Congratulations to the Class of 2025!
On Saturday 6 September the Dyson Institute celebrated its fifth graduation and first independent graduates from its Bachelors of Engineering degree. The Institute has had degree awarding powers since 2020 and begun teaching independently in September 2021.
Our graduation ceremony was held on the Dyson Technology campus in Malmesbury. For our graduates this space holds real significance; a rare opportunity to show their families the places they’ve been working over the last four years. For the Institute, it symbolises everything we stand for, higher education, integrated with real work; the centuries old tradition of a graduation, embedded inside a modern, cutting edge technology company.
Guests heard from Sir James Dyson, Professor Beverley Gibbs (Director of the Dyson Institute), Jake Dyson (Chief Engineer), and Class of 2025 Graduate, Ruby-Mae Costello-Buckingham.
"At any one time, Institute students are being supported by 44 teams, more than 100 line managers, and a further 75 technical mentors. On this day we recognise these Dyson colleagues too, as well as noting that this network enables our graduates to, quite simply, get things done.
Having our own Degree Awarding Powers shows that the Dyson Institute is not just a training programme, not just an apprenticeship, not just an experiment. It is a higher education institution in its own right - one that is innovative, credible, and committed to excellence. And it means that today, your degree carries the full weight of our name and our values. That’s something to be proud of..."
From medieval origins, UK academic dress has evolved to distinguish not only the university itself, but also subject specialism and type of degree. These attributes are subtly signalled in the colours and shapes of gowns, hoods, trims and headwear. As a new provider of higher education celebrating our first independent graduation, we embarked on a journey to design our own academic dress that interprets this rich cultural history, whilst bringing it into the present and celebrating approaches important to Dyson.
We recognised that traditional graduation robes still reflect a garment designed for men living a religious life over 1000 years ago. We wanted a design that would fit everyone – regardless of their outfit - and stay in place. This led to a top-fastening gown and fully integrated hood. Secondly, we were keen to ensure Dyson and an engineering ethos was coming through strongly, which led to our choice of cobalt blue, a colour closely connected with engineering blueprints.
After the ceremony, guests headed to the Roundhouse for an exhibition featuring profiles of each of the graduates, product demonstrations and a video of the graduates using the new Dyson V16 Piston Animal to play Jenga. (Watch below)
Over the next twelve months, our graduates will collectively be undertaking 52 work placements, with 80% of them choosing to explore Dyson locations outside of the UK, covering 10 different countries.
"We’re delighted to see so many of our graduates choosing to explore working and living in new places. We now have a population of alumni who have settled in vibrant Dyson locations like Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia. We know from them that their experiences in the Dyson Institute, academically and professionally set them up to succeed and excel internationally."
Thank you, to each of our graduates, you placed your trust in the Institute as we delivered a new programme for the first time, you worked with us to improve, develop and evolve what we do, all while contributing to future Dyson products. We look forward to seeing what you do next!
Congratulations, once again, to the class of 2025!
