Getting the best result for science following the EU referendum
Following the EU referendum, our new president, Professor Sir John Holman has a message for members of our community around the world.
Last week, I chaired my first meeting of our Council as president of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
I made sure that the first item on our agenda was the UK referendum on membership of the EU and its implications for the chemical sciences. I would like to update you on that discussion and how we are working to support our community, across academia and industry, during this period of uncertainty.
Far from closing doors to international collaboration, we want to open them still further. We will work with partners across the scientific community, including businesses, universities and our fellow learned societies, so that the UK can fulfil its potential to contribute to global science.
Three priorities for the UK Government
Council has identified three priorities for the Government to ensure that UK science maintains its world-class performance and the openness to collaboration and exchange that is key to its success:
- maintaining research and innovation funding at the present level, which currently includes funding from the EU;
- easy movement of skilled scientists and of students to and from the UK;
- clear and high-quality regulation to support UK citizens, businesses and researchers.
Our actions so far
We are already taking practical steps to support our community.
Our CEO, Dr Robert Parker, recently spoke at an event in the House of Commons on the UK and international scientific collaboration. He stressed the importance of working with partners around the world to advance science for the benefit of humanity.
We have reaffirmed our commitment to partnerships with chemical societies all around the world and our commitment to membership of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences.
And we will be submitting a response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee’s call for evidence on the implications of leaving the EU for science and research in the UK.
What can you do?
Over the coming months, we will continue to gather evidence and case studies to inform our engagement with policy-makers.
We want to make sure that we represent our community as fully as possible. If you have been or expect to be affected by the changes, or have evidence of the challenges and opportunities for the chemical sciences, please get in touch with us using the contact details on this page.
I would like to reassure all of our members, wherever you are from, that we are committed to being a diverse organisation and community, with people from across the world working together to advance the chemical sciences for the benefit of science and humanity.
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