I believe setting down their thoughts coherently on paper, is a strong requirement too and one that `consumer led' science courses may well not cater to - as a general rule your student scientist isn't too keen on the essay, preferring more objective modes of assessment.
However, depressingly, engineers were leading the table in graduate unemployment this year. It's all very well for the government to sing the importance of science and technology but if it can't provide a business environment in which engineering firms flourish then it's there's not much point providing incentives for people to take undergraduate courses in these subjects. Although I can see there's a chicken and egg argument there - maybe lots of unemployed engineers will lead to a flourishing engineering sector...
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Date: 2010-12-14 12:35 pm (UTC)However, depressingly, engineers were leading the table in graduate unemployment this year. It's all very well for the government to sing the importance of science and technology but if it can't provide a business environment in which engineering firms flourish then it's there's not much point providing incentives for people to take undergraduate courses in these subjects. Although I can see there's a chicken and egg argument there - maybe lots of unemployed engineers will lead to a flourishing engineering sector...