INTERVIEW JOHN LINCOLN →


on autonomous vehicles, you surely must also put some money towards helping generate the UK’s lidar capabilities? Otherwise, you will be always dependent on buying the enabling technology from abroad. With the innovation strategy, we had hoped to see more of this happening. It was indicated that that would be the case, but we have yet to see that practically implemented.


What’s next for the UK? We have a general election at the end of next year, most likely, but I believe it will continue to be ‘all things semiconductor’. There has also been a general, global trend of understanding that supply chains are vulnerable and that you need to worry about the point of origin in your supply chain. That will certainly continue, and we will see lots of emphasis on semiconductors, globally and in the UK. For photonics that means opto-electronic componentry, but it also means tools for the semiconductor industry, and we’ll see this continuing interest in understanding where things come from.


So tougher regulation on supply chains? It doesn’t just mean a focus on regulation and restrictions, but more generally a focus on resilience in the supply chain, avoiding potential single points of failure or shortage. The unexpected is now more expected. Of course, simultaneously we are seeing more regulation, tighter scrutiny of existing regulation and much greater focus on investment control and understanding ultimate ownership. The latest being potential regulation from America on outward-bound investment as well as


STEM focus in UK schools


The state and private education sectors are acutely aware that much of the battle for future national photonics growth is being fought in our schools today. The scientists and


technical staff of tomorrow are today’s students, and government initiatives, such as enhanced science subsidies, are widely promoted across primary and secondary schools in the UK. The STEM Learning organisation delivers teachers CPD (continuing professional development) in STEM


subjects, brings STEM role models into schools as part of the STEM Ambassador Programme and provides bespoke, long-term support for schools, working in collaboration with the UK government and employers. Its vision is to deliver


a world-leading STEM education for every young person in the country. And it seems to be having an impact – the numbers of pupils taking A level subjects such as computing, maths and physics rose by 3.5%, compared to 2019.


Inevitably, some private schools are making even faster progress than their state counterparts. Brighton College in East Sussex says three quarters of its students take at least one A-level in a STEM subject, while Tonbridge School in Kent even runs its own annual science conference. South Devon College has even gone so far as to launch an integrated photonics training programme to help develop much-needed skills for the UK’s semiconductor industry (more on page 5).


PHOTONICS IN FOCUS: THE UK


inward investment. Whether driven by regulation, prudent business management, or both, the result is greater diversification in the supply chain, and thus greater opportunity for suppliers.


I suppose everyone is looking at this after the upheavals of the past few years… The chip shortages and the associated supply-chain upheavals we experienced had an interesting effect. Purchasing managers had never worked so hard in their lives and all added to their supplier list, without getting rid of their original suppliers. This ballooning of supply-chain choices will now force something of a compromise between the two extremities of long and short lists. As things stabilise in the supply chain, no one is predicting a return to single sourcing. This will prove interesting. Across the next year to 18 months, the


argument for being retained will centre on issues such as the guarantee of supply and how vulnerable you are to future disruption. I can see the argument going: ‘OK, your prices are right. But how robust are you and where are your suppliers coming from?’ No one wants to go back to the disruptions that we had. I think there’s almost an emotional reaction to that kind of risk, as well as a practical one.


Moving onto the PLG, what’s going well and what could be going better? I think one of the things I’m most proud of across the past four or five years has been our ability to provide this clear voice, and to be the place people come to for context and insight. We now regularly get enquiries precursored with ‘I’ve been told I have to speak to you’, whether from


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someone new to photonics in the UK, or those trying to understand UK photonics strengths internationally. When the world’s biggest tech consultancies direct contacts to us, saying if you need to know about photonics, you need to talk to the PLG, I sense that we are providing that clear voice. Of course, we can’t always be correct about everything, but we are offering the clarity of a single message and clear numbers. I’m really pleased that we’re able to do that and I think it has really helped. There is, of course, much more to do


– this is true of all enabling technologies – and the legacy of Covid-19 and supply- chain disruption has certainly made it more interesting.


Will a new UK government help or hinder that? At election time, you get this natural hiatus where the processes behind government take a pause, and people wait to see where new interests may lay. And there’s a double pause – ahead of an election, to some degree, and certainly after it – especially if the governing party does change. We even saw some of this disruption during the UK government leadership changes of 2022, when everything appeared to stop for six months. To people looking for clarity on policy initiatives and forward action, it is best to manage expectations and say that, across the second half of 2024, expect nothing to happen very quickly. Don’t expect any government in an election cycle to make radical changes or start big new initiatives.


But the UK photonics sector remains resilient? Absolutely. The diversity of the sector is a huge strength, as is its distribution around the UK. People often ask me where the photonics cluster of the UK is. I say that it is everywhere. You can go to every corner of the country and find photonics strength that has depth and is able to solve problems. I think it’s fascinating that global big-tech comes to the UK for innovative photonics solutions. It may not always manufacture here in volume, but people come to the UK because we have got great ideas. EO


12 Electro Optics October 2023 www.electrooptics.com


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