The Engineering Professors’ Council is launching a major project from its Education, Employability & Skills Committee. ‘Emerging Stronger: the 2026 Edition’ will be a comprehensive snapshot of how engineering educators are responding to multiple contemporary challenges and opportunities in the education of engineers, and AI will be a key lens through which we explore the current landscape together. This work will include concise overviews, good practice case studies, and student narratives.
In 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, the original Emerging Stronger: Lasting Impact From Crisis Innovation responded quickly to capture issues, practice and student experience in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. This issue aims to replicate the impact of that work in this new context of institutional financial precarity, high workloads, changing student demographics, new funding models, an evolving graduate job market, and AI.
The work is structured in 3 phases:
- A webinar series from May to June on the following topics: assessment, curriculum futures, employability landscape, partnerships, and academic careers. We are excited to be working with colleagues from a range of universities and beyond, and hope to draw on input from a wide range of colleagues across the sector to understand different practices, responses and approaches.
- Case studies and student voice, from May to August, to show how students are engaging with AI and how they feel it is impacting their education, and how educators are responding in their work
- A publication, Emerging Stronger: the 2026 Edition, which will be released in October 2026
How you can get involved
Please, register for the webinars – this is a project where the community is listening and sharing rather than telling. Come and discuss how you are engaging with, and tackling, some of these challenges and opportunities. Register below to attend this webinar. Links to future webinars are listed below.
Friday 22nd May 12.30-13.30 – Assessment
Thursday 28th May 12.30-13.30 – Curriculum Futures
Tuesday 2nd June 12.30-13.30 – Employability Landscape
Wednesday 10th June 12.30-13.30 – Partnerships
Wednesday 24th June 12.30-13.30 – Academic Careers