Where else can you enjoy yourself within such a varied culture, and at the same time brush lab coats with many of the greats of modern biology?

Britain's presence at the ethereal heights of Nobel Prize winning science is built on the high quality of its research programmes. Its record in scientific output can be measured by shear quantity of publications, as well as quality leaving it unequalled for its size. This is particularly true in biology, not only in current sexy-science areas such as cell biology and molecular biology, but also in more traditional ones such as agriculture and food science.

Britain is highly selective in its access to university education and, while policy makers debate endlessly about whether this is a good thing for the economy, it does mean that the average quality of British universities remains very high. At the same time as retaining selectivity the UK has greatly increased access to university education over the past 20 years and now has the second highest (after Norway) proportion of people in their early 20s with a degree.

There are, of course, world-leading laboratories at the old universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but Britain can also offer you many more options to consider. It would be impossible within this short space to list and describe all of the UK's centres of excellence, many having a long tradition. To mention only three at very different locations, consider Dundee, Warwick and York. Dundee, the world centre for protein phosphorylation and study of oncogenes, also gives easy access to the Scottish Highlands. Warwick, where interferon was cloned, is located in the traditional heartland of England not far from the eponymous Castle and Shakespeare's birthplace. York is not only an international centre for plant biochemistry, but is also a city of quite splendid history and beauty, dating back to an early invasion from the European Union. It is also home to the National Railway Museum, for those who still romanticise about yesterday's technologies. London provides access to world famous centres of learning, as well as the sights, sounds, and international flavours with which this famous city is associated.

A long history is not compulsory for greatness today. Britain has many exciting new universities. For instance, Hertfordshire (just on the northern outskirts of London) has excellent relationships with the many major pharmaceutical companies located on their doorstep.

Institutes funded by the UK Research Councils offer even greater diversity in postgraduate research. To mention but three of these, Babraham is located just outside Cambridge and has for many years been a world leader in cell signalling; the John Innes Centre on the outskirts of historic Norwich is a brilliant location for plant genetics of all types; and the Roslin Institute just south Edinburgh, Scotland's majestic capital, was where Dolly the sheep was cloned. Long before that, Roslin had already achieved fame for breeding sheep to produce pharmaceutical products, such as alpha I antitrypsin, in their milk.

The pre-eminence of the UK pharmaceutical industry is also underpinned by several superb research laboratories funded by charities such as the Imperial Cancer Research Campaign (with labs based in the centre of London) and the Cancer Research Campaign (with labs in London Manchester and Glasgow), as well as by hospital based labs such as the Hammersmith in West London (next to the running track named after Britain's Olympic Gold Medallist, Linford Christie).

Undergraduate teaching is taken very seriously in all British Universities, even more so since the introduction of teaching quality assessment. Traditionally, the very favourable staff/ student ratios (compared with most European universities) mean that you can expect a much more personal treatment than elsewhere. Small-group teaching and tutorials have always been an integral and much respected part of university training in the UK.

Apart from the traditional sub-disciplines of biology - biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, etc - it is now increasingly easy to choose modular degrees that cross these classical boundaries. It is often possible to combine a biological subject with IT, business, or even media and communications. Some scientists are learning to speak a foreign language fluently (and not before time). The choice is endless.

Laboratories the world over, and not only in countries with English as a native language, are populated with scientists who have carried out part of their training in Britain. By studying in the UK, you will be joining one of the world's truly great networks, which will help to extend your career for years ahead once you have acquired the 'I have studied in Britain' badge.

Alan D.B. Malcolm
Chief Executive
Institute of Biology
Queensberry Place
LONDON SW7 2DZ

a.malcolm@iob.org

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