WMG Warwick Manufacturing Group

Tuesday 21 January 2025

Creating engineers of the future with Dyson

A shining example of collaboration in modern engineering education

In 2024, WMG at The University of Warwick and The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology celebrated their fourth and final cohort at a ceremony held at Dyson’s UK R&D campus.

“This graduation marks another change for us as we step out from the partnership with WMG and the University of Warwick. I would like to thank Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG; and Professor Stuart Croft, Vice Chancellor of Warwick University. Thank you for saying ‘yes’ to joining us on this pioneering adventure back in 2017. You took on our pioneering adventure, it was an unselfish undertaking by you, a brave decision. I am sure you are as proud as I am at the achievements of the undergraduates, and the institution they’ve created. I sincerely hope our close association will continue.”

A pioneering adventure

Back in 2016, a conversation between two friends - the late Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, founder of WMG, and Sir James Dyson - sparked an ingenious idea that led to the creation of a bespoke technical engineering degree apprenticeship.

At the time, there was a lot of talk about the engineering skills deficit, and the Universities Minister, Jo Johnson, challenged Dyson to ‘grow its own’ by establishing its own institution to train young engineers. Dyson had long term ambitions of independent delivery and degree awarding powers yet understood this would take time, and that it would need an established engineering institution to help it to achieve this.

The journey

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya and Sir James Dyson bought academia and industry together, and within just nine months the two institutions had crafted a bespoke technical engineering degree apprenticeship, with four distinct streams - mechanical, electrochemical, electronic hardware and electronic software.

“The UK’s skills shortage is holding Dyson back as we look to increase the amount of technology we develop and export from the UK. We are taking matters into our own hands. The new degree course offers academic theory, a real-world job and salary, and access to experts in their field. I know there are many people out there who are as obsessive about engineering as I am - questioning every aspect of a product, how it works, and how it can be better. Therefore, why not get stuck into an engineering job straight from school?” Sir James Dyson, 2017

Together, WMG academics and Dyson engineers worked tirelessly to ensure that the programme provided the best possible experience for the young engineers equipping them with the necessary skills and in turn addressing Dyson’s business needs.

WMG staff travelled down to Dyson to deliver the modules in purpose-built classrooms while the students continued to rotate around the business. A WMG Apprentice Tutor was based full-time at the Dyson campus to support the students and record their progress against the apprenticeship occupational competencies, in preparation for their End Point Assessments - an integral part of apprenticeships.

A staff-student liaison committee was established which helped to shape and refine the programme year on year, helping to create the best possible experience for the students.

The committee was key to providing learners with a voice and was instrumental in delivering the continuous improvement, and in turn contributing to the positive 2024 National Student Survey (NSS) results.

• 100% students reported that they had received assessment feedback on time
• 96.15% agreed it was easy to contact teaching staff when needed
• 96.15% said they had the right opportunities to give feedback on the course
• 92.31% agreed that students' opinions on the course were valued

The results of the End Point Assessments were really impressive too - a 100% pass rate, with 65% achieving a distinction.

The academic results followed a similar pattern with:

• 78 achieving a First-Class honours
• 58 an Upper Second-Class degree

Collaboration and mutual respect

Professor Steve Maggs who led the initiative, from the first meeting to the final graduation, described it as a real highlight of his career. He explained:

“I’ve worked at WMG for over 25 years, and the partnership with Dyson is the thing that I am most proud of. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to be a part of it from the very beginning.

“Working with employers, such as Dyson, is fundamental to the development, delivery, and success of our degree apprenticeship programmes.

“Not only have we built an incredibly strong relationship with Dyson, but this has also helped us to expand our education programmes across various sectors, in response to the needs of industry.”

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG, added:

“ It has been a privilege to work with colleagues and learners at Dyson in realising the vision of the Engineering Degree Apprenticeship. The collaboration and mutual respect have resulted in, what I believe to be, an exemplar of how academia and industry can work together to achieve amazing results. My congratulations to everyone involved and I look forward to us building on this firm foundation together in the future.”

Special thanks go to Professor Steve Maggs; course leads, Dr Matt Sokola and Dr Farah Villa Lopez, and to all of the other academic and professional service staff for making the programme a huge success.

If you are a business interested in finding out more about WMG’s Degree Apprenticeship programmes visit: Degree Apprenticeships

For students looking to study at WMG visit: Study Degree Apprenticeships