Dyson’s education institute is being given the power to award its own degrees from September next year.
The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, which is based in Malmesbury in Wiltshire, was founded as an alternative to a traditional degree education three years ago.
It currently has 150 engineering undergraduates, who study and work alongside Dyson’s staff and are able to earn a full salary, but are not tied to the company after finishing their degree. And they do not pay any tuition fees.
At the moment, Dyson has a partnership with the University of Warwick, which validates the degrees, but in 2021 the tech giant will able to award them itself.
The higher education regulator, Office for Students, has given Dyson the go ahead to do so under legislation first created in 2017.
It will mean the technology company is able to deliver and award every aspect of the programme, using its own teaching departments, professional services teams and governance structures.
James Dyson, founder and chairman of Dyson, said: “Being able to award Dyson degrees is a testament to the pioneers who have joined The Dyson Institute.
“It was born out of my frustration at the shortage of engineers and scientists and the appalling debt that students incur at University.
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“We’ve been flattered that the undergraduates, and their parents, have trusted us to take on this important role when they had many options open to them.
“This is not a traditional university education, it is not for the faint hearted. Technology is developing at such speed that rigorous academic study benefits from immediate application.
“Dyson undergraduate engineers work in a global team, with the best labs, working alongside the most ingenious practising engineers and scientists, solving big problems.
“We have a culture where they are free to experiment and learn through failure. I’m confident that we are educating the best engineers in the world and I hope they choose to stay at Dyson for many years to come.”
What is the Dyson Institute?
The Dyson Institute sits at the heart of 136 labs and research spaces on Dyson’s campus in Wiltshire.
It is a centre for thousands of engineers and scientists and has more than 4,000 m2 of education spaces, equipped with the latest technology.
First year undergraduate engineers live in the Dyson Village, which was designed by James Dyson himself.
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The village is made up of 63 pods - each with its own front door - stacked up to three high and arranged to provide every student with a view of the Wiltshire countryside.
Each pod is equipped with a shower room, study space and the latest Dyson technology.
The village also includes a café, bar, gym, cinema, kitchens, communal spaces, laundry rooms and outside space.
Halimah Ershad, a fourth-year undergraduate at the institute, said: “I almost fell into the trap of going to a traditional university just because every single person from my sixth form applied.
“On this degree we will learn a mathematical equation in the morning in class and apply it in real life in the afternoon.
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“This type of learning makes abstract concepts instantly real and useful. Dyson engineers have been so supportive and welcoming.
"They mentor you in your studies, but also challenge you at work. They are very receptive to ideas and I have been contributing to projects since the day I started.”
Dyson has invested £31.5million into its institute since 2017.
As well as degree studies, undergraduates work on real-life projects alongside experts in Dyson’s global engineering, research and technology teams.
Mary Curnock Cook, chair of council at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, said: “The Dyson Institute is forging a very exciting new path in higher education. There is simply no other degree like this.
“The combination of hard-core academic study, combined with real work application in one of the most exciting technology companies in the world, makes it a compelling choice for academically minded polymaths with an entrepreneurial flair.”
There are around 40 undergraduates in each cohort, with applications for the September 2021 intake now open.