杏吧原创

LAST year, Canadian postdoc Chris Carmichael relocated to Scotland from Nottingham when his supervisor was offered a position at the University of Edinburgh. He has never looked back. 鈥淚 love Edinburgh. It鈥檚 such a wonderful place to be,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 the capital, you鈥檝e got the arts, the museums and several theatres.鈥� Not only that, but jump in a car and you can soon be in the Highlands and the Western Isles. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to get away.鈥�

Andrew Mills, a chemist who moved from Swansea to the University of Strathclyde nine years ago, is also pleased with his chosen location: 鈥淚鈥檓 staggered by the dramatic scenery that鈥檚 only 40 miles from Glasgow.鈥� Though Glasgow is Scotland鈥檚 largest city, it is not so big that you鈥檙e overwhelmed by it, Mills says. Edinburgh is sometimes called the 鈥淎thens of the north鈥�, but Glasgow鈥檚 main square 鈥� complete with pavement cafes in the summer 鈥� gives the capital a run for its money. 鈥淕lasgow is like the Paris or Rome of the UK. And the University of Strathclyde is right in the centre,鈥� he says.

The positive mood is not only pervading Scotland鈥檚 academic science, but is filtering through to business too, turning the country鈥檚 world-class scientific achievements into economy-driving moneymakers. 鈥淭here is strong encouragement to commercialise things here,鈥� says Ian Wilmut, who created one of Scotland鈥檚 most famous daughters 鈥� Dolly, the cloned sheep 鈥� while at the University of Edinburgh鈥檚 Roslin Institute. 鈥淭here is certainly a lot of support from the Scottish government.鈥�

Last year, university science in Scotland received 拢1.1 million of Scottish government funding and 拢200 million from UK research councils. The money is well spent. For its diminutive size, Scotland鈥檚 research base has excelled. It produces around 1 per cent of the world鈥檚 research with less than 0.1 per cent of the world鈥檚 population. It also boasts 12.5 per cent of the UK鈥檚 top-rated departments, despite being home to less than a tenth of the total UK population.

All this contributes to a thriving network of grand, old universities mixed with brand-new research facilities 鈥� and in inspiring surroundings: you鈥檙e never more than a stone鈥檚 throw from breathtaking mountains and crystal-clear lochs. Although house prices are holding up better than in the rest of the UK, an average home still costs 拢50,000 less than you鈥檇 pay in England. So what鈥檚 not to like?

Booming biotech

Scotland鈥檚 academic strength in the biological and health sciences has a long history. More than 500 years ago, the multitasking members of the Barber Surgeons of Edinburgh, whose craft was not only to cut hair but to practise bloodletting and other forms of surgery, were incorporated as a craft guild of the city. This became the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and has more recently been joined by a world-class academic life-sciences scene and a thriving biotechnology sector.

Scotland鈥檚 life-science sector ranges much further than the creation of Dolly the sheep. Although stem-cell research is still a speciality, other hot areas include cancer research, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Overall, Scotland contributes 0.8 per cent of the world鈥檚 scientific publications. This might not sound like much but, as the old adage goes, it鈥檚 what you do with it that counts. A common method of judging success in science is how many times a publication is cited, and therefore how much impact it has. According to an independent report produced for the Scottish government by data-analysis company Evidence, this little nation is punching above its weight, producing 2 per cent of the world鈥檚 highly cited papers.

The same report reveals that Scotland鈥檚 impact in health and medical sciences, when compared with other countries with similar research economies, puts it in first place. In clinical sciences, it is second only to Switzerland, and in biological sciences it takes a commendable third place.

For researchers, then, Scotland is a pretty desirable place to be. Certainly Wilmut has felt no need to move since he arrived in the 1970s. 鈥淭here is very good research here,鈥� he says. 鈥淟ife sciences are a priority in Scotland, so there are great career opportunities here.鈥�

The biggest priority now is to capitalise on all that knowledge. 鈥淲hat we鈥檝e been very good at is being innovative,鈥� says Ruth Andrew, spokeswoman for Scottish Enterprise, a Scottish government-funded agency that supports business development. 鈥淲hat we haven鈥檛 been so good at in the past is taking those ideas and making a business of them.鈥�

Nowadays, Scotland is getting just as good at turning research into business as it is at doing the research in the first place. One initiative has been particularly successful in translating research into remedy. The aptly named Translational Medicine Research Collaboration (TMRC) is a newly established network of clinical research centres involving the medical schools at Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh universities, a core research lab hosted by the University of Dundee, US-based Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and the NHS. The collaboration aims to develop treatments and drugs by researching how to better diagnose and monitor disease.

A second round of government funding for the TMRC was announced this year 鈥� to the tune of 拢15 million. A solid $45 million commitment from Wyeth has also been a boon for Scotland. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time Wyeth has come out from the US to do something of this kind,鈥� says Andrew.

