“I believe, in the very core of my being, that education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet in public policy. It’s the most transformative thing we can do for our people… and I am determined to get this right.
“But to make this country a true island of innovation, we also need to attract the best and brightest from around the world. So, we will unapologetically create one of the world’s most attractive visa regimes for entrepreneurs and highly skilled people.”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spelt out his vision to attract talent to the country’s shores during his first major speech on business policy at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in Birmingham this week. From a new initiative to attract experts in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) to investing in science and research, the British Indian leader committed the government to make the country a hub of innovation in the coming years.
MORE LIKE THIS…
He said: “One of the areas where we need to be most ambitious is AI, Artificial Intelligence because this isn’t just another new technology. It’s a general purpose technology like the invention of the steam engine and the computer chip, with the potential to transform every aspect of our lives.
“So we cannot allow the world’s top AI talent to be drawn to America or China. That’s why – building on the AI scholarships and Master’s conversion courses I instigated as chancellor, we are launching a programme to identify and attract the world’s top 100 young talents on AI.
“Less ‘build it and they will come’ and more ‘let them come and they will build it’.”
MORE LIKE THIS…
While reiterating his focus on tackling illegal migration, the Prime Minister said he remains committed to using the UK’s new Brexit freedoms to create the most pro-innovation regulatory environment in the world in sectors like life sciences, financial services, AI and data.
He said: “I want the United Kingdom to be a place of learning, discovery, and imagination; of potential realised and ambition fulfilled.
“That’s how we’ll improve the lives of all our people, and as your Prime Minister, that’s what I’m going to do.”
