Funding announced to strengthen South African engineering capabilities

The South African Innovative Engineering Curriculum (IEC) initiative, supported by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, is entering a transformative new phase to embed safety as a foundational mindset within engineering education.

In partnership with University College London (UCL), the IEC seeks to develop a safety-first attitude beyond regulatory compliance and cultivate it as an integrated professional competence, shaping how engineers think, design, lead, and act.

The new curriculum model, which is focussed on safety and sustainability, will be rolled out to several institutions as part of this new phase. The flagship areas for implementation include critical infrastructure and maritime sustainability.

Focussing on the built environment, the IEC will address urgent challenges in infrastructure resilience, urban safety, climate adaptation, and responsible construction. This will involve conducting structured gap-mapping and best-practice reviews to embed sustainable infrastructure and safety leadership into curricula by integrating risk-informed design, lifecycle thinking, regulatory awareness, and systems-based decision-making into core programme outcomes.

At Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s Maritime Survival Centre, the IEC will target maritime education and workforce development, preparing future graduates for the future by covering decarbonisation, digitalisation, and new fuel systems. 

With increased safety risks and training gaps globally, the IEC’s initiative will expand survival training capacity, integrate simulation-based safety education, and strengthen partnerships with industry and regional institutions. Students will gain access to internationally aligned safety certifications, while longer-term plans include the development of postgraduate pathways in maritime safety and sustainability.

Professor Lelanie Smith, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) at the University of Pretoria, and IEC lead said: “Improving sustainability and safety must be considered an absolute priority, which is why we’re so proud to be part of the IEC’s initiative. As we expand nationally and regionally, we are positioning Africa not only as a participant in global safety and sustainability conversations, but as a significant contributor of contextually grounded, future-ready engineering solutions.”

The IEC’s initiative is unusual in that it incorporates all engineering schools in South Africa, fosters a strong partnership with the national accreditation body, and builds on established academic development programmes that build educator capacity to move beyond isolated pilot projects toward systemic, scalable change.

Dr Tim Slingsby, Director of Skills and Education at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, said: “Large data sets like the Global Engineering Capability Review highlight the safety gap between developing economies and the developed world. To meet the demands of a growing population and rapid urbanisation, it’s crucial that engineers around the world have the appropriate training to address safety challenges and mitigate risk in their local context. This new initiative with the University of Pretoria and University College London addresses this challenge, and will equip the next generation of engineers in South Africa with the skills to meet the demands of rapidly transitioning maritime and infrastructure sectors.”

Building on five years of systemic curriculum innovation across South Africa, IEC provides the tested platform, partnerships, and academic development infrastructure necessary to translate Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s safety mission into sustainable educational transformation at scale.

By connecting curriculum transformation, professional accreditation, academic development, and sector-specific innovation, IEC moves beyond isolated pilot projects toward systemic, scalable change.