George Osborne, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, has reaffirmed the coalition government's commitment to the engineering sector by announcing details of additional funding. The move will see the government triple its financial support to the Research Partnership Investment Fund, meaning it will now amount to £300 million. And it has been announced that the new funding will be used to enable further collaboration between universities, British industry and charity donors.
Mr Osborne announced that the funding will be directed at specific areas of the engineering sector, namely the automotive, telecommunications, healthcare and energy generation industries. These projects may ultimately prove to be key to the long-term future of the economy, which has been in a depressed state since 2007.
"This is a particularly encouraging message and endorsement from the government of the importance of research and development in creating and underpinning our nation's future growth," commented Sir John Parker, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. "Our many universities, operating at the leading edge of research in co-operation with industrial partners, have the ability to lead in the development of world-class products and services that can fuel long term growth and success."
The Royal Academy of Engineering provides independent advice to the government, while it also helps to safeguard the next generation of professionals. Effectively, the organisation operates as the public face of the engineering sector in the UK.
Earlier this week, Paul Reeves, a design consultant, told The Independent that the engineering sector is being held back by a lack of ambition and grand ideas. The government, he argued, must do much more than run campaigns to make engineering a more attractive proposition for top graduates.
How do you think we can boost the status of the engineering industry? Should it fall on the government's shoulders to lead the way?
