The
universities of Leeds and Sheffield are the latest universities to join the
UK’s electronics engineering skills initiative run by the UK Electronics Skills
Foundation (UKESF).
The UKESF programme is an industry
initiative to address the overall decline in the number of British students
applying and registering for Electrical and Electronic Engineering degrees.
By 2020 it is anticipated that the
UK electronics systems industry will generate an additional 150,000 highly
skilled jobs to support the industry.
“We need more young people to aspire
to careers in this sector, but of great concern at
the moment is the decline in UK university applicants for electronics,” said
Indro Mukerjee, chairman of the UKESF strategic advisory board.
Whilst there has been a rise in
demand for engineering and technology courses since 2002, there has been a 26%
drop in UK-based applicants to electrical engineering courses between 2002 and
2013.
“The UK electronics systems industry
is estimated to contribute £78bn to the economy with the potential to grow and
generate 150,000 new and highly-skilled jobs by 2020,” said Mukerjee.
To address this the programme runs a
scholarship scheme designed to help students to find work placements with up to
25 member companies, including ARM, AWE, CSR, Dialog Semiconductor, Imagination
Technologies, Thales and XMOS.
“The work the UKESF does to
encourage more young people into electronic engineering degrees through its
schools programme is just one of the reasons we are very pleased to have joined
them.” commented Professor Ian Robertson, Head of the School of Electronic and
Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds.
Since 2010, employers have awarded
174 UKESF scholarships to students at its university partners.
Students can now apply for summer
vacation and one-year industrial training placements through UKESF.
“We are able to offer more
industry-sponsored scholarships, showing prospective students there is a demand
for electronics graduates and that, in the current climate of high tuition
fees, an engineering education will prove a rewarding investment,” said
Robertson.
Professor Geraint Jewell, head of
the University of Sheffield’s Electronic and Electrical Engineering department
believes that being able to draw on the knowledge and expertise of the industry
will allow the university to better prepare students for the commercial world.
There are now 13 universities
supporting the skills initiative: Leeds and Sheffield join Bristol, Cardiff,
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Imperial College, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham,
Southampton, Surrey and York.
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