Science and Engineering

To Every Thing There is a Season – lessons from the Alvey Programme for Creating an Innovation Ecosystem for Artificial Intelligence

By Luke Georghiou Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Digital Futures, Industry 4.0, Science and Engineering Posted: May 15, 2018

Last month the UK House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Committee published a report, ‘Artificial Intelligence, AI in the UK: ready, willing and able?’ In the report, which concluded that the UK is in a strong position to be a world leader in the development, use and ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), the Lords committee revisited […]

Zero-carbon UK? Let’s make zero mean something

By Joe Blakey and Marc Hudson Filed Under: Science and Engineering Posted: April 26, 2018

The UK’s minister for energy and clean growth wants to set the UK on a path to a ‘zero-carbon economy’. Marc Hudson and Joe Blakey from The University of Manchester’s Sustainable Consumption Institute ask whether ‘zero-carbon’ will give zero-thought to the emissions from the international supply chains that underpin our economy. What does a ‘zero-carbon […]

Reducing Plastic Use in Food Packaging with Innovative New Materials

By James Baker Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Science and Engineering Posted: March 13, 2018

Finding ways to reduce the amount of plastic used in food packaging, while still ensuring products are protected and kept fresh, is an increasingly important challenge. James Baker, Chief Executive Officer of Graphene@Manchester, explains how the answer could lie in the use of novel 2D materials. Changes in consumer perception and behaviour relating to plastic […]

Electric Vehicles: The Future is Light

By James Baker Filed Under: All posts, Science and Engineering Posted: January 31, 2018

In this blog James Baker, the newly announced Chief Executive Officer of Graphene@Manchester, explains what’s driving demand for lightweight 2D materials for use in batteries and other components. The growth in both the demand and supply for electric vehicles is creating new opportunities and challenges for manufacturers in the UK. Heavier electric vehicles are driving […]

Artificial Intelligence and the public interest

By Barbara Ribeiro Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: December 7, 2017

Dr Barbara Ribeiro of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research reflects on what the Industrial Strategy White Paper means for artificial intelligence and considers whether prioritising AI funding is really in the public interest. The Government expects a positive impact of AI on household budgets over the next 13 years Any expectations in terms of […]

Bridging the skills gap: primary to higher education

By Donna Johnson Filed Under: All posts, Science and Engineering Posted: August 21, 2017

The UK’s skills gap in science, technology, engineering and maths has been widely acknowledged, but the measures needed to address it are less clear. Here, Donna Johnson, Head of the Science & Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub, lays out the current debate and argues for cross-sector support between schools and universities and a focus […]

Keeping us charged- addressing energy storage related issues

By Richard Fields Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering Posted: August 3, 2017

Last week, the Government announced that new diesel and petrol cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2040 in a bid to tackle air pollution. In light of this, it was also announced that the Government would invest £246m in battery technology. Here, Richard Fields, a Research Associate at the National Graphene […]

The rise of the robots – now’s the time to talk

By Diane Coyle Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: May 8, 2017

The pace of change in technology shows no sign of slowing down, and as artificial intelligence develops, ever-more tasks that were previously carried out by humans could be done by machines. We have seen technological change before, and history tells us that there will be winners and losers. We must prepare economic and employment policies […]

The UK Technifesto

By Vikas Shah Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Growth and Inclusion, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: May 3, 2017

Inequality in our world is a root cause of many problems, but the strength of technology means it is no longer inevitable, says Vikas Shah. Here he shares his Technifesto for the United Kingdom. Information is now who we are – technology is our primary economic, social and cultural tool It’s an absolute priority to […]

Brexit and science: all risk and no benefit

By Martin Yuille Filed Under: All posts, Brexit, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: February 9, 2017

With new trade deals being negotiated following the Brexit vote, there are other areas of policy which should not be overlooked. Martin Yuille, Reader in Biobanking/Co-Director of CIGMR at The University of Manchester, argues that science and technology is increasingly a pre-condition for world-class research and therefore, now, after the EU referendum, the UK cannot […]