UK science leadership at home and abroad on show as Science and Tech Secretary visits Daresbury Laboratory

A new strategy for getting a bigger return on the UK's membership of CERN - the international physics lab where the World Wide Web was born; was launched on:- Wednesday, 4 October 2023, as the Science and Technology Secretary visits the North West to open a next generation quantum computing centre.

CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, is an unrivalled centre of global scientific and technical excellence and is home to the largest and most complex experiments ever constructed. The strategy recognises that although the UK plays a prominent role in many aspects of CERN, there is potential to boost return on the UK's investment in this world leading facility.

It is precisely that world class science being led by firms in the UK which brings the Secretary of State to Sci-Tech Daresbury today, where she will open PsiQuantum's advanced research and development (R&D) facility. Backed by £9 million in Government funding, it is the Silicon Valley start-up's 1st quantum R&D facility anywhere outside the US.

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan said:- "PsiQuantum choosing to take the next crucial steps in the development of their technology here in the UK is a resounding vote of confidence in the UK's quantum capabilities, bolstered by our National Quantum Strategy. We are determined to drive the adoption of quantum technologies throughout our economy, with £2.5 billion backing over the next 10 years, to unlock untold advances in healthcare, green technology, and beyond. The state of the art facility opened today is a testament to the deep expertise and infrastructure built up over decades at tech clusters like the 1 in Daresbury, alongside our collaborative work with international partners like CERN. Taking our work with CERN to the next level will unlock even more opportunities like this 1 and make British innovators the partners of choice for international collaboration."

PsiQuantum's work at Sci-Tech Daresbury in the Liverpool City Region will lead on the development of advanced cryogenic systems that are critical to developing a:- 'fault tolerant' quantum computer. Fault tolerant machines will be the 1st quantum computing systems capable of being commercially useful and tackling big problems from climate change to health.

Prof. Mark Thompson, PsiQuantum Co-Founder and Chief Technologist said:- "The existing cryogenic infrastructure and scientific talent available to us at Daresbury Laboratory was a key reason behind our decision to choose the UK as our 1st global expansion site. We are also delighted to be working together with the Hartree Centre to develop fault-tolerant applications in anticipation of the arrival of utility-scale quantum computing."

Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Champion for Infrastructure, said:- "CERN addresses the most basic questions about the nature of Universe, through some of the most ambitious scientific projects ever conceived, including:- the Large Hadron Collider. This pursuit of basic knowledge continually pushes the boundaries of technology, often finding surprising applications in innovative solutions to real-world problems. A strong role for the UK in CERN is an essential component of achieving the Government's ambitions to be a science superpower on the global stage, working on the most advanced technologies. The UK has been a key player in CERN since its inception. With the publication of this Strategic Framework, we have reaffirmed our ambition to drive future scientific and technological progress at CERN, collaborating closely with our international partners. In doing so, we will increase the benefits of CERN membership to the UK, through enhanced participation of UK industry in cutting-edge projects at CERN and ever more opportunities for UK engineers and scientists to develop their skills at the forefront of science and technology."

The UK's Strategy for Engagement with CERN is the result of renewed focus on our membership by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It sets out the UK's ambitions to maximise the benefits of investment in CERN, both economically and more broadly, over the next 10 years. The strategy is built on 5 pillars: research excellence, world class skills, international leadership, commercial impact and innovation and public engagement. It will be advantageous not only for the UK, but also for CERN as an organisation, its communities, and the other member states.

The development of this Strategy has been a consultative process, reflecting perspectives of stakeholders from across the UK CERN community. The Strategy sets out the Government's vision to unlock the full potential of the UK's investment in CERN and remain central to its continued success by working with partners to lead scientific discovery and inspire the next generation.

Quantum is 1 of the 5 critical technologies which will play a key role in the UK's future economic growth, 1 of the Prime Minister's 5 priorities. The National Quantum Strategy, backed by a Government commitment of £2.5 billion over 10 years, sets out how Government will help to create an economy that is ready to realise the benefits offered by these technologies. Quantum computers are anticipated to solve problems that would otherwise be impossible to solve on any supercomputer now or in the future, across industries including:

• Financial services.
   

• Healthcare.
   

• Climate technologies to drive large scale decarbonisation.

