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A yen for science and technology

The first five programmes under LINK, the UK government's initiative to encourage collaboration between the scientific community and industry, were announced recently by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Lord Young, and the Secretary of State for Education and Science, Kenneth Baker. The LINK initiative is aimed at building on the government's past experience in forging collaborations between academic, government and industrial laboratories. The main objectives of LINK are to foster strategic areas of scientific research directed towards the development of innovative projects, processes and services by industry; to stimulate a real increase in industry's investment in R&D; to help industry exploit developments in science and make scientists more aware of industry's needs by strengthening the links between industry, higher education, the research councils and other research establishments; and to develop technologies which cross the boundaries of industrial sectors and scientific disciplines. Up to £83m will be spent on the five programmes, of which the government will provide up to half. Over the next five years at least a dozen further programmes are expected to take the total government and industry spending on LINK to at least £420m. Government backing will be shared equally between DTI and the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERe). LINK programmes will each be in a strategic area of science and technology. They will range across the entire spectrum of science-based technology. The five programmes announced recently are in molecular electronics, advanced semiconductor materials, industrial measurement systems, eukaryotic genetic engineering, and nanotechnology. They are areas of strategic research in which the UK is strong, and which could yield commercial returns within the next decade. Lord Young has said that 'By working with universities and polytechnics on precompetitive research, sharing the costs and the risks through collaboration, companies will be better placed to exploit advances at the cutting edge of science and technology and to compete more effectively in world markets.' The LINK scheme, announced by the prime minister in December 1986, has been taking shape under a steering group led by Robert Malpas, technical director of British Petroleum. The steering group advises on the selection