Neurodiversity celebration week provides an important opportunity to recognise the diversity of ways in which people think, learn and engage with the world. For engineering education, where innovation and problem-solving depend on a wide range of perspectives, ensuring that learning environments are genuinely inclusive is both an educational priority and a sector responsibility.
Through the All in for Engineering campaign, the Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC) has been working with colleagues across the sector to develop the Neuro-inclusion Maturity Framework. The framework is intended to support engineering departments in reflecting on their current practices and identifying practical steps towards creating more neuroinclusive educational environments.
A distinctive feature of this work is the Delphi co-design approach that sits behind it. Rather than producing guidance in isolation, the framework has been developed collaboratively through iterative rounds of feedback from academics, professional services colleagues, students and neurodivergent contributors from across the engineering community. This collaborative process has helped ensure that the framework is grounded both in research and in the lived experiences of those working and studying within the sector. It has helped build consensus around the key features of a genuinely neuroinclusive engineering education environment.
The emerging framework encourages institutions to examine their practices across a number of interconnected dimensions, including leadership and capability, learning and teaching, assessment, learning environments, transitions and progression, funding and impact, and the wider student experience. Taken together, these areas recognise that meaningful neuro-inclusion cannot rely solely on individual adjustments. Instead, it requires systemic consideration of how policies, processes and cultures shape the experiences of neurodivergent students.
Engineering programmes are often intensive, highly structured, and built around laboratories, group projects and complex assessment patterns. These characteristics can create barriers if they are not designed inclusively. The framework therefore encourages departments to take a holistic view of how their structures, environments and practices support – or unintentionally hinder – neurodivergent students.
Importantly, many of the approaches associated with neuroinclusive practice—such as clearer communication, transparent expectations, flexible learning design and supportive learning environments—benefit the entire student community. In this sense, neuro-inclusion should be understood not as a specialist intervention but as an integral component of high-quality educational design.
As the framework continues to develop, the EPC is currently inviting students and staff across engineering disciplines to contribute their perspectives through a dedicated engagement exercise. Engineering departments and educators are encouraged to engage with this opportunity with their students and to consider participating in the activities. Contributions from both staff and students will play a vital role in strengthening the framework and supporting its future implementation across the sector.
Neurodiversity Week provides a valuable moment to reflect on the progress being made and the work still to be done. By engaging with the Neuro-inclusion maturity framework and contributing to its development, the engineering community has an opportunity to help shape learning environments in which every student has the opportunity to succeed.
Further information about the framework and opportunities to participate in the engagement exercise can be found through the EPC’s All in for Engineering campaign.
