A vision for science and society
Last week Ian Pearson, Minister of State for Science and Innovation, launched a consultation on developing a new science and society strategy for the UK. Unfortunately, I was not able to be at the launch held at the Thinktank in Birmingham, but I hear it was an exciting event that drew together a wide range of people.
How society views the science of food safety and healthy eating is key to our business. We took part in stakeholder workshops that contributed to the development of ‘A Vision for Science and Society’, the document that forms the basis of the consultation and I welcome the vision the team at the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) has achieved in setting out their aims:
- a society excited by and valuing science
- a society that is confident in the use of science
- a society with a representative, well-qualified scientific workforce
These aspirations are highly relevant to us. We are currently recruiting scientists into the Agency and we have had a good response from a number of strong applicants. Clearly, there are many organisations competing for high quality scientists and we all rely on those in education and academia to nurture the required skills and enthusiasm. I welcome the recognition given to the role of science educators by DIUS’s document but I think we have a long way to go before we achieve these aims.
I will be responding to this consultation. Why don’t you have a look yourself and let the DIUS team know what you think.
