Highly educated graduates accessible by firms

Throughout the developing world there is a growing pool of highly educated graduates and it is in the UK’s interest to attract the brightest and best of these to study in the UK, in order to remain globally competitive.

This is the aim of the Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award (DHPA) scheme, which is part of the government’s agenda to promote the UK’s reputation as an excellent place to do research and source scientific expertise.

The scheme was set up to bring students from India, China, Hong Kong, South Africa, Brazil, Russia and the rest of the developing world to study for PhDs in top rated UK research facilities. The scheme has helped open doors to high-calibre students from the developing world that would otherwise have remained closed and helped to secure business access to them either through their direct employment or as a source of knowledge linked to their career path. In turn, companies potentially gain significant medium to long-term benefit in a globalised economy.

One of the major criteria of the scheme is excellence. The students themselves are in the top 20% of all PhD students in the UK and have been awarded the equivalent of first class degrees in their home universities.

Benefits of attracting these highly educated graduates to the UK include:

• To direct the very best R&D talent into UK businesses’ R&D programmes
• To improve the profile of the UK as an outward-looking, technologically-advanced country
• To provide the UK’s best universities, and consequently the UK science base, with access to a pool of first-rate students with a variety of international experience and contacts
• To help to equip developing countries with a pool of highly skilled people who can make a significant difference to the pace of development of those countries – whilst retaining academic and business links with the UK.

There are several reasons for companies to participate, including international expansion reasons and the benefits of adding international intellectual capacity into their company.

The scheme is open to all companies, regardless of size. Applications are currently being invited for companies which would like to participate in the next student academic year 2008/09. The final date for applications is 30 November 2007.

To apply for the scheme, or for more information, contact Beverley Okoye, DHPA project manager, on 0207 215 5838 or email beverley.okoye@dius.gsi.gov.uk.