Billionaire inventor James Dyson has set up a brand new £15m institute of technology in Wiltshire to boost Britains ability to compete with Asian nations
Yes, that is a restored English Electric Lightning jet suspended above the campus cafeteria
Dyson has invested £15m in the Dyson Institute of Technology campus in Malmesbury.
With the company looking to double its Engineering workforce to 6,000 by 2020, James Dyson sees the Dyson Institute of Technology as the first step to plugging the UK skills gap which makes recruiting new Engineers in the UK so difficult. The company now provides dozens of different products, from dyson vacuums to hepa purified air systems that can monitor air quality.
Dyson explained that while the UK is “competing globally with Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore” there is a shortage of skilled engineers in developed economies and Asian nations are outpacing the west when it comes to new engineering graduates entering the industry.
Dyson, who is well known for championing investment in Engineering in the UK explained that after bemoaning the lack of government investment in the sector, he finally took things into his own hands looking to expand brand dyson for educational institutions.
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The Institute will be looking to take on 25 students starting in September 2017. The course is officially a Degree Apprenticeship (with the degree itself currently awarded by Warwick University), and students will be classed as full-time employees (but will still be eligible for the NUS Apprentice Extra card).
This means, unlike other Engineering courses, there are no tuition fees and Students are paid a salary while working alongside Dyson Engineers on real projects.
Long term, Dyson hopes the Department of Education will allow the Institute University status so it can award its own degrees.
Currently, this will only happen if proposals in a white paper published in May – “success as a knowledge economy” – are pushed through Parliment by the Government.
What you need to apply?
So, what next? If you are interested in applying there are a few stages to the application process. First off – you need 340 UCAS points, and an a-level in Maths plus one other STEM subject (Science, Technology, or Engineering related subject) at A grade or above.
There are four stages to entry.
Stage One – an online application which you can complete here. This will ask a few questions about your interests and education so far.
Stage Two – a series of online tests that can be completed remotely.
Stage Three – a phone interview
Stage Four – at formal assessment day at Dysons UK HQ.
