Higher Education in 2015 and beyond: will it meet our needs?
Summary of a survey of "Science Higher Education in 2015: Employers' current and future skill needs", conducted by the Research and Development Society
Introduction
During August 2006, the Research and Development Society conducted a web-based survey of our members and contacts of the current and future needs of employers in science-based industries. The survey was conducted to enable organisations to submit evidence to the Royal Society's science policy study on Science Higher Education in 2015 and beyond, which was published as A higher degree of concern.on 31 January 2008.
The Royal Society study looked at whether higher education in science, technology and mathematics at UK universities and colleges will produce enough individuals with the skills to meet the needs of the economy in 2015 and beyond. The R&D Society recognises that a key component of the successful transfer "from ideas to wealth" is the availability of high-quality staff, and so implemented this survey to enable the UK R&D community to contribute to one important component of the study, namely, employers’ current and future demand for science, technology and mathematics graduates.
In October 2006, the Society published Higher Education in 2015 and beyond: will it meet our needs? (pdf) , a summary of the responses received. The report and all the survey responses were submitted as evidence to the Royal Society's study.
The following are available for free download from this website:
The questionnaire and report was produced by the Research and Development Society thanks to the financial support of its members.
Errata: in the PDFs available on this website until 13 October 2006, two instances of "science, technology and medicine" should have read "science, technology and mathematics".
Executive Summary
Twenty seven responses to a survey of the UK research and development community into their current and future skill needs are summarised in this report. This report and all the survey responses are submitted as evidence to the Royal Society's science policy study on Science Higher Education in 2015 and beyond.
Respondents to the survey want science, technology and mathematics graduates to have experience of the practical application of research and development by applying their skills and academic knowledge through industrial placement or practical projects. Respondents also want graduates to have good communication skills and other transferable skills such as teamworking, and identified that these are currently detrimental. The majority of respondents have no clear way of communicating their needs to the people that determine the contents of undergraduate courses, but would like to if possible.
This report does not represent the views or opinions of the Research and Development Society. Rather, it summarises common themes from the submissions of the respondents of the survey, and it aims to reflect their views. The R&D Society does not form opinion on matters; rather it seeks to enable its members and others in the R&D community to contribute to policy discussion and debate. The full text of all submissions received is published as an annex to this report, and is submitted to the Working Group for the study together with this summary.
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