Engineers and scientists are undervalued and are not given due recognition by the companies in the UK, according to Sir James Dyson, inventor of bagless vacuum cleaner and bladeless fan.

The billionaire founder of Wiltshire-based manufacturing firm Dyson will invest £1.4 million in a Cambridge University Chair. The University will appoint a new Dyson-funded professor of fluid mechanics to study the science and engineering of air movement. The £1.4 million donation will fund the professorship for 10 years in the University.

He is of the opinion that scientists and engineers who give their best to the firms they work are not duly recognised for their contribution. He argues that the people who lead the business should be people who understand technology and have a vision for the future. Generally, the people who head the manufacturing or engineering companies in the UK are not from that background, he says.

Sir Dyson urged the British government to take up policies to attract more and more talent to the engineering sector as the country is already facing a faltering industrial sector. He called for more incentives that will help foster innovative ideas in the field.

"We need more British students to take on research projects at British universities. Forging working relationships with universities will help us solve our engineering challenges," reports BBC quoting Sir James Dyson.