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Embedding Data-Centric Engineering (DCE) in UK higher education
Working together to align engineering degrees with the UK's data-driven industrial future | Submit your response by 10 July 2025.
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The Royal Academy of Engineering, The Alan Turing Institute, and Lloyd’s Register Foundation are leading a collaborative initiative to embed Data-Centric Engineering (DCE) into UK engineering degree programmes. This is taking place in the context of the growing demands of a data-driven world and a safe and sustainable approach to engineering.
Submit your response by 10 July 2025
Complete the surveyWhy DCE matters
Across all sectors, industries are rapidly transforming into digital enterprises. Their success is increasingly driven by the intelligent management and analysis of data. Sensing technologies and condition monitoring are enabling new capabilities in managing and controlling products, systems, and services.
As engineering systems grow in complexity, their safety, reliability, and efficiency will depend on how effectively data is collected, managed, and utilised. To meet this challenge, training tomorrow’s UK engineers must emphasize not only the core technical skills, but also deep competencies in data handling and manipulation, statistical analysis and optimisation techniques, and machine learning and AI tools. These competencies must become a standard feature of engineering education at all levels, particularly in higher education. This four-stage project is focused on how best to achieve this goal.
How you can act to help embed crucial skills in the UK's future workforce - right now, and in under five minutes
We are inviting higher education leaders across the UK to complete a short national survey on how digital and data skills are currently taught to undergraduate engineering students. The findings will help identify where Data-Centric Engineering (DCE) content - such as data handling, analytics, and AI tools - is already embedded in curricula, and where further development is needed.
We are calling on deans, curriculum leaders and heads of school from every UK university to respond. Your input is essential to create a comprehensive picture of DCE provision and to ensure that the next generation of engineers can meet evolving industrial efforts to strengthen curricula, shape policy and develop shared teaching resources. Please complete the survey today to help guide this critical work.
Future impact
This is a high-impact initiative that directly aligns with national priorities to strengthen the UK’s engineering talent pipeline. We invite HEIs, engineering employers and organisations to engage with this work—whether through advising on skill needs, supporting curriculum innovation, or helping shape the national conversation about tomorrow’s engineering education.
Project overview
This four-phase project is now halfway through its lifecycle. The aim is to define, assess, and ultimately scale the integration of DCE into engineering degrees, in alignment with industry needs and emerging engineering practice.
Identifying a set of core learning outcomes that reflect the competencies engineering graduates need to operate effectively in data-rich environments. These span statistical methods, data acquisition and management and the use of data analytics, including machine learning and artificial intelligence tools.
While many universities already include some DCE content — through formal modules, laboratories or project-based learning — there is limited understanding of how coherent or widespread this provision is. A national survey is gathering evidence to assess current practice and highlight where critical gaps remain.
Working in partnership with selected universities, the programme is co-developing practical support to aid curriculum integration. This includes teaching and learning resources, curriculum guidance, continuing professional development opportunities and pilot initiatives.
Outputs from the early adopter community will be made openly available to the wider sector. A key objective is to support alignment with future iterations of national standards, including the Engineering Council’s Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP).
Through this work, the programme aims to ensure that data-centric capabilities become a core part of engineering education — strengthening the UK’s ability to train engineers equipped for the challenges of a data-driven world.
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