In May, UK voters decided not to give any one political party an absolute majority in the House of Commons. The result was the country’s first coalition government in 70 years, an unlikely pairing of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Read more in Materials Today.
science
The Big Cull: Where did all the scientists go?
The House of Commons is preparing for the biggest turnover of MPs since the second world war. Half of the 646 MPs will step down or lose their seats, including a majority of those with an interest, or expertise in, research. Scientists and campaign groups, not to mention science journalists, are worried. But how bad […]
Don’t panic
The speedy insertion of impact assessment into the plans for the Research Excellence Framework last month has alarmed academics. To grade work not just on its scholarly merits but on how useful it is, economically and socially, is anathema to many researchers. But the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s plans are not as bad […]
Spinning out of control?
Considering cashing in on your research? Here’s what not to do… It’s natural when you have discovered something to want to see it developed into new and useful products – either by licensing your intellectual property (IP) to industry or creating a spinout company to develop the product yourself. But despite the push by governments […]