A focus on…Events

This one-hour update session featured reports from our working group leads, covering key developments including the terms of engagement initiative, the current status of the neuro-inclusion maturity framework, progress on the Inclusive Workpackage, and our approach to capturing authentic voices — including the rationale behind it.

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This was a 1-hour webinar hosted by Paul Bailey, Chief Exec of the Engineering Council titled Answering the Call: The next 5 years of the Engineering Council. The webinar was followed by the EPC Annual General Meeting 2025.

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EAN Congress 2025: Realising the Vision took place from 9–11 June, jointly hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester. With over 40 speakers and a diverse mix of delegates, the Congress was a clear success.

The packed programme offered a wealth of networking opportunities, including campus tours of both universities’ impressive engineering facilities, a walking tour of Manchester, a public lecture, and a lively social evening featuring food, drinks, a pub quiz, and karaoke.

Key highlights included the EPC’s Hammermen Competition poster exhibition, the David K. Harrison Hammermen Award ceremony — presented by EPC President Professor John Mitchell — and the Congress dinner at the Manchester Museum, where Dr Lucy Rogers MBE delivered a memorable and inspiring after-dinner address.

Centred on the theme ‘Realising the Vision’, the event featured a rich blend of thought-provoking panels, keynote addresses, and dynamic discussion — all contributing to a compelling and collaborative experience.

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The public lecture was part of the Engineering Academics Network Annual Congress, which was kindly hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester.

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In this one-hour webinar, EPC’s data expert, Stella Fowler explored the latest HESA student enrolment data using our Data Explorer tool.

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Held at NMITE’s Blackfriars Campus in Hereford, this in-person gathering brought together members of the EPC neuro-inclusion community to advance inclusive practices in engineering higher education. The event featured collaborative sessions on the development of a neuro-inclusion maturity framework, discussions on inclusive assessment strategies, and the creation of a shared language to support neurodivergent individuals. Participants engaged in workshops aimed at aligning neurodivergent strengths with engineering skills and contributed to the development of resources to foster neuro-inclusive environments. ​

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This webinar, part of the Engineering Deaf Awareness Project (EDAP), focused on the importance of deaf awareness in engineering. It explored how fostering an inclusive environment benefit not only individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing but also enriches the engineering community as a whole.

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In this one-hour webinar, EPC’s data expert, Stella Fowler, presented an analysis of the newly released UCAS applications and admissions data for the 2024/25 cycle. Utilising the EPC’s exclusive Data Explorer tool, the session provided insights into application trends, demographic shifts, and subject-specific data, offering valuable information for institutions to inform their recruitment and admissions strategies.

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The final session in the series focussed on the broader impact of AI on society. Discussions centred around ethical considerations, societal benefits, and the role of engineers in guiding AI towards positive outcomes.

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This webinar delved into the application of AI in engineering research. Participants explored how AI can drive innovation, streamline methodologies, and contribute to groundbreaking discoveries in the field.

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The first instalment of the EPC’s AI webinar series examined the potential of artificial intelligence to enhance teaching practices in higher education engineering. Experts discussed innovative approaches and tools to integrate AI into the classroom.

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This online event marked the release of the EPC’s annual Engineering Enrolments Survey findings. Attendees gained early access to data highlighting trends in engineering admissions, including a noted decline in overseas postgraduate enrolments and an increase in home student numbers across various disciplines. The session provided a platform for discussing the implications of these trends on engineering education and institutional planning.

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The 2024 Access & Admissions Forum took place at the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Prince Philip House in London, co-hosted by the Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC) and the Royal Academy of Engineering. The event focused on sharing exclusive findings from an EPC engineering admissions project, developed in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering, utilising unique UCAS engineering datasets. Keynote speakers included John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students (OfS), and Ben Jordan, Director of Strategy at UCAS. The forum featured presentations and workshops addressing the realities of entry requirements and strategies for fair access in engineering education. It provided a platform for staff at all levels in engineering departments to engage in discussions on access and admissions.

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This follow-up webinar offered an opportunity to engage with the outcomes of the initial co-design workshop held in June. Participants heard about the development of a neuro-inclusion maturity framework and discussed the next steps in promoting neurodiversity in engineering education. ​

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Held at the Dyson Institute, this interactive workshop brought together students, academics, and professional services colleagues to co-design a neuro-inclusion maturity framework. The collaborative effort aimed to help universities understand and improve their neuro-inclusive practices in engineering education.

