Five key areas identified by new UK sci/tech framework

AI, Engineering Biology, Future Telecoms, Semiconductors and Quantum Technologies are the five critical areas outlined in the new report, titled The UK Science and Technology Framework: taking a systems approach to UK science and technology. According to the government, more than 50 different technologies were assessed across a range of criteria. The list will be reviewed annually by the National Science and Technology Council, though major changes will require a ‘high bar’ due to the need for long-term strategic planning.

The identification of these five technologies is just one of the ten strands outlined in the Framework, developed by the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation & Technology ‘in close collaboration with the UK science and technology sector’. Backed by £370m of funding, the Framework is designed as a roadmap for UK science and technology up to the end of the decade. The government says that a clear action plan for each of the below strands will be in place by summer 2023, with overall delivery overseen by the National Science and Technology Council. The full list is: