Dyson Institute awarded full degree-awarding powers
Dyson Institute awarded full degree-awarding powers, ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating in all areas, and globally recognised IET accreditation.
- After seven years and £60m of investment, the Dyson Institute announces it has been awarded full degree-awarding powers, an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating and globally recognised engineering accreditation of its flagship programme from the Institution of Engineering and Technology
- Dyson’s undergraduates study in the classroom for two days a week, and work alongside the technology company’s engineers on live projects for three days a week
- Dyson Institute students pay no tuition fees and undergraduates earn a starting salary of £22k, which almost doubles by the time they have graduated as fully fledged engineers
- From September, Dyson will invest at least £250k in each MEng student over the four-year course – before a seamless transition to an accelerated Dyson career
The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, based on Dyson’s Malmesbury Campus in Wiltshire, has been awarded full taught degree awarding powers by the Office for Students, three years after first delivering its independent programme, and seven years since it was founded by Sir James Dyson to help address an engineering skills shortage.
The Dyson Institute is the first to achieve full degree awarding powers through the NDAPs process. This milestone enables the Institute to continue the expansion plans announced in November 2023. The plans include moving its flagship programmes to a Master's in engineering, launching an MSc conversion course, and beginning to deliver credit-bearing modules for Dyson engineers.
These achievements are significant recognition that the Institute is designing and delivering engaging programmes, fulfilling its responsibilities in educating young learners, and ‘providing training… that is of the highest standard and helps to create world-class engineers’, as Ofsted’s inspectors put it in their inspection report.
Ofsted, who visited the Institute for its first full visit in April agreed, awarding it ‘Outstanding’ in all areas, a rare feat. The 3-day inspection assessed the quality of education, leadership and management, personal development, behaviour and attitudes and the education programme.
The Ofsted report also recognised the impact the Institute has for Dyson:
“Leaders have a clear strategic purpose for the apprenticeship. The programme is seen by leaders as a strategic asset for Dyson that enables it to recruit and manage a highly talented workforce. The Institute contributes to the international demand for highly proficient, innovative and well-trained engineers, who apply their expert knowledge and skills to real-life challenges and solving problems.”
You can read the full report on the Ofsted website here.
Finally, the IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) has awarded engineering accreditation for the Dyson Institute’s flagship programme. The BEng engineering degree apprenticeship has – subject to first output review – been accredited as meeting the educational requirements for partial CEng and for Incorporated Engineer for all its current students.
This accreditation is an endorsement of educational standards and industrial relevance in the programme and supports the professional registration and global mobility of the Institute’s graduates.
Beverley Gibbs, Director of the Dyson Institute said:
“We’re thrilled to have reached these important milestones, which are fantastic recognition that the Institute is providing a distinctive, high-quality learning environment for future engineering leaders.
These achievements are testament to our dedicated and talented team, to a thriving and engaged student community, and to a vast network of committed executives, line managers, technical mentors and wide-ranging support teams at Dyson.
We’re pleased to see that both Ofsted and the OfS recognise the long lasting and impactful value that we’re providing for Dyson, and we’re excited to continue this with the evolution and delivery of new programmes that will extend our impact and reach. ”
“When I set up the Institute in 2017, it was a natural extension of Dyson’s culture of continuous learning. It brought together young people, with their enthusiastic curiosity, and Dyson engineers, who encourage them to think differently. The Institute is a very different type of education. Now, seven years on, people across the business comment on the motivation and inspiration of our Undergraduate Engineers, and how their fresh perspectives influence new ways of doing things. We have no doubt they will shape the future of Dyson.”
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