ANALYSIS AND NEWS
‘DON’T REJECT GLOBAL TALENT FROM THE UK’
Laura Wheeler reports on a panel debate aimed at ensuring that the UK remains at the heart of global science and engineering
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n January a group of invited parties convened at the House of Lords to discuss a newly launched report from the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), in which the government is called upon to improve its immigration policies. This report proposes ways in which the government can maintain the UK’s status as a leading global hub of science and engineering, offering 12 positive recommendations.
Digital Science was sponsor of the event, which included: a prestigious panel debate chaired by Lord Nigel Crisp, a lively floor discussion, and a short summary from the company’s chief scientist, Jonathan Adams. The aims of the morning’s discussions were to examine the findings of the report, where CaSE argued that the government’s anti-immigration rhetoric and immigration policies are putting the UK’s future economic and scientific success at risk.
Kicking off the roundtable was the newly appointed president of the Royal Society, Venki Ramakrishnan. This influential post adds to his already impressive CV, which includes a Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2009. Born and educated in India, Ramakrishnan is also deputy director of the MRC’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. He opened the discussions by highlighting the value of immigration to the UK research base, drawing on his own international experiences. He presented an interesting tidbit to the group – three of the last five presidents of the Royal Society have all been immigrants.
Ramakrishnan added: ‘The UK’s “welcoming attitude” to immigrants is one of the reasons the UK has a world-class research base.’ Touching upon the application process, he considered how tedious procedures may put off Tier 1 applicants, the route used for outstanding and promising talent, quipping that they would very likely have put him off as well. In line with one of the CaSe report recommendations, he suggested that exceptional talent and peer-
24 Research Information APRIL/MAY 2016
‘Migration provides a crucial element in meeting demand for engineering’
reviewed applications should be fast-tracked. In addition, Ramakrishnan pointed out that the UK benefits from overseas science and engineering students, whether they stay or leave after study.
Next to the floor was Andy Furlong, director of policy and communication at the Institution of Chemical Engineers. As someone embedded in the UK engineering community, Furlong outlined the value of immigration to the UK engineering community and explained how the talent pipeline is reliant on an international marketplace that benefits both migrant and home researchers by sharing skills and building networks.
Migration provides a crucial element in meeting demand for engineering and the government should actively promote the UK as a destination for engineers from all around
the world, making it easy for them to come to the UK. He added that politicians must stop pandering to the prejudices stirred up by some press and parts of society. Furlong concluded: ‘Rejecting global talent is at our own peril.’ Assistant director at CaSE, Naomi Weir, was next to the mic to outline the main findings and recommendations of their report. The report was informed by an extensive literature review and a call for evidence that attracted more than 100 responses from individuals and organisations in the public, private, and charity sector. These were then followed up with more than a dozen one-to-one interviews, two stakeholder meetings and an advisory group to explore the issues. Weir went on to highlight a few recommendations but encouraged everyone to take the time to read all 12 of them. She added that the government needs to support international researchers in maintaining links with their home countries in order to promote international development. Immigration supports brain circulation around the world, which can be a positive thing for all countries
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