Sadly, the past decade has seen the UK university sector losing its lustre for students and faculty. While itโs easy to talk about making science a priority, supporting world-leading research requires action and concrete steps that go beyond rhetoric. To make the UK a โscience superpowerโ means addressing at least three crucial components.
Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
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