Britain has a long history of leadership and innovation, from the steam engine to the World Wide Web, that has brought growth and prosperity.
Wales has played a key role in this. From the world’s first steam locomotive to the modern day hovercraft, Wales has been at the forefront of technological advancement. Wales has also been home to some of the world’s most famous inventors and scientists, including Sir Richard Owens, the father of the modern day petrochemical industry, and Sir David Brewster, the inventor of the kaleidoscope.
As we look towards the future, investment in science and technology is more important than ever.
The UK outperforms its closest competitors with 4 of the world’s top 10 universities and a technology sector worth over one trillion dollars.
If you put together just 8 of the UKs university towns, they are home to more billion-dollar unicorn start-ups than the whole of France and Germany combined.
The UK Government formed the new Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology in February 2023.
In March the Department published “The Science and Technology Framework”, a strategic vision which sets out 10 key actions to achieve this goal by 2030.
It has been developed in close collaboration with the UK science and technology sector, and represents a commitment to scaling ambition and delivering the most critical actions needed to secure strategic
To deliver the plan the UK Government has brought froward £250 million committed to ‘technology missions’ in AI, quantum and engineering biology to be set out by future strategies including the AI White Paper and Semiconductor Strategy.
These technologies will also be encouraged through the nine ‘levers’ the framework sets out, with the government to develop a plan for each strand of the framework by Summer 2023.
Each of these sections include measures outlining how the Government will work with the private sector, academia and civil society in order to promote the UK’s strength in science and technology. Some of these are general, such as improving the STEM skills of the population, or more focused on specific crucial technologies themselves.
Other examples include the commitment to raise public R&D funding to £20 billion by 2024-5, and the reform of the pensions regulatory charge cap.
Partnerships will support Levelling Up by including Devolved Administrations, local administrations and innovation clusters.
Of course many of the levers are devolved to Wales.
The Welsh Government has recently launched its Innovation Strategy research, which acknowledges how Wales has been “integrated into the UK RD&I ecosystem” since the start of devolution. The Strategy aims to secure a greater wellbeing for the future generations of Wales; an integrated new strategy to guide government, business, third sector, academia and people to deliver ambitious, but achievable goals.
The most recent Senedd Cross Party Group on STEMM highlighted the issue of the lack of STEMM graduates and the knock on this is having on business, investment, and the Welsh economy.
This was coupled with issues raised around education – such as lack of subject specific science teachers, resource issues, and the impact this has on young people taking STEMM subjects, and subsequently moving into the STEMM sector as a career. It was felt this issue was not simply one of education or the economy, but of both, and that the Cross Party Group were keen to explore the role of STEMM in education and the role of STEMM as a key driver of economic development in Wales.
STEM skills are crucial for the Wales’ productivity and the future workforce relies on many more children and young people being encouraged to take STEM subjects and enter STEM careers.