Science is in crisis and scientists have lost confidence in Government policy

Science is in crisis and scientists have lost confidence in Government policy: "What has happened to cause many scientists to lose confidence in Government policy? There are two main problems: (i) government funding for universities has fallen by about 30 per cent in the past six years in spite of a significant increase in student numbers; and (ii) the rules by which SFI Ireland funds individual research scientists have been drastically altered. The balance has shifted from excellence to application, from breadth to narrowness and from applications by individuals to applications by applied research “centres”.
The overall result is that it is more and more difficult for universities to support and promote deserving staff who are therefore inclined to leave; and others, of course, retire. Universities simply do not have the funds to fill many vacant posts."



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