OVERSEAS investment in British science and technology amounts to a whopping 拢1.4 billion a year, according to a report this week from the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. But this income, which amounts to more than 10 per cent of R&D spending in Britain, may be threatened by increasing competition from abroad unless the government increases public funding for basic research.
The 鈥渋nvisible export鈥� earnings from foreign investment in British science have never been accurately quantified before, says Lord Walton, who chaired the subcommittee that produced the report. The lion鈥檚 share, 拢1.1 billion, is industrial R&D. And the report notes that several foreign companies have recently set up research centres in Britain. These include the Japanese electronics giant Sharp, which set up a laboratory in Oxford in 1990.
Universities, however, are also getting in on the act, earning 拢135 million a year in overseas research grants and contracts, plus a further 拢129 million in fees from foreign science students.
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While industry may earn more from abroad for British science than the universities, Walton notes that many of the foreign decision makers who are responsible for investing in British science have spent time as a student or researcher at a British university. The Lords fear that if Britain鈥檚 universities become less attractive to foreign students, this could threaten overseas investment in British science.
The report calls for more government spending on basic science to ensure the universities remain attractive to visiting scientists. Walton also warns that the appeal of a British university education may wane if the government continues to recruit more undergraduates without increasing university funding in proportion.
The committee also wants the government to strengthen Britain鈥檚 science and technology links with the 鈥淎sian tigers鈥� 鈥� China, South Korea, Malaysia and other countries of the Pacific Rim with rapidly growing economies. Strong links with Japan have been established by the British embassy in Tokyo and the British Council, and Walton wants to see similar ties set up with Asia鈥檚 other emerging powers.
Walton says that the report鈥檚 main message is that foreign investment in British science is a huge economic benefit. He hopes the report will silence critics who see overseas students as 鈥渁cademic spies鈥�, and believe that foreign companies investing in British research are simply milking the country鈥檚 scientists for their own ends. 鈥淭he future of British science lies in free trade, not protectionism,鈥� he says.