We have responded to the UK Government’s consultation on Invest 2035: the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy following the publication of its green paper in October. We developed a response to 13 of the 35 consultation questions in partnership with our Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee.

Scotland’s universities are eager to work with UK Government to contribute to the Industrial Strategy’s aims of increased economic growth and prosperity. The focus on eight growth-driving sectors aligns very strongly with our strengths in research, innovation and skills. As Scottish HE operates in a devolved and reserved context, this strategy is relevant to our institutions and to maximising growth within Scotland and the rest of the UK. We hope to be fully involved in the next stage of the strategy’s development including the development of sector plans for each of the priority sectors identified.

Our response highlights the strong alignment between Scottish universities’ strengths and the eight growth-driving sectors identified, positioning the sector as a vital partner in delivering the skills and innovations required to achieve the Strategy’s aims of economic growth and prosperity.

It also advocates for:

• close collaboration between UKG and SG in delivering tailored programmes to support regions,
• more public investment in fundamental research, infrastructure and commercialisation supports that strengthen the diffusion of innovation and technologies, and
• a role for universities in developing sector growth plans and on the governing Industrial Strategy Council.

We have also created a summary of our response, emphasising ten key points within the thirteen questions we have answered.