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Congress 2024: Engineers for the Future took place from 9–11 June at Cardiff University, drawing an enthusiastic and diverse turnout. With over 40 speakers—exceeding last year’s number—and a rich mix of delegates, the event was a clear success.

The packed programme offered a wide range of networking opportunities, including tours of Cardiff’s engineering departments, the newly opened Student Union (which hosted the public lecture), a walking tour of Cardiff Bay Barrage, and a social evening with food, drinks, a pub quiz, and karaoke.

Highlights included the EPC’s Hammermen competition poster exhibition, the David K. Harrison Hammermen Award ceremony—presented by Prof. Alan Kwan—and the Congress dinner, where Kate Bellingham delivered an inspiring after-dinner address.

Centred around the theme ‘Engineers for the Future’, the event featured thought-provoking panels, presentations, keynote speeches, and a public lecture.

We were honoured to welcome Dr Mark Drakeford MS, delivering his first public speech since stepping down as First Minister for Wales, offering a compelling vision for ‘Making A Better Future’. Other keynote speakers included Dr Nike Folayan (Engineering for the Future), Mary Curnock Cook CBE (President’s Prize Lecture), Prof. John Chudley (Valuing All Routes into Engineering & Professional Registration), and Sophie Howe, who closed the conference with ‘Engineering for Future Generations’.

Engaging panel discussions covered topics such as The Pipeline of Engineers, Harnessing Neurodiverse Talent, Sustainability, Universal Design for Learning, Research for the Future, and included an interactive AI experience with I Am Echoborg.

Congress concluded with remarks from EPC President Prof. John Mitchell, who formally handed over the baton to Manchester—the host of Congress 2025.

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This members-only workshop provided an in-depth analysis of academic staff data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Attendees explored trends and insights relevant to staffing in engineering departments.

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The EPC unveiled its new Sustainability Toolkit in this March 2024 webinar, showcasing resources designed to help engineering educators integrate sustainability into their curricula. The session demonstrated how the toolkit can support teaching and promote sustainable practices in engineering education.

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This online workshop focused on student completion data from HESA, offering EPC members insights into graduation rates and trends within engineering programs. The session aimed to inform strategies for improving student outcomes.

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The EPC Board convened in Belfast for a two-day retreat to discuss strategic priorities, governance, and future initiatives. The retreat facilitated in-depth discussions and planning to advance the EPC’s mission.​

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This workshop provided an analysis of engineering enrolment data for 2023, helping members understand current trends and inform recruitment and retention strategies within their institutions.

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The forum addressed challenges and developments in engineering access and admissions, bringing together stakeholders to share best practices and explore innovative approaches to widening participation.​

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This webinar featured a discussion with John Blake, Director of Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students (OfS), and Dr. Omar Khan, Chief Executive of TASO. They explored regulations around access to engineering education and effective strategies to promote equality of opportunity. Topics included the intersection of access risks in engineering departments with the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register and the role of Access and Participation Plans (APPs) in capturing outreach efforts.

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This session on 22^nd November 2023 examined new and planned entry qualifications into engineering higher education, focusing on the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE), T Level pathways, and the Advanced British Standard. Speakers from the Department for Education and the Engineering Council discussed the implications of these qualifications on engineering education, including challenges related to course modularity, accreditation alignment, and student mobility.

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This webinar on 13^th November 2023 presented interim findings from the EPC’s project on mapping T Level qualifications to engineering higher education requirements. The session examined the suitability of T Level content, particularly in mathematics, for progression into engineering degrees. Insights from this webinar informed discussions at the Access and Admissions Forum, contributing to the ongoing evaluation of T Levels as viable pathways into engineering.

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This webinar on 11^th October 2023 addressed the importance of neurodiversity in engineering education and the workforce. With an estimated 820,000 neurodivergent engineers in the UK, the session emphasised the need for inclusive practices. Panellists discussed challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals and highlighted initiatives like the Engineering Neurodiverse Futures (ENF) programme, which offers support through assessments, mentoring, and coaching. The event marked the beginning of the EPC’s commitment to promoting neurodiversity in engineering.

