Science Friction

As talks of cuts and a faltering economy herald the new decade, Professor Brian Hobbs, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Glamorgan, tells Henry Norman about their ambitious expansion plans.

As we enter 2010, many in the industry will be hoping that the advent of a new year, and indeed a new decade, will usher in an era of prosperity for the sector. 2009 was of course a gloomy time for many, though the scientific community suffered right until the end with the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) delivering an early Christmas ‘present’ in mid-December in the shape of some pretty Scrooge-like budget cuts.
The STFC, one of the UK’s largest funding councils, may have preferred to call it “a major reorganisation of our programme to focus on the top priority items”, but their use of purple prose did little to soften the harsh fact that the result will be a 25 per cent reduction in the number of new studentships and fellowships.Critics have suggested that the cuts (sorry, reorganisation) will have a severe impact on investment in the next generation of researchers, an area that is already under threat (see ‘Research row’ box).
The economy, unsurprisingly, was at the root of the decision, as STFC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Keith Mason, explained: “Our focus on ensuring the highest possible standards of scientific excellence, as well as delivery of maximum benefit for the taxpayer, underpinned the now-concluded programme prioritisation and will continue to be a core principle into the future. We will ensure a managed withdrawal from those activities that we will no longer support, taking into account the fact that the academic and research community of scientists is a national resource.”
He added that discussions will be held over the “coming months” with partners on how to implement the new strategy, and that these would include discussions with university funding councils on the impact on physics departments.

GLAM ROCKS
For those in the sector looking for an antidote to the new year blues, however, comes a more than welcome good news story. The University of Glamorgan recently completed a £15m refurbishment of their Glyntaff campus, which they say “provides a vibrant, state-of-the-art learning environment to enhance teaching and support facilities for science and sport courses”. The facilities certainly sound impressive, boasting bioreactor laboratories to study alternative fuel production, an environmental chamber to simulate high altitude, low pressure and low oxygen scenarios, and even specialist crime scene suites.
“We needed to build it because of our expanding range of science activities,” explains Professor Brian Hobbs, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the University. “One of the main focus areas is science to support the low carbon economy; we’ve got approximately £10m worth of research going on over the next five years in the area of sustainability. The government is aiming for a ‘zero carbon economy’ in Wales and we’ve been working in the field for over a decade, so this seemed a good time to invest in new facilities.”
The expansion was originally envisioned approximately two and a half years ago, though, before the term ‘credit crunch’ had slipped into everyday use and Northern Rock had started to crumble, but as we all know, the financial pararmeters have changed somewhat since then. Are their plans still financially viable?
“They’re certainly viable,” says Professor Hobbs. “Applications for courses are increasing by around 10 to 12 per cent. We’re committed to maintaining a good science and technology provision, and one of the things you need is buoyant undergraduate Masters programmes to underpin your research activity, and then the research can feed back into student learning.
“Students are attracted to good laboratory research facilities. I think it’s probably unusual, we’re one of the few universities that still use science laboratories, but on the other hand it was a key decision.”
And if that wasn’t enough, they have opened up a third new revenue stream. “There’s also a commercial arm,” explains Professor Hobbs. “A lot of the very sophisticated scientific analytical equipment has potential uses for commercial companies. Some of the individual pieces could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, and a lot of companies might have an occasional need for some advanced scientific analysis, but they couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on their own equipment.
“So we’ve developed a specific business focus activity which is to provide commercial access to the equipment. This is done on a planned basis that fits around the teaching and research, of course, but we have a clear brief to build a commercial base and generate some income.”
The sector certainly isn’t out of the woods yet as the economic downturn finally begins to bite into the private sector, but Professor Hobbs and his team’s forward thinking attitude and admirable willing to invest in their beliefs look set to see them fare better than most in the uncertain times ahead. UB

Research Row - The UCU has released a new survey which claims that 35 per cent of
professors polled said they would consider pursuing their academic career abroad if HEFCE’s new funding plans are introduced. The poll was conducted in response to HEFCE releasing the new Research Excellence Framework (REF). The reason for the academics’ ire is that
they believe that the new spending plans will limit government funding for curiosity-driven research. Indeed, such is their opposition that
22 per cent of professors said they already know a colleague who was also considering leaving the country over the issue, while
69 per cent said they opposed the changes.
“History has taught us that some of the biggest breakthroughs have come from speculative research and it is wrong to try and
measure projects purely on their economic potential,” said UCU General Secretary Sally Hunt. “With the higher education sector now facing the biggest cuts seen in a generation, the last thing we need is to lose the brightest and the best through a failure to support their work.”
A HEFCE spokesman said: “Following a widespread consultation, responses show substantial support for the proposals. Universities
support the inclusion in the assessment of a consideration of the impact of excellent research from their portfolios of work, while recognising that individual academics will not be assessed on the basis of the impact of their publications, projects and programmes.
“Far from constraining individual academics, these proposals will recognise and reward work of all kinds, taking account of previous
criticisms that research achievement.