The annual Young Scientists Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin is always an event to challenge the mind and provide hope for the future. The range of entries, which go on public display at the weekend, has almost doubled since 1997 and the increase reflects the transition of sponsorship from Aer Lingus to Esat Telecom and the acceptance of applications through the Internet. All is change in the country of the Celtic Tiger. But, in welcoming the innovation and sponsorship of ESAT, we should not forget the great debt of gratitude owed to Aer Lingus for the support and encouragement it offered to budding second-level scientists over a period of 33 years. The need for research and development is now taken for granted in a society aspiring to become a knowledgebased economy with high-quality employment and good pay. But it wasn't always so. And Government funding for university research is still disgracefully low compared to our European competitors. A similar situation exists in relation to research and development within the industrial sector.
There are, however, signs of change in official thinking. Two months ago, the Coalition Government announced the creation of a £250 million Education Technology Investment Fund. The initiative was a reaction to a growing skills shortage across many industrial sectors - notably in computing, information technology and pharmaceuticals. Higher-level institutions are ill-prepared to provide the necessary training and skills. Technical and vocational education have, until recently, been comparatively neglected, while apprenticeship arrangements lag far behind those in the European economies with which Ireland will increasingly be in competition. The fund is intended to renew and modernise infrastructure in third-level institutions, especially in the technological sphere; to channel activity and funding to areas where emerging skills needs are identified; and to invest in and promote innovation as a stimulus to economic growth.
What has this to do with the Young Scientists Exhibition, which caters only for second-level students? Very little. It merely reflects the limited reaction of Government to a serious scientific deficit within all levels of our education system. But a financial commitment at third level can develop into official encouragement at second level. The latest National Economic and Social Council report on "Population Distribution and Economic Development" emphasises the importance of linkages and flows between, on the one hand, centres of higher education and specialist learning and, on the other, primary and secondary education services. "Closer ties between regional institutions and first and second-level schools could possibly contribute to stronger attachment to a region among school-leavers . . . and promote an interest in the courses they have to offer," it states. Anything that would expand and develop the inquiring minds of our young people, while facilitating growth in the marvellous, confidence-raising, Young Scientists Exhibitions we enjoy each year, must be encouraged.