Neutral platform for debate of policy issues, Discussions and workshops on relevant issues, Support service to Learned and Professional Societies, Foundation Future Leaders Programme for mid-career professionals, Podcast exploring links between science & technology and policy

Welcome

To The Foundation for Science and Technology website

The Foundation for Science and Technology is a UK charity, providing an impartial platform for debate of policy issues that have a science, research, technology or innovation element. Established in 1977, the Foundation brings together Parliamentarians, civil servants, industrialists, researchers, learned societies, charities and others. It convenes discussion events and round tables, publishes a journal three times per year and regular blogs, and hosts a weekly podcast. It also organises the Foundation Future Leaders Programme, supporting the next generation of professionals from universities, industry and the civil service. In addition, the Foundation provides guidance on governance issues to Professional and Learned Societies.

Future Leaders

The Foundation Future Leaders Programme brings together a cohort of mid-career professionals drawn from universities, industry and the civil service to develop links and further their understanding of how science and research are conducted, and how they feed into the policy process.

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Events

The Foundation organises events on key topics in science, research, technology or innovation, bringing together Parliamentarians, civil servants, industrialists, researchers, learned societies, charities and others.

Events List

FST Journal

The FST Journal is published three times per year, with articles based on the main evening events held by the Foundation. The Journal is distributed to over 1500 senior influencers in Government, Parliament, industry and the research community, as well as being published online.

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Learned & Professional Societies

The Foundation for Science and Technology provides guidance to Learned and Professional Societies in the area of administration and governance, with technical guidance notes and a regular newsletter.

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Latest Events

The UK Fusion Programme
The UK Fusion Programme
March 27, 2024

It’s a time of change for the UK fusion programme. The JET (Joint European Torus) facility in Culham, funded as part of the Euratom programme, came to an end in December 2023, after 40 years at the cutting edge of global fusion research. The Euratom partners are focussing on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in southern France, though the start up for that is not until in the mid-2030s. Meanwhile, the UK decided not to rejoin Euratom at the same time that it rejoined Horizon Europe, in September 2023. On the commercial side, the UK is producing a number of small, high-tech fusion technology companies looking to work with fusion research facilities globally, and the UK Atomic Energy Authority has announced plans for STEP (Spherical Tokomak for Energy Production), a prototype fusion power plant to be built in Nottinghamshire. Where do these changes leave UK fusion? How can we ensure that the UK maintains its position in global fusion activities – in both research and commercialisation – in this changing environment, and outside of the Euratom programme? What are the UK’s key priorities for the coming years? These are the questions we hope to explore at this event.

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Can Artificial Intelligence be regulated and if so how?
Can Artificial Intelligence be regulated and if so how?
February 28, 2024

Governments and regulators across the globe are considering the rapid changes which are being brought about by artificial intelligence, the huge potential benefits it can bring, but also the significant potential harms. The EU AI Act is the new European regulatory framework in the EU, with the USA and other major economies discussing similar issues, and with much discussion at the UN and OECD amongst others. In the UK, some aspects of AI are included in the new online safety bill, and the UK was also the host in November 2023 of the first global AI Safety Summit. In this event, we discussed the different challenges of regulating AI and how different jurisdictions were approaching that challenge.

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Scaling up deep technology companies in the UK – challenges and solutions
Scaling up deep technology companies in the UK – challenges and solutions
January 24, 2024

The UK is a highly innovative nation, with a great reputation for small deeptech startups, often emerging from the UK university sector. For the most promising of those organisations, seed funding can be found in the UK, but scaling up these companies, and sourcing the funds to enable that to happen, can be a real challenge. This limits the value to UK plc, as these companies have the potential to provide huge returns to the economy, but with longer timescales than startups in other sectors, with a need for patient capital investment. How big is this problem, in comparison with our key competitors? And what are the roles of the universities, venture capital firms, UKRI and its agencies, central government and the companies themselves to help address them? These are some of the issues discussed in this evening discussion event.

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More about our events

You can view a full listing of our events and search the archive on our events page.