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Susan Lapworth “The OfS’s priorities for 2023 and beyond: On the 5th July 2023, Susan Lapworth, the Chief Executive of the Office for Students, the regulator for higher education in England delivered a short presentation followed by a Q&A. The event was a warmer for the EPC AGM and was hosted by outgoing EPC President, Professor Mike Sutcliffe. Some of the points raised by Susan during the event included:

”OfS is one year into its second strategy. It is a shift into more active regulation. There are two main areas: Quality and Standard and Equality of Opportunity. These two areas are interconnected and go hand in hand”

”OfS’s relationship with the sector is a ”live issue”. She said her engagement with the EPC today is an example of being ”really keen to gain a better understanding””

”We don’t feel background should be used as an excuse for lower outcomes.. we’ve created a risk register and would encourage you to look at the particular circumstances of your discipline. For example; engineering has a high proportion of non-white backgrounds”

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Congress 2023: New Models took place from 12-14 June 2023 and was hosted by NMITE in Hereford. The turnout was fantastic, with a myriad of attendees present over the three days, and over 40 speakers (exceeding last year’s number). There were a copious number of networking activities, including tours of NMITE’s innovative lecture-hall free Blackfriars campus, an exciting three-hour blacksmith forging workshop, a curry social, an EPC pub quiz, EPC’s Hammermen competition poster stands and exhibition (we also warmly welcomed our sponsors and supporters MathWorks and the IET), The David K. Harrison Hammermen Award ceremony  (presented by Dr. Nina Baker), Congress dinner  (with an after-dinner speech from Dr. Dean Burnett) and more!

This year our theme was ‘New Models’, and thus we explored the disruptive challenges and innovative approaches in Engineering higher education relating to everything from student pathways into, through, and beyond Engineering degrees to how we support our staff. Members were able to explore this through a combination of intriguing panel discussions, presentations, keynote addresses, and a public lecture.

We were delighted to welcome Dame Athene Donald DBE, who delivered a  public lecture on the new challenges we face today: sustainability/equality, and innovation in computing, medicine, and technology. Dame Athene also discussed the need for new kinds of engineers and scientists, particularly women, to help tackle these issues. Keynote addresses were delivered by; James Newby on ”Why we need new models”, The RT Hon. Jesse Norman on ”Institutions as place”, and Vivienne Stern on ”A path through the Woods: Higher education to 2030”. Panel discussions consisted of a plethora of experts and students on a variety of topics such as ”Recruitment and pathways into engineering”, ”New models in curriculum/values-led engineering”, ”New models in employability”, ”New models in assessment”, ”New models in delivery”, and ”New models of academic employment and progression”. Congress 2023 also enabled us to showcase the latest features on EPC Online and how members could connect with the EAN community.

Click here to view presentations and recordings from the event.

Congress 2022: A Better World was back to an in-person event and hosted by UWE, Bristol on the 7-9th June. There were around 100 attendees over the three days, with over 30 speakers and a variety of entertaining networking activities, including tours of UWE’s state of the art engineering facilities, Morris dancing and dinner aboard the SS Great Britain. Members were able to explore how engineering can help build a better world through keynote talks delivered by Dame Judith Hackitt on what can be learnt from events like Grenfell on delivering outcomes that benefit society; Chris Skidmore MP on the role of engineers on the path to Net Zero; Prof Steve West on the critical role of UK universities in supporting the local and global agenda by building the skills and innovation; and Prof Dame Ottoline Leyser on the role of research and innovation in creating a more sustainable and ethical future. Panel discussions consisting of a variety of experts and students considered how to help the next generation of engineers to make sensible and environmentally responsible decisions; who the next generation of engineers should be; how can we build confidence in engineering educators and students to discuss on tough, open-ended questions about ethical issues; and what accreditation could look like in the future. Congress 2022 also provided the perfect venue to showcase and launch the EPC’s new online platform.

EPC data dive workshops: The aim of these workshops was to introduce the EPC’s advanced member-only Data explorer through the lens of specific sets of data. The EPC’s resident sector data expert, Stella Fowler led a series of free regular workshops including EPC data dive workshop: student enrolments 2022, EPC data dive workshop: applications and admissions data 2022, EPC data dive workshop: latest HESA student enrolments data.

