Russell Group response to new postgraduate funding announcement

13 November 2024

Responding to the announcement from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology of over 4,700 newly-funded postgraduate places, Lily Bull, Policy Manager at the Russell Group, said:

“Today’s announcement of thousands of newly-funded postgraduate places will enhance the UK’s highly-skilled workforce. The Department for Education has estimated that demand for workers educated beyond a bachelor’s degree will increase by 53% by 2035. However, the number of new researchers starting a postgraduate qualification has decreased by 12% between 2018/19 and 2022/23 – with notable differences across the regions of the UK – so it is encouraging to see steps being taken to address this recent decline.

“In order to deliver the Industrial Strategy successfully, it will be important to continue considering ways to address growing gaps in the research workforce, who will be central to harnessing emerging technologies and solving complex challenges such as climate change. We hope to see continued collaboration between the government, Skills England, UKRI and our research-intensive universities to identify current and future gaps and develop the best ways to incentivise talent to enter, and remain in, the research workforce”.

Notes:

• DfE estimated a 53% increase in demand for those educated beyond a bachelor’s degree between 2023 and 2035, in the Labour Markets and Skills Projections: 2020-2035 report.
• The 12% decrease in new PGRs represents the difference between the peak year of PGR students entering the system (2018/19) and the most current data available (2022/23). The decrease in new postgraduate researchers is being driven by a 53% fall in PGRs coming from the EU.

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