April 2005

EPSRC annual conference

Invitation for Journalists

EPSRC Annual Conference
Friday 15th April 2005, British Library Conference Centre, London

Members of the media are invited to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 2005 Annual Conference.

The conference will include a thought provoking open debate with a distinguished panel (see below) who will discuss and give their views on the health of scientific disciplines and the future supply of scientifically trained people in the UK.

The event will also outline the achievements and future potential of research being carried out by five Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations in Information and Communications Technologies.

There will be a forward look at EPSRC plans for the coming year and an opportunity to put questions to the EPSRC Chair, Professor Dame Julia Higgins and Chief Executive, Professor John O'Reilly, over lunch.

Notes for Editors

If you would like to attend the conference please reply to this e-mail, providing the following details:

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Conference Agenda

09:15 Registration and morning tea and coffee

10:00 Conference begins

Professor Dame Julia Higgins, Chair of EPSRC, will give the opening address and introduce:

Part One - EPSRC Showcase
In February 2000, five new Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations centred on IT were selected to receive funding totalling �50 million over a six year period. What has been achieved since then? Andrew Herbert, Managing Director of Microsoft Research Cambridge, England, will examine the progress, achievements and future potential of the research carried out by these collaborations.

Open forum Q&A

11:00 Part Two - EPSRC Focus
Professor John O'Reilly, Chief Executive of EPSRC, will give an overview of important developments in the last year, EPSRC's current direction, our future plans and views on the major issues affecting research and post-graduate training.

11:30 Open Forum Q&A
EPSRC Chair, Professor Dame Julia Higgins, and EPSRC Chief Executive, Professor John O'Reilly, invite your comments and questions.

12:45 � 14:15 Lunch

14:30 Part Three - the EPSRC Debate
Many key UK industries rely on scientists and engineers to maintain their competitive edge in the world market. We should not lose the ability to train the next generations or continue the research which science and the UK economy rely on. We believe that it is essential for the UK to maintain its capability in these vital disciplines, and that research councils, Government, industry and all of the agencies involved need to work together to ensure the long term health of the scientific disciplines our country needs now and in the future.

Join a thought provoking open debate with the distinguished panel we have gathered together, to discuss and give their views on the health of scientific disciplines and the future supply of scientifically trained people in the UK.

Chair:

Professor Sir John Enderby, President of the Institute of Physics

Panel:

Professor Ivor Crewe, President, Universities UK
Professor Dame Julia Higgins, EPSRC
John Kingman, Director, Enterprise & Growth Unit, HM Treasury
Sir Howard Newby, Chief Executive, Higher Education Funding Council for England
Professor John O'Reilly, EPSRC
Professor Dominic Tildesley, Chief Scientist, Unilever.

16:30 Afternoon tea and close

Venue Information

The British Library Conference Centre is located at 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB. The nearest tube station is St. Pancras. For more details on directions visit: http://www.bl.uk/about/locations.html.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. The EPSRC invests more than �500 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC also actively promotes public awareness of science and engineering. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. Website address for more information on EPSRC: www.epsrc.ac.uk/.

For further information contact:

Natasha Richardson, EPSRC Press Office, Tel: 01793 444404, E-mail: [email protected]