EPC data dive workshop: latest HESA student enrolments data – HESA update their subscription services every year, we extracted the engineering highlights, and during the session on 5th April 2023 Stella showcased the HESA student data for 2021/22. Attendees were able to discuss, discover and explore the EPC’s Data explorer and the latest HESA student data.

EPC data dive workshop: applications and admissions data 2022 – Every year, UCAS provides a plethora of data online, we extracted the engineering highlights, and during the session on 1st March 2023 Stella showcased the UCAS end-of-year data for 2022/23, showed members how the data explorer worked, answered queries from the audience and provided attendees with the opportunity to share engineering data insights.

EPC data dive workshop: EPC engineering enrolments survey 2022 –  On 14th December 2022, Stella introduced the new member-only Data explorer through the lens of new engineering enrolments in 2022. Every year, the collective results of the exclusive EPC survey give us all a first glance at engineering enrolments long before official data becomes available. Our members have told us that that the data is used in many ways, from enabling individual members and departments to understand their experience relative to the sector, to evidence-based decision making on new courses to offer. In the last couple of years, this insight has been more important than ever.

EPC data dive workshop: student enrolments – The inaugural Data explorer workshop on 9th November 2022 opened with an introduction to the new EPC member perk, the Data explorer. With a focus on student enrolments, this one-hour online workshop included: a Data explorer demonstration; members interacted with the data at their own pace; a question and answer session; discovery of engineering data insights, and more. If you want to find out more, you can review a recording here (via the Recording tab).

Engineering Ethics: Launching new toolkit content  (2023): Last year we launched the EPC’s Engineering Ethics Toolkit with the support of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Our toolkit provides educators with a range of resources that can help them more effectively integrate ethics into their engineering modules.

During this event, which took place on the 31st March 2023, Prof. Sarah Jayne Hitt introduced the new engineering ethics resources available in our Engineering Ethics Toolkit. The Toolkit was expanded to include:

• Enhancements to the original set of case studies which provide discussion prompts, activity guides, and lesson plans;
• Additional guidance articles on topics such as an introduction to engineering ethics, EDI in engineering, and how to tackle tough topics in class discussions;
• 13 new case studies focused on a wide range of professional and engineering situations;
• An Engineering Ethics Explorer that showcases ways to integrate ethics in modules, programmes, and curricula, including incorporation of learning outcomes and alignment to graduate attributes and AHEP.

Besides getting an introduction to these resources, we heard from colleagues, including Prof. Rafaella Ocone, Dr. Ahmet Omurtag, and Dr. Nicola Whitehead who have contributed some of these new resources and used some of them in the classroom.

Click here to watch a recording of the event.

Introducing the Engineering Ethics Toolkit (2022): The EPC held a successful online event on the 5^th May 2022 to introduce our RAEng-supported Engineering Ethics Toolkit, a growing resource designed to help engineering educators integrate ethics content into their teaching, launched with 12 unique ethics case studies and 3 guidance articles.

The speakers for the event included Dr Sarah Jayne Hitt, Project manager of our ethics project; Prof Raffaella Ocone, Chair of our advisory group; Prof Matt Studley and Prof Mike Bramhall, both members of our advisory group. The webinar saw 89 attendees joining us for an hour to discuss the engineering ethics scholarship and pedagogy behind our toolkit.

The audience was involved not only in asking questions during the webinar, but also by contributing to a Padlet (a virtual bulletin board) that was set up for event attendees and speakers to share their thoughts on a few topics for consideration before, during and after the event.

You can access the recording of this event here.

Why the STEM teacher shortage is our problem (and what we can do about it): This webinar on 25th January 2023 was hosted in association with the Department for Education and the Institute of Physics and explored how the shortage of engineers is down to the shortage of engineering students, which is down to a shortage of teachers.

During the webinar, we explored how this impacted student diversity and what engineering academics could do about it. We had a panel of experts to discuss this assertion and a keynote address from Professor Dame Julia King, The RT Hon. Baroness Brown of Cambridge.

Click here to watch a recording of the event.

Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges The Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges report outlines the long-term outlook for how engineering research will aid in addressing important global challenges.

During the webinar on 13th December 2022, attendees heard about the results and findings of the TERC report, found about the new research priorities, fed back to ESPRC and RAENG, and learnt how to adapt their strategies.

