UK science future looking brighter – survey
pharmafile | July 12, 2013 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | UCB, science
A new survey undertaken by UCB has found that enthusiasm for science in the UK is high, but adds that more needs to be done to up the country’s stakes in science education.
UCB reports that despite great levels of pupil enthusiasm for science, 37% don’t have access to advice on the careers available in the field.
In a statement the firm said: “This lack of access to science careers advice and the fact that the UK ranks 42nd out of 144 countries in the quality of our mathematics and science education is an alarm bell for the UK, and remedial action is needed if the British tradition of scientific breakthrough is to continue long into the future.”
The survey results also showed that science was ranked as pupils’ favourite subject, with 76% of pupils rated science as ‘exciting’.
Just over two-thirds of pupils registered an interest in studying a science degree and 71% of pupils said that they might be interested in choosing a science-related career. The survey data were collected at Slough Aspire Careers Fair in February.
Commenting on the survey results, Dr Neil Weir, senior VP of discovery at UCB and chair of the ABPI Innovation Board, said: “Currently, the UK is a world leader in science and technology with a fine heritage of producing high-level science graduates.
“However, the results of our survey together with the findings of the Global Competiveness Report suggest that this position could be at risk. School level experience of science is crucial to pupils’ aspirations and it influences future decisions. Companies like UCB have a role to play in providing careers advice and enthusing young people to become scientists of the future.”
Work in science week
The survey has been released alongside the ending of the company’s ‘Work in Science Week’, an initiative designed to bring pupils out of the classroom to see the R&D process, and inspire them to be the next generation of researchers.
For this week, UCB allowed pupils to join researchers for a week on projects ranging from computer aided design of new medicines to actually making a medicine.
Speaking today at UCB’s offices in Slough, special guest speaker Lord Professor Robert Winston, said: “Science is about finding things out and it has been clearly shown students can learn more from hands-on experiences with experiments rather than reading about them in textbooks.
“The Work in Science Week programme is a wonderful example of engaging students with science and engineering that will help to improve science literacy and encourage more young people to think about this as a possible career.”
Ben Adams
Related Content
UCB presents positive results for fenfluramine in CDKL5 deficiency disorder
UCB has announced positive results from its phase 3 GEMZ study, showing that fenfluramine can …
UCB announces first-in-patient trial success for galvokimig in atopic dermatitis
UCB has reported positive early clinical trial results for galvokimig, an investigational therapy for adults …
Rare and severe epilepsies – current treatments and advance therapeutics
The current forms of immunotherapy, how T cell therapy works and what the future holds
