Peers to hear international perspectives on how to finance and scale up science and technology companies in the UK

On Tuesday 10 June the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will continue its inquiry Financing and Scaling UK Science and Technology: Innovation, investment, industry.  

This week the committee will hear international perspectives on financing and scaling UK science and technology companies, and what the Government can do to assist innovative science and technology companies in the UK. Witnesses will give international comparisons and what the UK can learn from other countries including Germany, Sweden, Singapore and France and their innovation systems. 

The committee will hear from:  

10:15am  

• Dr Patrick P. Rose, Innovation Manager at SPRIN-D, the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation 

• Darja Isaksson, Director General at Vinnova Sweden's innovation agency 

11.15am 

• Aftab Mathur, Managing Director, Investment (Innovation) and Managing Director (Emerging Technologies) at Temasek, the Singapore national investment fund 

• Dr Patrick Nédellec, Counsellor for Science & Technology at the Embassy of France    

Question topics will include: 

1. How the UK is viewed internationally––is there a sense that the UK is good at basic science but struggles to scale to global technology companies, compared to the size of its economy?
2. Successful policies and innovations from other countries 
3. Major challenges scientists and entrepreneurs face in commercialising their technology
4. Government initiatives to support companies to scale-up
5. Challenges on retaining companies to foreign investment
6. Science and Technology skills in the civil service

The evidence session will take place in Committee Room 3, Palace of Westminster and will be available to watch live from 10.15 or on demand on Parliamentlive.tv.