A panel of experts led a discussion on the process of identifying the challenges and shared their insights and invited responses.

Attendees also gained insight into where funding for Engineering research could go in the future and how EPSRC and the RAEng planned to address the report’s recommendations.

Click here to watch a recording of the event.

The Recruitment and Admissions Forum 2022 was an in-person event, hosted by Arden University in Leeds on 7th December 2022. This year’s forum focused on: Closing the gaps, be it in attainment, diversity, teaching and learning, or opportunity. Members were able to explore this through keynote addresses, expert panels, and debates. Keynote addresses were delivered by Lee Elliot Major OBE (the UK’s first Professor of Social Mobility) on ”Raising attainment: Improving social mobility in the pandemic era” and Dr. Camille Kandiko Howson on ”Embedding learning gain into recruitment and admissions”.

We also welcomed various sector experts on EDI, personal statements, learning gain, and more. Experts participated in our lively debate: ”Should personal statements as part of university applications be scrapped?” Members were provided with the opportunity to discuss and workshop the latest thinking, solutions, and best practice. A panel discussion on ”Attracting diversity” and a workshop on ”A new kind of student” led by Prof. Mike Bramhall and Prof. Georgina Harris were also delivered.

EPC’s Policy and Research Lead, Stella Fowler, launched the EPC Engineering Enrolments Survey 2022 and introduced our new interactive Data Explorer service on EPC Online, where members can explore findings, filter to their own disciplines of interest, discuss findings with the wider network, and much more!

Click here to view the presentations from the event.

The Recruitment and Admissions forum in 2021 focused on Doing it differently – with three webinars: Getting in: Entrance requirements; Getting out there: International students and postgraduates; Getting on: Lifelong Learning held in November and December 2022. These webinars were a deep dive into widening access, increasing diversity and the role of admissions, with an aim of airing provocative blue-sky ideas from our panel of experts – and our audience – to explore what could be done differently in these areas. At the end of the webinar series, Stella Fowler, the EPC’s Policy and Research Lead, presented the 2021/22 enrolments survey results.

In the first session our panel discussed Getting in to engineering courses with our provocateur, Prof Georgina Harris (Arden University) taking aim at social advantage, contextual offers, entry requirements and personal statements. The panel hotly debated these topics offering up thoughts on rejecting the need for maths and physics as entry requirements, that losing personal statements would be detrimental to some students and that high level UCAS points for entry to engineering courses should be removed.

The second, Getting out there opened with a presentation by Steph Harris (UUKi) providing an overview of what could be done differently to attract international – and postgraduate – students in the light of Brexit and COVID. The expert panellists raised points on the need to focus on international student employability, to learn lessons from the pandemic, individualised application processes, bursaries and the importance of diversity throughout all aspects of education.

Finally, the third webinar looked at Getting on and the world of lifelong learning, Martin Eason (University of Wolverhampton) provided a provocation in which he suggested education tends to keep taking individuals up a slope and then dropping them off without further support, with their futures defined by early life choices. The panellists contributed points on T-Levels, the complexity of the qualifications system, importance of collaboration between employers and educators and diversifying assessment systems. These three webinars were incredibly successful and attracted over 140 attendees – this online format clearly allowed us to reach a wider audience than in previous years where the forum was held as in person events before the pandemic.

View all of the recordings from these events here.

Stackable qualifications and microcredentials: This webinar took place on the 9th November 2022 and explored how engineering departments could adapt their offer to provide bitesize learning, shorter and more modular courses, and hop-on-hop-off degrees.

To explore this, we welcomed a panel of experts and Sir Philip Augar, author of the Augar Review of Post-18 Education delivered a keynote address.

Click here to watch a recording of the event.

The Crucible Project Launch: The EPC’s Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer (RIKT) Committee put out a call in July 2021 for members to submit academia-industry partnership case studies. By the end of the call, nearly 50 applications were received and a sub-group of the RIKT Committee shortlisted 25 of these to be presented at an online launch webinar for the Crucible Project on the 16th February 2022.

Over 120 attendees joined us for this online event which saw a huge range of case studies outlining innovative and engaging collaborations between academia and industry, as well as a guest lecture by Prof. John Patsavellas (Cranfield University).

The fantastic presentations were all recorded and can be viewed here.