UK can’t go back to EU social model after Brexit says Frost
The scheme was launched in May as an incentive for laureates in the fields of science, engineering, humanities and medicine who want to work in the UK. The Prestige Awards route makes it easy for these scholars to apply for a Global Talent visa. It only requires an application, no need to meet conditions such as a grant from the UK Research and Innovation funding body or a job offer with a UK organization.
The government launched the plan in hopes of attracting scholars from more than 70 laureates, including the Nobel Prize, the Turing Prize, and the L’Oréal-UNESCO International Prizes for Women in Science.
But a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from New Scientist showed that “not a single application” was made months after launch.
Professor Andre Geim, University of Manchester, said: “The chances of a single Nobel or Turing laureate moving to the UK for work are nil for the next decade or so.
“The plan itself is a joke, it cannot be seriously discussed.”
The UK has been attacked (Image: GETTY)
The UK is struggling to attract talent (Image: GETTY)
Professor Geim won a Nobel Prize in 2010 for his work on graphene.
And you are not alone in your concerns.
Dr Jessica Wade, a materials scientist at Imperial College London, added: “Frankly, I am not at all surprised that there are no people running for this elitist scheme.
‘UK scientists’ access to European funding is uncertain, we are not very attractive to European students as they have to pay international fees, our pensions are being cut and UK scientific positions are rare and precarious ».
Shadow science minister Chi Onwurah added: “It is clear that this is just another trick of a government that rotates excessively and does not comply.
READ MORE: Real approval! New £ 1bn AstraZeneca center opens to ‘break new boundaries’ in medicine
The Prime Minister wants to make the UK a scientific superpower (Image: GETTY)
“It is not surprising that the government has failed to attract scientists from abroad so completely, given its constant lack of support for scientists here.”
Since then, the Home Office has confirmed to Express.co.uk that the scheme has received requests ‘from the FOI’.
A Home Office spokeswoman added: “The Prestigious Awards route makes it easier for those at the peak of their career to bring their unrivaled expertise to the UK and contribute to our world leading sectors including science, engineering, humanities and medicine.
“It is just one option within our Global Talent path, through which we have received thousands of applications since its launch in February 2020 and it continues to increase.
“The lists of awards covered by the program have been developed in consultation with the relevant supporting bodies and represent a finite number at the highest level in science, humanities, engineering, digital technology and arts and culture.”
DO NOT MISS …
The latest from Covid: UK may ‘be first to go epidemic’ [REPORT]
Brits mock EU as AstraZeneca blamed for Covid spike [LATEST]
AstraZeneca snub: Zahawi in place because British vaccine is not used [INSIGHT]
But despite this, the comments made seem to reflect growing concerns within the UK scientific community.
It comes as Britain remains excluded from the £ 80bn Horizon Europe project as Brexit Minister Lord David Frost continues to threaten to activate Article 16.
The government planned to contribute £ 2.1 billion annually to the program so that British scientists and researchers could access a variety of European science projects and access funds.
But now Lord Frost and Trade Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng are said to be implementing plans to set up a £ 6.9 billion ‘Discovery Fund’ to rival Horizon Europe.
Experts have warned against this, including Professor of Research Policy at the University of Sheffield, James Wilsdon.
He told Express.co.uk: “You can’t really have a Plan B to recreate large collaborative networking projects.
The UK worked amazingly on the Covid vaccine (Image: GETTY)
Billions of people have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca (Image: GETTY)
“It is certainly a significant setback to the UK’s ambition to remain at the forefront of global science.
“We know, and there is ample evidence, that collaborative research is generally of higher quality in terms of the influence it has. And in many areas, you can’t really tackle key issues without collaborations with key groups.
He sent Lord Frost a dire warning when he claimed that the permanent exclusion of Britain from Horizon Europe could be detrimental to British science.
Wilsdon told Express.co.uk: “Even in a post-Brexit context, there are many countries outside the EU that are members of Horizon, and the government always said that we would stick to the framework programs even if we did Brexit.
“So, in a sense, not being in them is an unnecessary act of self-harm for British science.”
We would like to say thanks to the author of this short article for this remarkable material
Brexit UK in crisis research as talent visa “joke” does not see “applications” in months | Science