The UK's National Quantum Technologies Programme, and wider science programmes have helped to create a thriving ecosystem in the UK which PsiQuantum will only strengthen and help to accelerate the journey to fault tolerant machines. This includes collaborations with the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) and deep expertise held on the Daresbury site.

Transformative leaps in technology like quantum are only possible thanks to the fundamental research which the UK is a world-leader in, in partnership with international research organisations like CERN.

Part of STFC, Daresbury Laboratory is internationally recognised for world leading scientific excellence in a diverse variety of fields ranging from nuclear physics to supercomputing. Since opening in 1962, it has been at the very cutting edge of breakthrough science, including:- contributions to 3 Nobel Prizes

Edge Hill University researchers to explore the concept of Hospitality after being selected as Being Human festival hub

EDGE Hill University has been selected as:- 1 of 5 flagship hubs for this year's Being Human festival, exploring the concept of Hospitality in all its different guises.

Inspired by the Ancient Greek concept of sacred Hospitality, researchers from Edge Hill will lead a programme of events titled:- 'Be My Guest' at venues in Liverpool City Centre including:- FACT and St Luke's, better known as the Bombed Out Church.

Activities including:- screenings, creative writing workshops, and a comedy quiz will explore themes of migration and belonging, otherness, healthcare and nature.

Dr Zayneb Allak, who has overseen the creation of the programme, said:- "The events all respond to xenia, the Ancient Greek concept of sacred Hospitality, and xenos, the foreigner to whom that Hospitality is extended. When Derrida discusses it, he invites us to think about Hospitality as a question of the:- 'other.' How do we host the other and how might we be the other that's hosted? Since 2020 we've had to renegotiate Hospitality: we hosted a deadly virus but couldn't host our friends, we waited for Zoom hosts to:- 'let us in,' but weren't able to accept in person Hospitality, not even from a Hospitality industry that begged us to be their guest. It wasn't just Covid; Hospitality, as a question of the other, is key to so many contemporary debates; around crises in asylum, care and climate, and around the drawing up of borders in the UK and elsewhere. At the heart of this programme is the conviction that a creative conversation about Hospitality is what we need."

Running from:- Friday, 10 November to Saturday 18 November 2023, diversity and inclusion sits at the heart of a programme designed to explore guest host relations and the question of Hospitality.

Events will be free and open to all and hosted in accessible venues in Liverpool City Centre:-

• Guest or Pest; Hospitality-themed comedy quiz hosted by drag queen Stephanie Legs.
   

• In Other Words; Hit the Road; writing workshop and screening of Iranian film:- 'Hit the Road.'
   

• In Other Words; God's Own Country; writing workshop and screening of:- 'God's Own Country'
   

• In Other Words; The Trouble with Nature; writing workshop and screening of:- 'The Trouble with Nature.'
   

• In Other Words; writing workshop building on activities related to screenings.
   

• No Angels; immersive theatre performance exploring nurse's experiences of working in healthcare.
   

• Holy Hosts; pop up exhibition, short film screenings and performances celebrating work of people who support homelessness charities.
   

• Keyside; performance by Liverpool band that includes:- EHU alumni.
   

• The Other Side of Hope; discussion of journeys in refugee and immigrant literature and writing workshop.

What's her story? This is an interactive talk and pop up exhibition that celebrates research and achievements of women whose education and teacher training was hosted by Edge Hill College.

The events all speak to issues of race, gender, sexuality, as well as engaging with arts and communities who have experienced issues relating to:- shelter, care, war, poverty and oppression.

Locating the events in Hospitality venues on Bold Street means that they directly support the local Hospitality industry, bringing visitors to a sector that has experienced difficulties in recent years.

Being Human is the UK's national festival of the humanities. A celebration of humanities research through public engagement, it is led by the School of Advanced Study, the UK's national centre for the pursuit, support and promotion of research in the humanities.

The festival works in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy to support humanities public engagement across the UK through more than 200 events.

The national festival returns to locations across:- England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, from:- 9 November to 18 November 2023.

All Being Human events are free, with booking required for some activities:- BeingHumanFestival.Org.

Every year, researchers in the humanities; from:- literature and history, languages and philosophy, art history and classics, and more; produce enjoyable events for public audiences that emphasise working with local communities to share ideas for mutual benefit.