Science in Wales - a look back and a peek forward

In a few weeks it will be 14 years since the launch of the Science Advisory Council for Wales (SACW).

I thought I would, with the help of some wise words from Professor John Harries, the Chief Scientific Advisor, look back at that time, and what the future may hold for this country I am proud to call home.

Starting Out

There were 18 of us in that inaugural council, brought from all walks of scientific excellence in Wales, including some Nobel prize winners. To say it was an honour to sit with them would be understatement. The full list of members can be found at the end of this document.

What we did really well though, was represent a cross-section of experience, hopes, desires and dare I say it, dreams for a prosperous, science driven growth led economy. One of our first deliverables was the Science Strategy for Wales, an 18-month undertaking which was officially launched by The First Minister in 2012.

It was one of my most proudest moments, especially as the laboratory that was under my remit in Suresnes, Paris recently moved to its new home in Wales, made the cover of the executive summary.

I remember talking to Rhodri Morgan about the opening ceremony, which we had organised and invited him to. He had retired by then, we used to go to watch Cardiff Blues together, and I told him I had named it after him and my boss Dr Jean Botti , as I wanted to ensure they both turned up!

He told me he found it amusing to be in a position to be there when something was named after him, as normally "that sort of thing only happens when you are dead!". First Minister at the time Rt. Hon. Professor Carwyn Jones opened the facility on October 13th 2011.

Rhodri was a fantastic supporter of Science, Technology & Innovation in Wales, indeed he held the ministerial brief prior to becoming First Minister. He always maintained though, that as well as world-leading research & fundamental/theoretical work, there needed to be the right balance of work that helped everyone in Wales.

One of the things that always stuck with me was one the opening paragraphs from the very first draft document, which didn't make it into the final version with quite the same wording. It came from Professor Harries and I think it stands up today just as much as it did back in 2011 when the draft was circulated.

The challenge is a great one.  We wish to make our science and engineering work for us, not only to bring prestige to, and interest in Wales because it is excellent, but also to bring more tangible benefits. These include inward investment, people, jobs, companies, and a better standard of living for all. - Professor John Harries

Teams went to Work

Each of the 18 original members did not work alone of course, we each had amazing groups of people contributing to the collective nature of the task ahead. It would be remiss of me not to give a massive nod to all those who helped at what is now The Airbus Group (then EADS) in Wales and from the Welsh Government/University network. Just some of whom are pictured below in the very swanky Holiday Inn Express just off the M4, as you can see, it was not all champagne and glitz!

One of the organisers, Mike Greenway , said it best.

Working together, with no preconceptions of what we wanted or what the outcome would be, we focused on particular issues coming together in Plenary sessions to test ideas with the bigger group and other subgroups. - Dr Mike Greenway

In 2009 Welsh Government, spearheaded by Rhodri, announced the formation of a Foundation to help promote hi-tech research in Wales, which would feed into the Science Strategy of what was to become the SACW.

Grand Challenges

In 2012 many regions and indeed countries were pursuing Grand Challenges, and we were no different, and the result was 3 main pathways;

·         Life & Health Sciences

·         Environment, Energy & Low Carbon

·         Advanced Engineering & Materials

We also prioritised education & STEM outreach, the digital economy, intellectual property, and “Blue-Sky” research, as levers which cut across those challenges and were essential to get right.

One of those levers, Digital, has become exponentially more impactful in just 14 short years. After all this was the year that the iPad was launched as well as the very first Apple & Google app stores.

Oh, and you could buy a Bitcoin for $0.30 so if you bought $10 then, they would be worth over $2 million today.

Someone who has gone on to have a well-deserved, brilliant career, Tom Crick MBE , said this at one of our first meetings, when he was a mere Dr...

Education should prepare young people for a world that does not yet exist, requiring technologies that have not yet been invented, to solve problems of which we are not aware. - Dr Tom Crick

So, how did we do?

The first thing I would say, even with 20/20 hindsight, is that those pathways were the right ones. Yes, we could have tweaked a little around the edges, but essentially Wales has indeed forged ahead in those areas, with Life & Health Sciences being a very visible example of progress.

