UK chemical industry looks to tackle the "downward spiral" in education
A new paper from the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) has called for "a co-ordinated approach from industry, the education sector and government" as it looks to address the decline in the number of chemistry undergraduates in the UK.
A new paper from the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) has called for "a co-ordinated approach from industry, the education sector and government" as it looks to address the decline in the number of chemistry undergraduates in the UK.
"Only around 1% of higher education students are studying chemistry and fewer than 3,000 students graduated in chemistry in 2004," states the paper - "Strategic chemistry-based science education into the 21st century" - whose launch follows the announcement by the University of Sussex of its plans to stop offering straight chemistry degrees and to rename its chemistry department the Department of Chemical Biology, with effect from 2007.
The SCI believes such changes to chemistry provision in tertiary education - which have also taken place at Exeter, Kings College London, Queen Mary's London, Dundee and Surrey - are a symptom of the decline in young people choosing to pursue STEM-based (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects at university. This was confirmed by Sussex in outlining the reasons behind its decision: "Sussex has a very small department (14 academics) with a small student intake (around 20 new undergraduates per year)..account[ing] for less than 1% of all new chemistry students in England.
"Although student applications for chemistry at Sussex have risen this year, applications do not translate into offers being accepted. Out of 300 offers, we could expect an intake at the very best of 35-40. We have achieved intakes of only 20 per year in recent years."
One of the main reasons behind this decline, according to the SCI, is problems with teaching methods and "an over-prescriptive curriculum" in secondary schools. The Society also suggests that some schools may be simplifying their curriculum as a way of potentially improving their overall results statistics, although it believes that such simplification may also be a result of a drop in the number of "suitably qualified" science teachers.
In turn this is seen as affecting "the aspects of learning science that are valued by pupils" - namely practical work and coverage of contemporary science issues - and consequently pupils" enjoyment of science and awareness of science-related career opportunities.
The need for more interaction between academia and business is seen as a central requirement at all levels of education, with work experience seen as a way of increasing students" likelihood of entering chemistry-based industries.
Financial problems for university chemistry departments are also mentioned in the paper, with expensive infrastructure contributing to a situation where "the cost of a chemistry course may exceed the income accruing to the university from providing it". The University of Sussex put the cost of retaining a chemistry department "in its present form for the long-term" at £750,000 per annum.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has also expressed concern over the UK science base, and in November 2005 released a paper entitled "Sustaining the skills pipeline in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries" in which it recommended to the UK Government the establishment of a "UK In Vivo Sciences Task Force" to develop "an action plan" for science education over the next five to 10 years. It also floated the idea of a "diploma in science" to support science skills and careers in 14-19 year olds.