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The UK government has announced a fast-tracked undergraduate degree, focusing on defence and drone capabilities.
The course will be offered at the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) beginning in September. The course is backed by a £240,000 (AU$470,000) investment from the British Army to deliver the course to 15 prospective civilian students and five soldiers annually, certifying them as drone technology specialists.
“This groundbreaking degree is exactly the kind of innovative skills provision our country needs – providing pioneering training for ambitious young people, while boosting jobs in defence,” Minister for Skills Jacqui Smith said.
“It helps to work towards the prime minister’s target for two-thirds of young people studying degrees or gold standard apprenticeships by the age of 25 through our Plan for Change.”
The Plan for Change is the Starmer government’s effort to increase national capabilities and the qualified work force in the UK, providing young people with education, training, and development opportunities that allow for fruitful careers in national industries, such as defence.
The degree also reflects the value outlined in the Strategic Defence Review, seeking to expand and strengthen the capabilities of the British Army through emerging defence technologies such as drones and autonomous systems.
“This degree reflects the scale of the opportunity in front of us – to equip the next generation of engineers with skills that matter now and to quickly deliver positive impacts in terms of skills, defence and a security capability and regional growth,” said James Newby, CEO of NMITE.
Minister for the Armed Forces Al Carns emphasised how global conflicts such as the ongoing war in Ukraine reflect a broader, growing threat of uncrewed aerial systems such as drones, driving the need for more specially qualified technical personnel.
“In Ukraine, drones are causing more casualties than artillery – that’s the reality of modern warfare. This degree gives young engineers a fast-track to careers at the cutting edge, protecting Britain and powering growth in places like Hereford,” Minister Carns said.
“These graduates will strengthen our Armed Forces and help push forward advances in civilian and commercial drone technology, developing homegrown talent, building British capabilities, from battlefield to business.”
