by René Lavanchy
The Government’s funding cuts will lead to the best academic talent deserting British universities for the United States and other countries, American scientific leaders warned this week.
Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences, told a conference in San Diego: “You might not see anything immediately, but you will begin to see a movement of scientists over time. They will go where the opportunities are — to the US and to places like Singapore that have invested heavily in science, and are hiring from all over the world.”
Chancellor Alistair Darling last year announced £600 million of cuts to higher education and research funding to 2013, and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said this year there would be further cuts. A survey of over 20 universities for the Financial Times has found that most are planning to increase unregulated fees to foreign students, and that most anticipate their funding will fall by 15-20 per cent.
Peter Agre, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said: “The politicians who are going to be cutting funding and discouraging young scientists can thank themselves for damaging a generation of science, not just science next year.”
The University and College Union, which has complained at the scale of the cuts, will next week publish proposals for a “business education tax” to meet the cost of providing higher education to increasing numbers.
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