Aston University Engineering Academy welcomes first students

The £16.5m university technical college (UTC) allows students aged from 14 to 19 to specialise in engineering and science alongside core subjects in English, mathematics, languages and business.  

The academy, the first UTC to be sponsored by a university, will also be the first in the UK to deliver apprenticeships.

Accommodating 600 students, it offers them the opportunity to work with leading engineering firms such as Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce, National Grid, Eon and Goodrich.

Principal Lee Kilgour said the academy’s aim was to develop a new generation of engineers and scientists both locally and nationally.

“The UK is currently facing significant shortages of appropriately qualified engineers in the UK, and we need to bridge this skills gap,” he said.

“Our employer-led apprenticeship programme will ensure young people are able to gain highly regarded, high-quality technical qualifications. Our innovative approach to learning focused on industry will ensure our young people are able to develop the skills they need for the workplace. We want to inspire the next generation of young men and women and ensure the UK has an engineering workforce capable of leading the world in current and emerging technologies.”