August 2019 highlights

Horizon Europe Co-design 2021-2024: have your say on what’s being proposed for future R&D funding

With a proposed budget of 100 billion euro from 2021 to 2027, the Horizon Europe framework programme represents the largest collaborative multinational research and innovation investment in Europe and is open to participants worldwide.

The European Parliament and the Council have provisionally agreed on the Horizon Europe legislative package. Based on the agreement, a Strategic Plan will put forward the targeted impacts for the investment in research and innovation and the priorities for the first four years of implementation of Horizon Europe. For further information see the "orientations" document: ec.europa.eu/research/pdf/horizon-europe/general-orientations.pdf

The European Commission is inviting you to contribute to co-designing and help to shape the future research and innovation investment by responding to this questionnaire. This survey closes 8th September 2019

Funding competition Innovate UK Smart Grants: July 2019

Opportunity to apply for a share of up to £25 million to deliver ambitious or disruptive R&D innovations that can make a significant impact on the UK economy

• Competition opens: Thursday 25 July 2019
• Competition closes: Wednesday 16 October 2019 12:00pm

Science and Technology Select Committee: Science research funding in universities

The House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee has published a report on the funding of research at universities. It criticises the Augar review for “not taking a holistic approach to the funding of universities” and recommends that the government commits to “at least” annual inflationary increases in quality-related research funding and to associate with the Horizon Europe research funding programme as soon as possible.

Yes, university admissions need an overhaul – but it's easier said than done by Chris Husbands write for the Guardian

Almost everyone is in favour of post-qualification admissions until they explore the detail

Recognising teaching in knowledge exchange by Matthew Guest, GuildHE

We stand at a crucial point in time as the UK’s place shifts in the world where the imperative for universities and higher education providers to genuinely explore, engage and exchange knowledge with their different communities and users has never been greater.

Yet we miss a fundamental component in this developing knowledge exchange arena if as much careful consideration is not paid to the links with teaching as to the well-rehearsed links to research. Read more.

How can UKRI stimulate local economies through place-based research funding? by David Sweeney, Executive Chair of RE

The Strength in Places Fund (SIPF) – a new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) programme that targets funding to support significant economic growth in areas across the UK – straddles the domains of research and development, innovation and place.

There are relatively few examples of programmes, even internationally, that cover these broad domains; academic research and conceptual theories each address part of this terrain but seem sometimes to have contradictory perspectives or raise conflicting debates.

This is why, as part of my wider learning about how UKRI can engage with place, I benefited from discussion with a set of experts from different knowledge domains, organised by the University of Cambridge. The resulting academic think pieces are published today by the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI). Read more.

West Yorkshire bodies sign health tech MoU

A group of public sector organisations in West Yorkshire have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting the development of health technology in the region. The Leeds Academic Health Partnership announced the move, with other signatories being The West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, the Association of British HealthTech Industries and a group of universities including Leeds, Leeds Beckett, Bradford, Huddersfield and York. Read more here and here.

BEIS Annual Report 2018-2019

Leeds to host major international innovation programme

Leeds and the City Region has been chosen to host a prestigious international programme in partnership with one of the world’s most famous universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Read more here.

What were people reading about higher education in the past academic year?

A great overview from HEPI on the top HE issues this year include:

• Universities have lost the country: Here’s how UUK must reform to win it back

1. The university has become an anxiety machine
2. Some new perspectives on the 2018 A level results: STEM gap remains but decline in foreign languages exaggerated
3. 1 school exam grade in 4 is wrong. That’s the good news…
4. Students will be given more than 1.5 million wrong GCSE, AS and A level grades this summer. Here are some potential solutions. Which do you prefer?
5. UCU response to HEPI’s new paper on the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)
6. Comment on the National Student Survey results (and why the NSS needs another revamp)
7. Four ways the Augar review impacts on Widening Participation in higher education
8. Degrees of inequality
9. 1 school exam grade in 4 is wrong. Does this matter?
10. What will the next Prime Minister think of higher education?
11. Lunchtime takeaways: 10 points to note in today’s Augar report (including some overlooked ones)
12. When is an unconditional offer not an unconditional offer – and other points missed
13. Initial response to the Augar proposals
14. The ‘unbundling’ of the university experience – a shot across the bows
15. Why universities are spending millions on marketing
16. Why banning students with below 3Ds from having a student loan may not be deliverable in practice
17. How should we respond to reports of a declining graduate premium?
18. Augar and the Industrial Strategy: 10 key points for the incoming Prime Minister about the creative arts and creative industries
19. Thoughts on today’s (woefully-disappointing) Migration Advisory Committee report on international students.

A Toolkit of Policies to Promote Innovation

by Nicholas Bloom, John Van Reenen, and Heidi Williams

Is Boris Johnson serious about “doubling down” on UK R&D investment?

Here Greg Falconer, Director of Innovation Policy at Nesta, offers PM Johnson some real advice on how to “double down” on UK R&D investment

Westminster Higher Education Forum Keynote Seminar: Developing the Knowledge Exchange Framework - collaboration, metrics and the effect on the sector publication (4 July)

Get in touch if you'd like to receive a copy of the transcript!

Devolution of the adult education budget effective from 1 August 2019

Six mayoral combined authorities and the Greater London Authority are now accountable for administering the adult education budget in their areas. Read in full here

Research England: Independent Advice of Mike Rees on University-Investor Links

On 29th July 2019, NCUB played host to a launch event for a review of university-investor links, commissioned by Research England from Mike Rees, former deputy group CEO of Standard Chartered, start-up commercialisation expert and angel investor. In this blog, he lays out some of his high-level findings and sets them in their national policy context. See related reports below:

Saving humanities from the STEM promised land

HEPI gues guest blog by Dr. Samuel Martín-Barbero, Vice-Chancellor at the University Camilo José Cela (Madrid, Spain).