This year, 2023, began with both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition talking about Britain’s future. This focus has intensified with measures intended to ‘to cement this country’s place as a scientific superpower’ by 2030. The PM has delivered changes to the way government works, with for example the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. He has spoken of world-class strengths in research and the UK having the third biggest tech ecosystem in the world.
I welcome this focus on science and innovation, and Eric Schmidt at the launch of the I-X initiative at Imperial’s White City Campus also emphasised the critical impact of such investment on society globally. We must invest in research and technology if the country wants to attract global talent and compete internationally.
Yet the UK has a problem in innovation, decades in the making. Long-standing underinvestment, combined with current global realignments and self-imposed changes like Brexit, mean our economic growth languishes at the bottom end of OECD rankings with productivity a full 20% below that of the US. We also rank worryingly low among other economically developed nations for R&D spending, standing at 11th across the OECD.
Universities are key to reversing this trend, acting as local anchors for innovation districts that will help drive regional renewal. The ideas which will drive innovation and opportunity are to be found in our labs and research groups, if only they can be put to work commercially.