What鈥檚 more, different types of collaborations are springing up throughout the country. In two years鈥� time, Wilmut and his colleagues will move to an area known as the Edinburgh BioQuarter. This massive development got under way two years ago when the University of Edinburgh established its medical school next to the site of the Royal Infirmary, and the idea to develop a complex that combines top-class research and clinical expertise with a healthy dose of industry was born. 鈥淭hat combination, going from the most basic research to the clinic, will be extremely important for the most rapid exploitation of the knowledge,鈥� says Wilmut.

Going digital

Life sciences are certainly one of Scotland鈥檚 strengths, but other areas are also benefiting from government support and hoping to attract world-class researchers as a result. The Informatics Forum, for example, a 拢42 million project at the University of Edinburgh, will bring the university鈥檚 informatics researchers 鈥� who are currently spread out across the city 鈥� under one roof. Part-funded by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish government, the forum is due to open in August.

The forum might be a new kid on the electronics block, but Scotland鈥檚 history in electronics research and business goes back a long way. Scotland is home to many multinational companies, such as Dell and IBM, and this well-established area of industry maintains a healthy job market. The field of electronics makes up 40 per cent of jobs on offer at 鈥淭alent Scotland鈥�, an initiative run by the Scottish government to attract skilled professionals to the country, says Hazel Sinclair, the organisation鈥檚 senior manager.

It was early government support that led to the establishment of Wolfson Microelectronics, a spin-off company from the University of Edinburgh. Devices made by Wolfson now power mobile phones, digital cameras and flat-screen TVs worldwide, and the company has offices in several countries, including Japan, Korea, India and Germany. It also maintains symbiotic local links: up to 40 per cent of Wolfson鈥檚 engineers are graduates from the University of Edinburgh, and the company offers mentoring for start-up companies in the area.

Equally, if it is gaming you鈥檙e into, you鈥檇 be hard pushed to find a better place to work than the home of computer games Grand Theft Auto and State of Emergency. As New 杏吧原创 went to press, GTA designers Rockstar Games had several vacancies in its Edinburgh studio. So if you鈥檙e looking to make a career in gaming, several degree programmes in Scotland will help you on your way. The University of Abertay in Dundee and the University of the West of Scotland at Paisley both run well-established courses.

Keeping it clean

When Robert Burns wrote 鈥淣ae man can tether Time nor Tide鈥� in his 1790 poem Tam O鈥橲hanter, he couldn鈥檛 have known that over 200 years later his beloved Scotland would set about doing exactly that 鈥� harnessing the power of the tide to become Europe鈥檚 most promising provider of renewable energy.

The Scottish government has set itself some stiff targets when it comes to using clean, green power. By 2011, it aims to have 31 per cent of Scottish electricity coming from renewable sources, and by 2020 that target rises to a whopping 50 per cent.

This might sound like a huge undertaking, but with a long, wind-whipped coastline, it may be in reach. Scotland has the potential to provide a quarter of Europe鈥檚 wind power, as well as a quarter of its tidal power and a tenth of its wave power. The soon-to-be-tethered tides of the Pentland Firth, the stretch of water that separates the Orkney Islands from the northernmost tip of the Scottish mainland, have already earned the area the nickname 鈥渢he Saudi Arabia of tidal power鈥�.

Already, nearly a fifth of Scotland鈥檚 power comes from renewable sources, and new schemes to boost this figure are springing up all the time. In April alone, the Scottish government approved two proposals: a hydroelectric scheme in Perthshire capable of generating power for around 1000 homes, and a wind farm near Brora in Sutherland with the capacity to power nearly 40,000 homes.

One company leading the pack is AWS Ocean Energy, based in Alness, near Inverness. The company is developing buoys that sit in the sea and harvest energy from the change in water pressure caused by the waves. Although it currently employs just 14 people, it is looking to double that number in the next year, says chief executive Simon Grey. 鈥淪cotland is a very good place to be because there鈥檚 a lot of political support [for renewable energy],鈥� he says.

As they develop, these kinds of schemes should also boost the number of jobs in the area. Though energy is a new area of activity for Talent Scotland, it makes up 10 per cent of its vacancies and Sinclair expects that proportion to grow as the sector matures.

It鈥檚 not all plain sailing on calm seas, though. Before approving schemes like these, the government must weigh up the cost of sprouting wind turbines in unspoilt countryside or sinking tidal-power generators into ocean ecosystems. Green power creates its own environmental issues in the form of threatened wildlife and habitats, and some schemes 鈥� like the recently rejected proposal for a 181-turbine wind farm on Lewis 鈥� fall at these hurdles.

Despite some setbacks, many proposals are steaming ahead, and the government is doing more than its fair share of encouraging innovation in the area of green energy with the newly established Saltire prize. This 拢10 million award for advances in clean energy draws its inspiration from other high-profile science prizes such as the Nobels.

Grey might be somewhat bound to coastal living given the speciality of his company, but part of Scotland鈥檚 appeal for him is its great accessibility. 鈥淲e can walk out of the office and go for a walk along the seashore,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n 10 minutes you can be in amongst 3000-foot mountains, in 20 minutes you can be on the high street, and in two hours I can be in central London.鈥�

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