working together to promote excellence in physics the south east physics network a model for stem...

Working together to promote excellence in Physics

The South East Physics NetworkA model for STEM sustainability?

Professor Sir William Wakeham – ChairDr James West – Executive Director


2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-110

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

Total undergraduate acceptances and undergraduate acceptances in

STEM subjects

STEMTotal

Year

Num

ber

of

stu

dents


2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-110

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Percentage of undergraduate ac-ceptances

(split by SIVS and non-SIVS)

% SIVS STEM

% non-SIVS STEM

Year

% o

f stu

dents


1999-2000

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

Total number of students by subject area

(HESA Data)Engineering and technology

Computer science / IT

Media Studies

Clinical Medicine

Psychology and Behavioural Sciences

Mathematics

Sports Science and Leisure Studies

Chemistry

Physics

Year

Num

ber

of

stu

dents


SEPnet 1: A Boost for Physics

Consortium of six University Physics departments in the South East

£12 million grant over 5 years from HEFCETo create a subject collaboration in teaching,

research and outreach.

Working together to promote and sustain Physics in the South East


Why?• Decline in Physics UG numbers • Nigel Brown Associates report on finances of

Physics departments– separate report for the SEPnet partners

• Wakeham Report into Physics• Closure of Physics departments

– Especially Reading• Concern others in the SE were at risk• Concern about the research mix of some

institutions• Wanted to strengthen departments and grow UG

numbers– Cf SUPA (Research focus) and MPA (PGT)

• Impetus to form SEPnet


Vision of SEPnet

• The six partner universities – Kent, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, Southampton, Surrey and Sussex – propose to create a consortium to advance and protect Physics as a strategically important subject for the UK economy and its science base, collaboratively securing its disciplinary and financial sustainability in the South East Region.


SEPnet Initiatives• Outreach programmes to schools

Team approach across the region - GCSE

• Programme of curriculum collaboration

• Euro Masters degree to attract EU and international students

• Employer Engagement

• Staff/PhD Student appointments; build research


Outreach programmeRegion wide programme

• highlight strengths of individual partners e.g. Astro at Sussex• embedding strong regional presence of Physics • practice sharing and activity review as a consortium• flagship GCSE Project across all sites

Multiple level engagement• priority for GCSE and A-Level school students • BUT not exclusively

ParentsTeachersPrimary school +PublicCommunities

Facilitated by physics specialist Outreach Officers at each site• Driven and (sometimes) delivered by academics, researchers and

students• A tool to engage other universities, e.g. Oxford


Employer Engagement

Aims • Increase awareness of the links between Universities and

businesses

• Survey and assess current trends and requirements of employers, especially SMEs

• Summer internship programme, placing undergraduates with regional employers

• Establish network of employers, via internship programme and employer advisory panel


SEPnet Research Collaborations

Background:

Extremely broad research portfolio across the network

Collaborate on promoting research excellence: Identify 4 themes for investment

Criteria: International quality; strategic relevance; potential impactRegional dimensionPartnership with Harwell Science and Innovation Campus

AstrophysicsAtomic and Condensed Matter PhysicsParticle PhysicsRadiation Detectors and Instrumentation


Institution Research Power

Size

SUPA 1 192

Cambridge 0.82 141

SEPnet 0.76 158

Midlands 0.73 139

Oxford 0.72 140

ICST 0.69 127

UCL 0.54 101

After Research FortnightRAE 2008

Research power =FTE x quality index

Normalise by max power.

SEPnet in the UK Research Landscape


Achievements so far

• Governance– Chair and Exec Director – Science and Employer Advisory Panels

• Outreach– Activity with around 300,000 school students and public in first 3 years– Direct contact with over 1/3 all SE and London schools so far

• Employer Engagement– Summer studentships, employers engaged

• Videoconference suites commissioned • Graduate School

– RDI Masters – EuroMasters– NExT

• 21 Fellowships appointed• 34 PhD studentships funded and filled


Undergraduate trendsApplication and Student Number Trends

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Applications

Cohort Size


Achievements so far…

• Additional Institutions– Portsmouth joined SEPnet (and a new university offering Physics)

• Research Themes– RDI in progress– NeXT well established and expanding– Astro: LOFAR-UK Commisioned and operational– ACM: Hubbard Centre established

• Evolving use of Web Social Media– Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn

• SEPnet Undergraduate Numbers– Cohort size up 70% 2011 versus 2007– Applications up 40% Mar 2011 v Total 2010 (15% nationally)