You can find out more about this vibrant sector by downloading the 2022/23 Impact Report here

I would also add into that mix the work of 2 quite brilliant Welshmen, Gareth Morris-Stiff based in the US who is working to build revolutionary facilities in Wales to test traditional ayervedic compounds in a clinical setting and Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu founder of The Tumeric Company.

Did we miss a significant pathway?

In my opinion, yes, although I am not trying to claim prescience in any way, this is really only an observation that I have made recently, and the world has certainly changed significantly since 2010.

So, what would I add today?

This is where it gets possibly contentious…

Science strategy, by its nature, tends to be medium-long term in it’s planning and execution. Research that accurately translates into innovation, which then generates significant impact on Wales may take years to come to fruition and fail many times along the way.

BUT

I think that many of the traditional value-chains, which take many years, can – and indeed are – being disrupted by short term fail/fast succeed/imperfect research, and this is something that our younger generations have a better natural grasp of. A linear path in many of the traditional research pathways no longer makes sense to be the only option.

A new pathway, with the sole intention of raising the quality of life across the country.

What does this mean for us today?

I remember talking to a head of Innovation many years ago and they told me – “I don’t do failure” as though it was a sign of poor management. I am not going to roll-out the usual tropes about fail X times, succeed once, or quote a historical figure who failed their way to success, we all know them, but perhaps now is the time to change the ratios between funding patterns of TRL 1-3 work, against 4-6.

What does this mean for Wales?

Simply put, more failure.

Yes, more failure.

If we expand our appetite for failure, especially in the area of human capitol, then we increase the chances of creating Welsh unicorns.

This is something of course that goes against the grain of many in power – after all, no-one likes to announce things that don’t work.

In my opinion, we need to harness the speed at which new research is being done, expand our tolerance levels and bet on Wales continuing to produce simply astonishing talent.

As it has always done, as I knew as soon as I took my place on that very first Science Advisory Council for Wales.

Thoughts?

Simon Bradley

April 2024

The first meeting of the Science Advisory Council for Wales was held on Wednesday 1st December 2010 in Cardiff and its members were: 

Paul Allen, FRSA, B.Eng (Hons) - External Relations Director for Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Machynlleth;

Professor Huw Beynon, D.SocSc, AcSS, Cardiff University (retired);

Professor Simon Bradley, FRGS, Vice President TCC5, EADS Innovation Works, Newport;

Mr Kevin Bygate, BEng, CEng, MIET, Director Business Development Tata Steel UK Ltd;

Professor Bridget Emmett, PhD, FSB, Head of Site, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (NERC), Bangor and Honorary Research Professor at Bangor University;

Professor Sir Martin Evans, PhD, ScD, FMedSci, FRS, Nobel Laureate ; President of Cardiff University

Professor Chris Gaskell, BVSc, PhD, DVR, MRCVS, Principal of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester;

Professor Sian Hope, MPhil, MBCS, Executive Director of Innovation and Professor of Computer Science, Director of RIVIC, Bangor University;

Dr Jim Houlihan, PhD, Head of Innovation Policy, Intellectual Property Office, Newport;

Mr D John Jeans, CEng - Deputy Chief Executive & Chief Operating Officer-Medical Research Council;

Professor Tavi Murray, PhD, Awarded Polar Medal by HM Queen for "outstanding service to Polar Research”, Head of the Glaciology Group, Swansea University;

Professor Chris Pollock, CBE, MA, PhD, DSc, FRAgS, CBiol, FSB, Honorary Research Professor at Aberystwyth University;

Professor Ole H. Petersen, CBE, FRCP, FMedSci, FRS,  Director, School of Bioscience, Cardiff University;

Ms Wendy Sadler, MSc, Director - Science Made Simple c/o Cardiff University;

Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas, MA, ScD, D.Univ, FRS, FREng, FRSE , Cambridge University;

Professor Ken Walters, D.Sc. FRS, Distinguished Research Professor at Aberystwyth University

Professor Robin Williams, CBE, FRS, CPhys, FInstP, Former Vice Chancellor and Emeritus Professor, Swansea University.