The UK offers university students some of the most reputable and world-class engineering courses in the world. Engineering is a wide-ranging profession with thousands of rewarding and challenging jobs and career options to choose from, including design, manufacturing, development, research and operations management. Jobs in engineering involve solving problems and creating innovations that improve our day-to-day lives, such as medical equipment, mobile and digital communications, and transport systems. Finding the right engineering course and university to study at is crucial when considering your future career goals and the path you want to take in the field of engineering. According to Engineering UK, demand for engineers around the world is continually high, and the engineering industry in the UK generated a quarter of the UK's total GDP in 2015 (£420.5 bn). This means that it's never been a better time to consider a career as an engineer and study engineering in the UK.
Kickstart a successful career in engineering with great faculty support
Student curiosity and creativity will always be encouraged at Brunel University London. As one of the UK’s most highly regarded engineering departments, placement and professional development is at the heart of all courses. A dedicated placement tutor from Brunel’s Professional Development Centre will support you right from when you start building your CV and attend interviews, right up until you complete your placement. They will also help you to develop analytical and innovative skills that will enable you to inform future applications in electronics, electrical power and control, and communications engineering.
Brunel University London offers different courses for engineering, including electronic and electrical discipline, mechanical and aerospace engineering, as well as civil and environmental engineering, with custom-designed technical facilities to cater to different needs.
The vast range of laboratory equipment and facilities on offer allows you to practice techniques, share analysis and research, and put ideas into action. Individual and group project work is also a focus, and this is often centred around pioneering research, with a focus on innovative solutions through the designing, building and testing of concepts.
Throughout your time learning at Brunel, you will be able to discuss your work with professionals at the annual Brunel Engineers event. Brunel Engineers is an annual exhibition that showcases engineering talent. It’s a great way for you to network with leading engineering experts and potential employers, and show them the innovative, creative, and enterprising work you have produced during your time at Brunel.
Brunel will support you throughout your journey at the university and give you the skills you need for a successful career as an engineer. On completing your degree, you will have engineering knowledge and transferable skills including design, analytical thinking, and the ability to communicate engineering principles professionally, making you highly employable.
Receive extensive contact from industry with an engineering course at Cranfield University
Cranfield University ranks fifth in the UK and Top 50 in the world for Engineering in the QS World Rankings 2021. You'll benefit from guest lectures from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and the industrial sponsorship of many group and individual projects. Courses are regularly reviewed by an advisory panel of leading industry professionals, to ensure the content is relevant and meets the expectations of employers. As a student at Cranfield, you will benefit from extensive contact with leaders in the engineering industry. In doing so, you will be able to work on real-world projects and innovations, that solve real-life problems. Many MSc courses at Cranfield work on developments that are initiated by industry. These projects provide an invaluable experience in delivering a collaborative project in a team environment, designed to mimic typical sector working environments and to give students a taste of life in the working engineering world.
Cranfield University offers postgraduate students exceptional facilities, many of which are unique in the university sector. These include clean rooms, high-temperature coating facilities, a virtual reality suite with a Samsung SUR40 touch table, an impressively equipped composites laboratory, and impact testing facilities including the FIA-approved (Federation Internationale del’Automobile) Cranfield Impact Centre.
As a postgraduate, you can use a wide range of software for modelling and simulation of manufacturing processes, and will have access to an unparalleled welding laboratory with robotic, automated and advanced arc welding equipment. Cranfield has recently invested £1.6 million in the renewal of its electron microscopy suite.
Postgraduate programmes are split up into several learning and teaching methods. 40% is dedicated to teaching, providing you with the knowledge you need to excel in your specialist field. 20% is dedicated to a group project, to understand how an individual's role within a project affects the whole, giving you a head start for the world of work. 40% is dedicated to an individual thesis, providing you with an opportunity to think and work in an original way. For example, this could be working on a project for a University partner, delving deeper into a specific area of interest, or a real-world challenge in a desired sector.
All courses are accredited by Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs) on behalf of the Engineering Council, meeting the requirements for further learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng). These include:
- Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
- Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS)
- Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET)
- The Welding Institute (TWI)
- Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3)
Be at the forefront of innovation and climate change solutions at the University of Hull
If you are interested in pursuing the study of engineering to save the planet and combat climate change, you may be interested in studying an engineering course at the University of Hull, especially as so many institutions and businesses are finding ways to be carbon neutral in future.
Located on the River Humber, Hull is Britain's energy estuary, and is the ideal location to study energy engineering. If you study at Hull, you can take courses such as the MSc in Energy Engineering, that leads to specialised industry roles in energy engineering. You can also advance to specialist PhD studies in energy and sustainability engineering. As a result, you will develop competence and confidence in the application of engineering knowledge and techniques, to solve a range of industrial and real-world energy-related problems. A strong emphasis will be placed on the practical application of knowledge.
In 2021, the university launched an exciting new MSc programme in Advanced Energy Technologies, drawing on over 20 years of research expertise in the University of Hull’s Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies. This course has been specifically designed in close consultation with industry. Hull has developed strong international, national and regional links with both industry and academia, which ensures this course is based on ‘real-world’ cutting-edge technology with a global focus. On this programme, you will cover essential energy systems and technologies, including solar energy, sustainable heating and cooling technologies and ‘smart’ energy technologies. You will develop an understanding of diverse approaches to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, with an emphasis on learning high efficiency energy technologies and management, as well as expertise in physical and numerical modelling of advanced energy technologies.
The climate crisis has brought a growing realisation that the way we generate, store and utilise energy must change, and buildings have been identified as one of the 5 key challenge areas that must be addressed through innovation, if we are to successfully reduce carbon emissions. As the need to take action to protect our planet has never been more pressing, Hull is developing its engineering programmes to prepare new graduates to take on the challenge.
Society cannot function without engineers. Engineers are behind some of the most commonly used technologies and industries, like communications, transport, and medical innovations. If you are thinking of becoming an engineer, the first step is gaining a degree in engineering. The UK is a great place to study engineering, and many courses last for four years, leading directly to a Master's qualification and preparing students for professional recognition as a Chartered Engineer. Some courses offer one or more years of general engineering know-how, before students can specialise in one specific discipline that they enjoy the most. This means that finding the right course at university is crucial, as the way engineering is taught varies from one institution to another. We hope this guide was helpful in offering useful recommendations on places to study engineering.
For more information, you can visit the Brunel University, Cranfield University and University of Hull websites.
Brunel University: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/
Cranfield University: https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/
University of Hull: https://www.hull.ac.uk/
