15 Jan 2015
The 2014 Science in the Parliament event was held at Our Dynamic Earth Science Centre in Edinburgh on 12 November 2014. As in previous years, the SCI Scotland Group was in attendance to promote awareness of the Society.
This event, which is organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, has been running for several years and is aimed at bringing MSPs and other policy makers into contact. This year's event focused on the contribution of science and engineering to 'Science Education in Scotland'.
The meeting was opened by the Chair, Bristow Muldoon (Government Affairs representative for the Royal Society of Chemistry in Scotland), followed by the opening speech by Professor Lesley Yellowlees† (Past President, Royal Society of Chemistry). Addresses were given by Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell (President, Royal Society of Edinburgh) on 'Why Girls Don't Choose Physics', and Dr Alasdair Allan (Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages). In recognition of excellent academic performance, the Royal Society of Chemistry, Society of Biology, Institute of Physics, and the Royal Scottish Society of Arts awarded prizes to the top performing students in their respective disciplines.
Two panel sessions covered 'Science in Schools', 'Creating Wealth from Investment in Science and innovation', 'Mathematics - the language of STEM / The M in STEM', 'Workplace ready degree programmes' and 'Science and the needs of industry'. In between, the audience had the opportunity to discuss a number of topical questions with a panel of MSPs, chaired by Professor Alan Alexander (General Secretary, Royal Society of Edinburgh). The closing remarks were offered by Dr Matthew Brown (Head of Communications and Campaigns, Royal Society of Chemistry), followed by an exhibition involving organisations across the scientific and engineering community.
†If you missed Professor Yellowlees at this event, then you might be interested to know that she will speaking at an SCI London Group event on 19 January. Click on the link below for more details.
Rainer Ebel,
SCI Scotland Group Committee
Related Links
- Prof Lesley Yellowlees: Women in Science - What has chemistry ever done for me?, 19 January 2015, London, UK
- SCI Scotland Group
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