Universities and Science Minister today (4 July 2017) confirmed
the government is investing £100 million to attract highly
skilled researchers to the UK through its new Ernest Rutherford
Fund.
The Rutherford Fund will provide fellowships for early-career and
senior researchers, from the developed world and from emerging
research powerhouses such as India, China, Brazil and Mexico,
helping to maintain the UK’s position as a world-leader in
science and research.
Speaking at the launch event in London, said:
Research and innovation is at the heart of the government’s
Industrial Strategy. At the 2016 Autumn Statement, the
government announced a significant increase in public research
and develpment spending, totalling £4.7 billion.
In her vision for the UK as the go-to place for scientists,
innovators and tech investors, the Prime Minister has made
clear she wants us to be a country that attracts the brightest
and best minds.
To that end, I am pleased to announce today that we are
investing £100 million in a Global Talent Research Fund that
will be used to attract highly skilled researchers to the UK.
It will be named after Ernest Rutherford. He is one of our most
distinguished scientists, the father of nuclear physics, a
Nobel Laureate, holder of chairs at the Universities of
Manchester and Cambridge, and, crucially, an immigrant – who
came to the UK at the age of 24 from New Zealand.
Rutherford and his immense contributions to science exemplify
our vision of a Britain that is open to the best minds and
ideas in the world, and stands at the forefront of global
collective endeavours to understand, and to improve, the world
in which we live.
We look forward to welcoming these talented Rutherford research
fellows to the UK. The Rutherford Fund will send a strong
signal that, even as we leave the European Union, we are open
to the world and will reinforce our ambition of making the UK
the go-to country for innovation and discovery.
Research and innovation is at the heart of the government’s
Industrial Strategy. At the 2016 Autumn Statement, the government
announced a significant increase in public research and
development spending, totalling £4.7 billion. This will provide
an additional £2 billion a year by 2020 to 2021 – an increase of
around 20% to total government spending, and more than any
increase in any Parliament since 1979.
In April 2017 the Business Secretary announced the creation of
the Industrial Strategy
Challenge Fund (ISCF) with £1 billion
of support over the next 4 years. To support delivery of
the ISCF, the government
announced at the Spring Budget it will invest £250 million over
the next 4 years to continue to build the pipeline of
high-skilled research talent.
The ISCF was created
to ensure research and innovation takes centre stage in the
government’s Industrial Strategy, with investment earmarked for
technologies where the UK can build on its world-leading
strengths and help innovative businesses to tap into large and
growing global markets, as well as the industries of the future.
The fund is being administered by Innovate UK and the Research
Councils until the new body UK Research and Investment
(UKRI) is formed
in 2018. UKRI, under the leadership of
its recently appointed Chief Executive Sir Mark Walport, will
play a key role in strengthening the UK’s competitiveness through
the Industrial Strategy.
