UK civil servants – hopefully including those spending billions on tech – to skill up in STEM
- Reference: 1694689274
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/09/14/uk_civil_servants_to_get/
- Source link:
[1]According to DSIT : "The scheme puts civil servants together with a diverse range of experts who all have a shared interest, ranging from data science, to systems thinking."
Sounds like a great relief to taxpayers fearing catastrophic government technology implementations.
[2]
DSIT is the first UK government department to participate in the scheme, which offers civil servants learning opportunities such as shadowing, placements and mentoring with experts from various backgrounds. The plan is to boost civil servants' STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills over the long term.
[3]
[4]
Experience at the sharp end of the world outside Whitehall will come from tech companies, research institutes and universities.
The program is run by the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) Profession, which comprises organizations across industry, academia and the public sector.
[5]
DSIT has long attempted to get some real-world cutting-edge expertise into government. It is also participating in the Expert Exchange scheme, which is intended to overhaul how DSIT works with the science and technology sectors. The scheme includes secondments for experts from industry and academia.
[6]Grant Shapps named UK defense supremo in latest 'tech-savvy' Tory tale
[7]Deutsche Bahn stands to lose €400M if it has to do Huawei with Chinese kit
[8]Europe plots rules to protect tech supply chains from foreign influence
[9]D'oh! Amber Rudd meant 'understand hashing', not 'hashtags'
[10]TETRA radio comms used by emergency heroes easily cracked, say experts
DSIT said: "Joining STEM Futures further cements that mission, with a view to making working hand-in-glove with experts and stakeholders the default mode for policymaking at DSIT."
The department faces several challenges that would undoubtedly benefit from civil servants getting up to speed. DSIT [11]is set to lead an enormously complex ERP procurement project as well as [12]deal with the UK government's telecoms strategy among other things.
DSIT today appointed Dave Smith, as the UK's new technology advisor, replacing Sir Patrick Vallance. Most recently, Smith was tech director at Roll-Royce but has worked in the fields of networking, security and more.
A bit more technical expertise in the newly created department is a good idea, particularly since one of its avowed goals is to "seize the potential of ground-breaking new technologies like AI." ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dsit-joins-stem-futures-scheme-in-whitehall-first-to-build-civil-servants-sci-tech-skills
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZQMuJ7ePCC--odqg2utqEAAAA1I&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZQMuJ7ePCC--odqg2utqEAAAA1I&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZQMuJ7ePCC--odqg2utqEAAAA1I&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZQMuJ7ePCC--odqg2utqEAAAA1I&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/31/shapps_uk_defence_secretary/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/05/huawei_deutsche_bahn_germany/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/21/eu_china_supply_chain/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2017/04/03/uk_home_secretary_amber_rudd_hashing_not_hashtags/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/24/tetra_radio_security_flaws/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/07/uk_government_matrix_erp/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/12/uk_standalone_5g_2023/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: How about the ministers go next?
Probably a small pond in which to fish
Re: How about the ministers go next?
What should that be good for? Everything is well with the PPEs and classics graduates in charge, right? /s
It’s not just in the UK though. Here in Portugal law graduates seem to dominate politics, in Denmark it is a mix of graduates of law, political science and economics (but they only do one of them, and then usually a masters).
I am afraid numerate and scientifically literate people find something more rewarding to do.
Re: How about the ministers go next?
Certainly having law in the mix is sensible - legislators pass laws. Economics? You need some economics input and having N economists you can certainly rely on having at a minimum N + 1 opinions. Political science - maybe the fewer the better.
But as to getting numerate and scientifically literate people involved there's a problem. On the sort of sites they frequent - such as this - there's a default assumption of all politicians being corrupt. However useful someone from STEM thinks they may be if they did go into politics how likely are they to take that step when they know how their peers will regard them. The assumption becomes self-fulfilling and we should avoid it.
Re: How about the ministers go next?
Lucky you! Our esteemed politicians are all landlords, publicans, or teachers (A hell of a lot of teachers....)
Re: How about the ministers go next?
Well, Rishi is well connected
Matt Han "d on arse" cock had his own mobile app thingy
what more experience do we need ?
Re: How about the ministers go next?
His mobile app thingy should have been warning enough.
They'll only skim the surface, even if they listen. The only beneficial outcome would be if they come to understand the depths of their ignorance and learn how to ask the right people for advice. I'm not holding my breath.
An amusing way to waste public money.
Scientists should get on well with politicians. They both consider that there is only one way to do things and treat the general public like lab rats.
Re: An amusing way to waste public money.
I really take issue with that statement. To get useful experimental results half the lab rats must be well treated for comparison.
Re: An amusing way to waste public money.
No politician could do a statistical analysis of said rats. Indeed, not every scientist could.
The scheme includes secondments for experts from industry and academia
I thought they'd had enough of experts.
"It is also participating in the Expert Exchange scheme"
Must be someone in the dept. with a sense of humour who remembers why the similarly named Experts Exchange website didn't use the URL www.expertsexchange.com
How about the ministers go next?
Even better - how about a few ministers who already have a STEM background?