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The Government's Technology Foresight programme must be tailored to Scottish needs, according to a discussion meeting of industrialists and academics organised by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Scotland had particular strengths, such as electronics and biomedical sciences, as well as particular problems, such as a poorer health record, and a preponderance of small companies compared to big multinationals, said delegates.

Graeme Reid of the Office of Science and Technology, agreed that Foresight must reflect ideas which bore most heavily on Scottish economic interests.

The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council has set up a research policy advisory committee, which will issue a consultation paper to higher education institutions and academic research users.