• Indirect benefits throughout each department– UG growth sustains the departments– SEPnet appointments spread the teaching loads and increases research

capability


Employer Engagement

Positive feedback from employers

“I work in materials and wouldn’t have considered hiring a Physics Graduate – but I will now” Hiring manager, BMW

“My SEPnet students were excellent, and will both get papers out of it – very unusual for an undergraduate, and something which will vastly increase their academic careers.”Alan Drew, Queen Mary, University of London


Employer Engagement

Other areas of engagement

Employer Advisory Panel meets three timesper year

Working with sector skills councils andbusinesses to identify ways to address skillsgaps in STEM

A SEPnet presence at relevant conferences

Working together to promote excellence in Physics21

Graduate School

• Director: Dr A. Belyaev (Southampton), assisted by a graduate-school committee (1 rep per node.)

• Academic year 2009/10 has been the first full year, with 14 students, and is open to all graduate students at the nodes.

• Rich programme of “core” (QFT, Standard Model, Phenomenology, Group Theory) and “non-core” courses (Computational tools, Event generators, statistics, Neutrinos and Cosmology, BSM, Flavour, Strings, Lattice,...).

• QMUL (not yet NExT..) already contributes to the courses.• NExT students MUST take both theory and experiment

modules. • Delivery by video-conferencing (Access Grid). Crucial role here

of SEPnet cash (£40k/node), and unstinting efforts of IT experts at the various nodes to overcome teething problems..

• Plan to record lectures next academic year (2010/11).

Working together to promote excellence in PhysicsSEPnet: SAP 17 Sep 2010

22

Graduate School (2)


Euromasters


Particle Physics: NExT− NExT was created in 2006 with a joint RAL-Southampton

appointment− To further the goals of Particle Physics through the fostering

and promotion of interactions between theory and experiment in an inter-disciplinary and multi-sited environment

− SEPnet has provided a major enhancement to the NExT Institute and made us what we are today.

− A collaboration between four Particle Physics Departments Royal Holloway, University of London Rutherford Appleton Laboratory University of Southampton University of Sussex


Regional strengths in A&CM research

• Highly correlated systems

• Quantum coherence

• Nanoscience

Southampton Mountbatten Nanofabrication Centre

Centre for NanotechnologyLondon Universities

STFCdiamond

Hubbard Theory InstituteRHUL

London Low TemperatureLaboratory RHUL

Doctoral Training Centre: Neutrons

and X-raysRHULQuantum circuits

AMO Group Sussex

Strong light-matter coupling in nanostructuresSouthampton

Advanced Technology InstituteSurrey

NanomaterialsKent

QMULSurrey

Southampton

high TC

superconductorprobed by muon spin resonance (ISIS)

http://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk/index.html

http://www.diamond.ac.uk/Home.html




Kent

QMUL

SussexSouthampton

Solar System

Radio Stars & Planets

Portsmouth

SEPnet-Astro Synergies

Oxford

Cosmology

Galaxies


LOFAR: Chilbolton chosen as first site

STFC-owned site First LOFAR-UK station

LBA installed 11th JuneAlso has high-quality 25m dish which could be added to e-MERLIN


Develop Radiation Detector Physics research at SEPnet universities in collaboration with external associated nodes and partners for Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Astronomy, as well as Applied Radiation Physics

Link directly with STFC to build a critical mass of Radiation Detector research to support regional activity in line with national science priorities and agendas as they are developed by STFC and by other research councils

Form a hub of extended networks of partnerships between SEPnet and regional industrial partners as well as research institutions at the Harwell Campus and elsewhere

Create a new joint Surrey-Sussex MSc in Radiation Detection and Instrumentation to contribute to the SEPnet Graduate School

30

• Main Objectives of the SEPnet RDI Research Theme


Sustainability

In response to the second annual report on SEPnet, HEFCE asked – “we look to SEPnet to develop its thinking on

how to secure a sustainable future for its goals beyond the period of HEFCE funding. We realise that the funding landscape contains many uncertainties at the moment but ask that you engage in a dialogue with partner higher education institutions to chart a way forward. Please include in SEPnet’s next annual monitoring report plans for its future sustainability.”


THE FUTURE


N e w Is s u e s

A Market; many possibilities:– Demand side

• STEM becomes more popular because of better career earnings so expansion

• Students prefer to study in mainland Europe at lower cost

– Supply side• Arts/Humanities are more profitable and have

good A-levels so expand• Use ‘profit’ to subsidise some science and

engineering but not all• Intake in many institutions not AAB at A-level

so constrained volume and not in low-cost subjects


N e w Is s u e s (c o n t.)

