On Friday March 30th Jack McConnell chose the College of Life Sciences at Dundee as the venue to spell out the Labour party's manifesto for science over the next five years, should they form the government after the Scottish Elections on May 3rd. A key announcement in his speech was a pledge to set up a National Institute for Life Sciences in Scotland and a further pledge that it would be set up in Dundee.
Jack McConnell said that he 'had been convinced of the need for the Centre by Philip Cohen (Dean of Life Sciences Research in the College of Life Sciences at Dundee and Director of the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit). The First Minster also said 'it is wrong that there are three Institutes for Life Sciences in the South of England (the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology at Cambridge, the National Institute for Medical Research, and the Clinical Sciences Centre in London) but none in Scotland. I believe it is important we commit to that for the next term of the parliament and the right choice for the creation of the Centre is Dundee'. He added that 'it would be properly funded on a National basis'.
Prior to the First Minister's announcement Philip Cohen had outlined the vision for the Scottish Institute for Life Sciences (SCILS) and the reasons why it should be set up at Dundee. He said that he 'personally believed that it would attract a more world-class, entrepreneurial scientists to Scotland' and that 'SCILS would benefit from synergy with the exceptional Biomedical Science environment at the University of Dundee and so bring Life Sciences to a new level'.
Summing up, Peter Downes the Head of the College of Life Sciences at Dundee, thanked the First Minister for visiting the College of Life Sciences to make this exciting announcement. He said that he hoped that every political party would be equally enthusiastic about the concept of SCILS.
The First Minister's announcement is the culmination of many discussions about SCILS that Philip Cohen, Peter Downes and Michael Ferguson have had with senior politicians from all the major political parties over the past three years and with the Scottish Scientific Advisory Committee, whose former Chairman Wilson Sibbett became a strong advocate of the initiative.
The outcome of the May elections is awaited with great interest!
Jack McConnell said that he 'had been convinced of the need for the Centre by Philip Cohen (Dean of Life Sciences Research in the College of Life Sciences at Dundee and Director of the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit). The First Minster also said 'it is wrong that there are three Institutes for Life Sciences in the South of England (the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology at Cambridge, the National Institute for Medical Research, and the Clinical Sciences Centre in London) but none in Scotland. I believe it is important we commit to that for the next term of the parliament and the right choice for the creation of the Centre is Dundee'. He added that 'it would be properly funded on a National basis'.
Prior to the First Minister's announcement Philip Cohen had outlined the vision for the Scottish Institute for Life Sciences (SCILS) and the reasons why it should be set up at Dundee. He said that he 'personally believed that it would attract a more world-class, entrepreneurial scientists to Scotland' and that 'SCILS would benefit from synergy with the exceptional Biomedical Science environment at the University of Dundee and so bring Life Sciences to a new level'.
Summing up, Peter Downes the Head of the College of Life Sciences at Dundee, thanked the First Minister for visiting the College of Life Sciences to make this exciting announcement. He said that he hoped that every political party would be equally enthusiastic about the concept of SCILS.
The First Minister's announcement is the culmination of many discussions about SCILS that Philip Cohen, Peter Downes and Michael Ferguson have had with senior politicians from all the major political parties over the past three years and with the Scottish Scientific Advisory Committee, whose former Chairman Wilson Sibbett became a strong advocate of the initiative.
The outcome of the May elections is awaited with great interest!