Teaching the scientists of tomorrow

There is growing concern among the scientific community regarding the decline in the numbers of young people entering science-related degrees and careers. A recent review carried out by Sir Gareth Roberts for Her Majesty's Treasury made a number of recommendations for improving science education in schools and universities. One of the concerns that arose from the review was school pupils' negative image of careers that result from the study of science and engineering, and the inadequate information about these. Furthermore, university students perceived that there is an insufficient number of attractive career opportunities in research for highly qualified research scientists and engineers. Besides the negative image of a career in science, students also found that starting salaries and salary progression were increasingly uncompetitive compared with the salaries of their counterparts in other sectors.