The Scottish Science Advisory Council is a government organisation that is Scotland's highest level advisory body for science, engineering and technology. The group of experts provide independent advice to the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

. Members are appointed by the

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (), commonly referred to as the Education Secretary (), is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet responsible for all levels of education in Scotland. The incumbent is Jenny Gilruth, who ass ...

. It acts in an advisory role and does not direct any research funding, which comes from the

UK Research Councils Research Councils UK, sometimes known as RCUK, was a non-departmental public body that coordinated science policy in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2018. It was an umbrella organisation that coordinated the seven separate research councils ...

History

Scotland has a proud tradition of science research and innovation, but this tends to be exclusively found in its main universities. R&D in Scottish industry is lower than the rest of the UK ( RUK).Report August 2009
/ref> Scotland has 10% of the population of the UK but produces 30% of the

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

s in microbiology and genetics. The

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

is noted for its work in biochemistry. However, in physical sciences, from 1999 to 2004, there was a 12% drop in Scottish graduates, and a 17% drop in engineering and technology graduates. In the post-war years, and up to the early 1990s, Scotland was producing more than its fair share of science and engineering graduates; it was seen a popular and challenging option, although mainly among males. Now, proportionately more children at Scottish schools are perceived to be indifferent to the challenges that science presents. Older science teachers at Scottish schools are not being replaced in the number needed. ''Why Science Matters'', the 2003 report, found that Scotland was short of around 350 chemistry teachers and 200 physics teachers. The organisation was announced in August 2001, and founded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, with funding from the Scottish Executive. From 1 January 2007, it moved to the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser. Previously it had been at the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2002 establishments in Scotland Government agencies established in 2002 Organisations based in Edinburgh Organisations supported by the Scottish Government Research and development in the United Kingdom Royal Society of Edinburgh Science and technology in Scotland Science education in the United Kingdom Science policy in the United Kingdom Scientific organisations based in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 2002

History

See also

References

External links