Institution's response to new data from UCAS

Lydia Amarquaye, Education Policy Adviser, comments on data from UCAS.

Our Education Policy Adviser Lydia Amarquaye comments on data from UCAS showing a sharp rise in students choosing technology courses, including engineering:

“It is encouraging to see that a growing number of young people are taking up courses in engineering and associated STEM subjects. We hope this will only increase as young people see the employability and value of engineers through their response to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Engineering UK’s briefing paper Young people and Covid-19, it was seen that young people were generally more aware of the role that engineers played in the effort to combat the pandemic. Some were also more aware of the importance of having a job that enabled them to make a positive societal contribution. This group of people, labelled as ‘Social Artists’ in an Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ report Five Tribes: Personalising Engineering Education, may have previously not seen engineering as a career that was useful for addressing societal needs.

Through the Institution’s accreditation programmes, we continue to monitor engineering degrees to ensure that the skills and knowledge being taught at universities are relevant for industry and the ever-evolving demands on society, including energy, and sustainability.”