Big ideas: the future of engineering in schools

The Big Ideas: the future of engineering in schools report, supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering, reflects the views of leading engineering education experts and key stakeholders such as employers, parents and students. It proposes that students should be explicitly taught about engineering and the manufactured world as part of existing lessons from primary level upwards.  The report also calls for maintaining a broad curriculum for all until the age of 18 and that we should broaden routes into engineering by promoting flexible entry requirements for engineering degree courses. 

The report makes seven key recommendations that will be the foundation for meeting these longer-term goals including the need for a unified voice from engineering institutions on issues such as a broader curriculum, the need for Government to support teachers in gaining a greater understanding of engineering careers and for Government to ensure that high quality technical training routes will be included in performance measures for colleges and schools.

The findings of the Big Ideas: the future of engineering in schools report are based on the Big Ideas project conceived by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and developed with support from the Royal Academy of Engineering. Through a combination of provocative ‘think pieces’ from leading educators, a study of stakeholder attitudes and an international interdisciplinary workshop, the project identified a series of strategic options that, collectively, represent a compelling vision for the future of engineering education in UK schools.