UK government steps up to assist lower income students
Head teachers in England have backed the idea that
the nation’s sixth-formers should apply to
university after getting their A-level results.
The Government has proposed the idea as much fairer
than the current system of students applying before
they take their exams, a system that relies on predicted
results.
Currently, English students apply to university
without knowing how good their grades are and in
turn, universities make their offers in a similarly
blind manner.
This system has been criticised for a lack of fairness
and transparency, particularly in the way students
from better economic backgrounds, coached and confident,
are advantaged over those from poorer backgrounds
- who are not expected to do as well.
The proposal was welcomed by the National Union
of Students who said it would benefit teenagers from
lower income families.
Also set in motion for this fall, is the government’s
new weekly Adult Learning Grant of £30.00 per
week to help young adults meet the costs of improving
their qualifications.
The pilot scheme, aimed at students aged 19 – 30
with low incomes who are studying full time in order
to get their first full level 2 qualification or
their first level 3 qualification (two A-levels or
equivalent), is part of a nationwide drive to improve
the UK’s skill base.
Launching the scheme, Minister for Skills and Vocational
Education, Ivan Lewis said, “The Adult Learning
Grant is not a handout, but a hand up to get low
income young adults to gain key skills and qualifications
which will help improve their employment prospects
and provide a route to a better life.”
Scottish biotech company secures funding for global strategy
The Edinburgh biotech company Stem Cell Sciences has
announced a £2.5m funding deal.
The deal will be used to expand the company’s
Scottish and Australian research operations.
Stem Cell Sciences (SCS) won £1.15million
from the Scottish Enterprise Co-Investment Fund and
the Archangels syndicate, as well as £1.2million
from BioTech Capital, one of Australia’s largest
life science private equity funds.
Funds committed by the Scottish and Australian-based
investors will directly support the expansion of
SCS’ operations in their respective territories.
Dr Peter Mountford, chief executive officer of SCS
said, “International co-investment is fundamental
to the company’s plan to develop and distribute
regenerative therapies via a global alliance of SCS
companies.”
Scotland’s biotechnology sector, which includes
stem cell research, is growing at almost twice the
pace of the industry in the rest of Europe. In Scotland,
the industry employs more than 25,000 people across
97 biotech companies and 328 support and supply organisations.
Biotechnology is one of Scottish Enterprise’s
three key development pillars.
Stem Cell Sciences specialises in stem-cell technology
for drug discovery. Through the expansion of their
Scottish and Australian labs, the company plans to
develop therapies for diseases such as Parkinson's
and diabetes.
More spam...
The European Commission has reported that unsolicited
e-mail, or "spam", is estimated to have cost
European businesses two-and-a-quarter-billion euros
(£1.5bn) in lost productivity last year.
European Union (EU) legislation banning unwanted
e-mail is due to come into force in November, but
given the global nature of the Internet, it is feared
it will have little effect.
According to the EU’s claims, the volume of
unwanted spam e-mail is now so large that it threatens
to stifle the Internet as an effective means of communication.
Between a third and one-half of all e-mails sent
and received are believed to now be spam or junk
mail.
There are fears that if spam is not checked, it
could severely diminish the appeal of mobile-phone-based
Internet services, which are about to be launched
into mainstream use in Europe.
|
