UK visa scheme for prize-winning scientists receives no applications
Exclusive: A fast-track visa route for Nobel prize laureates and other award-winners in science, engineering, the humanities and medicine has failed to attract any applicants
HUMANS 22 November 2021
By Jason Arunn Murugesu
AEBFEK Sign of the Home Office government building in Central London UK
Kevin Foy/Alamy
Not a single scientist has applied to a UK government visa scheme for Nobel prize laureates and other award winners since its launch six months ago, New Scientist can reveal. The scheme has come under criticism from scientists and has been described as “a joke”.
In May, the government launched a fast-track visa route for award-winners in the fields of science, engineering, the humanities and medicine who want to work in the UK. This prestigious prize route makes it easier for some academics to apply for a Global Talent visa – it requires only one application, with no need to meet conditions such as a grant from the UK Research and Innovation funding body or a job offer at a UK organisation.
The number of prizes that qualify academics for this route currently stands at over 70, and includes the Turing Award, the L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science International Awards, and various gongs awarded by professional or membership bodies both in the UK and elsewhere.
“Winners of these awards have reached the pinnacle of their career and they have so much to offer the UK,” said home secretary Priti Patel when the prestigious prize scheme launched in May. “This is exactly what our new point-based immigration system was designed for – attracting the best and brightest based on the skills and talent they have, not where they’ve come from.”
But a freedom of information request by New Scientist has revealed that in the six months since the scheme was launched, no one working in science, engineering, the humanities or medicine has actually applied for a visa through this route.
“Chances that a single Nobel or Turing laureate would move to the UK to work are zero for the next decade or so,” says Andre Geim at the University of Manchester, UK. Geim won a Nobel prize in 2010 for his work on graphene. “The scheme itself is a joke – it cannot be discussed seriously,” he says. “The government thinks if you pump up UK science with a verbal diarrhea of optimism – it can somehow become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
No sehän meni putkeen!
Oon lukenu muutaman jutun ja aika moni akateemikko tosiaan pelkää tuota EU-rahoituksen ja -yhteistyön katkeamista, enkä kyllä ihmettele että harva haluais ny väkipakolla Brittilään.
Different Bias esitti tuosta sellaisen tulkinnan, että koko homma oli vain sisäpoliittinen viesti briteille. Sisältönä oli, että "katsokaa, Brexitin takia kaikki haluaa meille niin me ihan erikseen tehdään tälläinen juttu, jota kautta saadaan nopeasti rankattua parhaista parhaimmat tänne. Kyllä meillä nyt menee hyvin tieteellisenä supervaltana".
Totuus on se, että joku huippututkija pääsee maahan jo nykyisen systeemin kautta joka on suunniteltu vain siihen, ettei ulkomailta tule porukkaa tekemään duunia jota britit itse ei halua tai pysty eli ajamaan rekkaa, teurastamaan karjaa, jne.
"Some people don't want you to say this, some people don't want you to say that, some people think if you mention some things they might happen. Some people are really fucking stupid." - George Carlin
Uusi viikko, uusi kriisi Ranskan kanssa. Johnsonin somessa julkaisema ukaasi Kanaalin kriisin ratkaisemiseksi, sai ranskalaiset vetämään herneen nenään ja peruuttamaan neuvottelut ulkoministeri Priti Patelin kanssa. Johnsonin taholta aivan odotettu yritys siirtää huomio ja vastuu vaalilupauksen täyttämisessä epäonnistumisessa.
On siellä taas myös ranskalaisia kalastajia saartamassa satamia, koska Britannian lupaamia kalastuslupia ei ilmeisesti vieläkään irtoa odotettuun tahtiin.
BBC wrote:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59428311
...
France's interior minister has cancelled talks with UK Home Secretary Priti Patel after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on France to take back migrants who crossed the Channel.
In an escalation of the political crisis after the deaths of 27 people in the Channel, Gérald Darmanin said France was disappointed by the letter.
"Making it public made it even worse."
Mr Johnson set out five steps in his letter to President Emmanuel Macron to avoid a repeat of Wednesday's tragedy.
"We consider the British prime minister's public letter unacceptable and counter to our discussions between partners," Mr Darmanin said in a statement.
"As a result Priti Patel is no longer invited," he added.
...
London (CNN Business)Shops in the United Kingdom could run short of wine and liquor ahead of Christmas because there aren't enough drivers to make deliveries.
The warning was made in a letter sent by the UK Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WTSA) to UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps last week. It was signed by 48 members of the industry association, including champagne and cognac makers Moet Hennessy, owned by LVMH (LVMHF), and Laurent-Perrier.
"This is an urgent issue for our businesses, and it is imperative that [the UK] Government takes immediate steps to help mitigate the impact of the driver shortages crisis before the Christmas period," the letter stated.
London (CNN Business)Shops in the United Kingdom could run short of wine and liquor ahead of Christmas because there aren't enough drivers to make deliveries.
The warning was made in a letter sent by the UK Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WTSA) to UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps last week. It was signed by 48 members of the industry association, including champagne and cognac makers Moet Hennessy, owned by LVMH (LVMHF), and Laurent-Perrier.
"This is an urgent issue for our businesses, and it is imperative that [the UK] Government takes immediate steps to help mitigate the impact of the driver shortages crisis before the Christmas period," the letter stated.
