Science and technology in Wales
Various science and technology sectors and organisations operate in Wales.
Government
The Wales Science and Innovation Advisory Council gives advice to the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales on science, innovation and business policy for Wales but does not have any statutory or financial responsibilities. Members of the council include individuals involved in research and innovation, academics and those involved in industry.Science
Research
- From 2010 to 2018, Welsh researchers accounted for 4% of UK publications and 0.3% of global scholarly output.
- Wales is the most efficient of all its comparators in terms of output per expenditure.
- Wales' research and development funding now accounts for 62% of total expenditure.
- Wales's citation impact has risen to 1.8. This is 80% above the global average and 13% above the UK average.
- Wales' proportion of top 5% of the most cited publications is twice the global average.
Health
is a networked organisation, supported by Welsh Government, which brings together a wide range of partners across the NHS in Wales, universities and research institutions, local authorities, and others.The organisations works in close partnership with other government agencies and research funders ; industry partners; patients; public and other stakeholders. Work together to promote research into diseases, treatments, services and outcomes that can lead to discoveries and innovations which can improve and even save people's lives.
Food
The Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University is a Welsh research and education organisation designed to address issues of food safety and food-related health concerns. Its mission also includes supporting the Welsh food industry. The centre, which is part of UWIC's Cardiff School of Health Sciences at the university's Llandaff campus, was launched in 1999. A new facility for the centre opened on 21 April 2009 and was built at a cost of £5,000,000.Technology industries
Aerospace
The Aerospace Wales Forum is the trade association for companies that work in the Aerospace & Defence sector in Wales.- Hawker 800 XP, the Airbus plant in Broughton builds the fuselage and wings for the Hawker 800XP variant. This work employs about 450 people at the plant in North Wales.
- Airbus has major sites at Filton in the city of Bristol and at Broughton in north Wales.
Automotive
Wales is an important producer of automotive components: Ford has a major engine plant at Bridgend, and BorgWarner has a major components plant in Kenfig, South Wales. However amid a global cost-cutting drive and citing a lack of demand for its manufacturing capacity, Ford closed the plant on 25 September 2020 and production of the Dragon engine is moving to Poland.The Welsh Automotive Forum, also known as WAF, is a limited company that lobbies the government on behalf of the automotive industry in Wales. It was formed in 1999.