Demand side– Overseas student market threatened by

Europe/Australia at UG and PGT

Supply Side– Research Council funding more targeted by

concentration– Algorithmic funding of PhD students hits

just those institutions with difficulty expanding UG numbers in STEM

– Dangers to institutions educating significant numbers in physics, chemistry, engineering


1999-2000

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Percentage of undergraduate students

from overseasEngineering and technology

Mathematics

Biosciences

IT and Systems Sciences, Computer Software

Physics

Average Percentage

Psyschology and Behavioural sciences

Sports science

Year

% o

f stu

dents


2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-100.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

Percentage of Masters students by subject area

Engineering and technology

Computer sciences

Biological sciences

Mathematical sciences

Forensic & archaeological science

Sports science

Physics and astronomy

Year

% o

f stu

dents


2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% of overseas Masters students by subject area

Physics and astronomyChemistry and materials scienceMathematical sciencesEngineering and technologyMedicine and dentistryBiological sciencesComputer scienceEarth, marine and envi-ronmental sciencesForensic & archaeological sciencePsychologySports scienceAverage percentage

Year

% o

f stu

dents


2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

% PhD students by subject area

Physics and astronomyChemistry and materials scienceEngineering and technologyMathematical sciencesMedicine and dentistryBiological sciencesComputer sciencesEarth, marine and environmental sciencesForensic & archaeological sciencePsychologySports science

Year

% o

f to

tal stu

dents


2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

% PhD students from overseas by sub-ject

Physics and astronomyChemistry and materials scienceMathematical sciencesEngineering and technologyMedicine and dentistryBiological sciencesComputer scienceEarth, marine and environmen-tal sciencesForensic & archaeological sciencePsychologySports scienceAverage percentage

Year

% o

f overs

eas s

tudents


A Possible SEPnet Future

• Considerable interest in continuing SEPnet• Low expectation of (much) continued HEFCE funding • Funding likely to be via institutions

– Increased student numbers– Increased grant income– Increased QR funding– Use of appropriate Access Agreement funds– Matched by (eg) DTCs and other sources

• Programmes to continue– Outreach, – employer programmes– PhD studentships– Research coordination and planning– Collaborative Postgraduate Teaching

• Seek to establish critical mass in key areas


PhD Students

• Roughly 30%-40% of SEPnet graduates go on to MSc or PhD placements (many in their UG institution)

– How will they be funded in the future?– What PG opportunities will there be regionally and nationally?

• Across SEPnet EPSRC and STFC PhD funding is in decline– Concentration of funding– Overall RC funding real term decline– Loss of EPSRC Project studentships

• Numbers overall have increased:– Assisted by SEPnet– Industry, EU and self funded– foreign governments

• Diversification key to maintain PhD placements to support research

• Reduction of opportunity has long term risks to teaching, research strength and the broader economy


Emerging Risks

• Undergraduate fees– Demonstrating the value of Physics– Disincentive for:

• 4 year Integrated Masters• Any fee paying PGT course• Reduce the pipeline of qualified PhD students

– Widening participation issues• Student Number controls

– “AAB+”– Contestable places at the low fee end– Likely to produce a “squeezed” middle

• Research Council funding– Fewer PhD places– Concentration of the remaining PhD places via DTC, DTA– Equipment-facility sharing

• Impact:– Largest on middle of sector– On the medium/long term research and teaching pipelines– Fewer PhDs and Masters level students entering industry


SEPnet 2

• A Future model for more disciplines

• Cultural Challenges– Most money flows with UG students– Only bursary, WP earmarked at Institutional

level– Cross-subsidies– Collaborating/Sharing– Overheads reduced– Not every institution able to research?


SEPnet 2Research

– Future PhD student feed• Engineering –industry• Science, fund internally or....?

– Facilities• Effective models for sharing?

– Shaping Capability• Opportunity or threat?


Summary• The partners want SEPnet to continue• The priorities are generally agreed

– Outreach, Employability, Research

• The funding environment remains uncertain• Proposed outline plan in 2011 annual report• Work out the detailed plan in 2012 as the

environment becomes clearer– The devil will be in the detail

• Is the SEPnet model useful for the future?

working together to promote excellence in physics the south east physics network a model for stem...

Documents

physics slide

research slide

research excellence

physics consortium

physics governance

physics achievements

sepnet slide

physics employer engagement