Annex 5
MEMORANDUM FROM THE PARTICLE PHYSICS AND
ASTRONOMY RESEARCH COUNCIL (PPARC) ON THE HOUSE OF COMMONS WELSH
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO: MANUFACTURING AND TRADE IN WALES
RESPONSES TO
QUESTIONS
A. How do you engage with universities
in Wales?
1. PPARC's involvement with universities
in Wales is through applications for funding (grants, fellowships
and studentships) largely at the level of the individual academic
or research group.
(i) Why is science not a devolved area and
what impact does this have on the manufacturing sector in Wales?
2. This question is answered in the RCUK
submission. PPARC manages UK involvement in major international
projects (eg the European Space Agency, European Southern Observatory,
and CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics) where
it represents UK (not devolved government) interests. PPARC science
often takes the form of large collaborative research projects
which may involve several university groups from across the UK
as well as international collaborations. It would be counter-intuitive
to try to disentangle the various regional interests.
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