New investment in Physics teaching and research in South East England will benefit students

The South East Physics network (SEPnet) and Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) have announced their plans to invest £13.1 million pounds to sustain physics undergraduate and postgraduate teaching provision, and world class research facilities, staff and doctoral training over the five years up to 2018. HEFCE will provide £2.75 million to maintain and expand the network, to establish a dedicated regional graduate training programme for physics postgraduate students and address physics specific issues of student participation and diversity. On top of the HEFCE contribution, each SEPnet partner will support and fund programmes of Outreach, Employability and Research.

Benefits of the University of Southampton's involvement with SEPnet include:

1) Expansion of employer engagement and internship programmes, widening the range of work experiences available to enhance undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) employability and progress to research degrees;

2) An Outreach Programme to deliver and disseminate best practice in schools and public engagement and increase diversity in physics education.

3) A regional Graduate Network developing and delivering an exemplar programme of PhD transferable and leadership skills training delivered flexibly to create employment-ready physics doctoral graduates for the economic benefit of the UK;

4) Increasing employer engagement with HEIs including PhD internships, industrially-sponsored studentships and Knowledge Transfer fellowships;

5) Enhanced impact of SEPnet’s research via a clear, collaborative impact strategy;

6) Improved research environment diversity through engagement with Athena SWAN and the IOP’s Project Juno.

The Outreach programme has succeeded in effectively exploiting the growing national interest in physics through its wide range of public engagement and schools activities. There has been a substantial increase in applications and intake for physics undergraduate courses and undergraduate numbers are now 90 per cent higher in the SEPnet physics departments compared with 2007 and applications up approximately 115 per cent - well above national trends. Sir Peter Knight, President of the Institute of Physics (IOP), expressed strong support for the government's continued investments in the sciences generally and in physics specifically. He said: “SEPnet has been an undoubted success in sustaining physics in the South East region and has strongly participated in contributing to its beneficial effects nationally. It is an exemplar of collaborative best practice in outreach, employability and research and we now look forward to collaborating in the critical areas of graduate training, public engagement and diversity.” The network will be led by the University of Southampton. Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, Professor Don Nutbeam, said: “I am delighted that the University of Southampton, in partnership with nine other universities in the region, is able to build on the success of the SEPnet initiative to reinvigorate the university physics teaching and research and take it to a new level in the turbulent period ahead for the higher education sector. The SEPnet training programme brings novelty, quality and diversity to the regions physics postgraduates that we expect to be a model for other regions and subjects.”

For further information on how Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton works with SEPnet, and how this relationship benefits our students, please visit the "'Careers and Your Future'" section on our website.