 Science in crisis
Students’ interest in science seems to be waning in the UK. Recent media reports show students are flocking to media studies, law and business courses. Without official attention, chemists could soon become an endangered species, as would engineers, biologists and physicists. Despite our world-class teaching and research facilities, science study is alarmingly unpopular.
Dyson to the rescue
But help is at hand. James Dyson’s planned engineering college, due to open in 2008 in Bath, is likely to be a stronghold of whizz-kids. It aims to churn out young engineers, Britain’s future inventors, like Dyson himself, who pioneered the bagless vacuum cleaner. Funded by Dyson and the government, the facility will teach design, engineering and enterprise to two and a half thousand 14 to 18 year olds. Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Williams Racing will help with the technical know-how. Dyson told the BBC: ‘The idea is to give children an introduction to engineering and to excite them as to what engineering can do… It's not just about repairing things, it's about creating interesting things that can go on to establish big businesses.’
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