NMITE

02/10/2026

Apprenticeship or degree? Which route is right for you?

There isn’t one answer that works for everyone. The way you learn, the experience you gain, the qualification you want and the career you’re aiming for can all play a part in deciding which path suits you.

Our latest blog breaks down the key things to consider when comparing an apprenticeship with a degree, including what each route can look like and what you might want to think about before making a decision.

Read “Apprenticeship vs University: What You Need to Know”: https://nmite.ac.uk/news/apprenticeship-vs-university

01/10/2026

A little throwback to Welcome Week, through a student’s lens 📸💙

It's been a few weeks now but the first week was full of new faces, new experiences and plenty of memories of getting to know NMITE and exploring Hereford.

These photos were captured by one of our students, Jasmine, giving us a glimpse of Welcome Week from their perspective. She does photography as well as Engineering, check out her portfolio .592 on Instagram

Share your favourite moment from the first month at NMITE with us in the comments!

01/10/2026

What if timber could play a bigger role in how we deliver housing in the UK?

In a new article for PBC Today, Professor Robert Hairstans, our founding director of Centre for Advanced Timber Technology, explores what it would take to move towards a more timber-first approach to housebuilding.

The article looks beyond the material itself, considering how offsite manufacturing, skills, supply chains, procurement and collaboration across the industry all need to come together to make timber construction work at scale.

It’s an interesting look at how timber could contribute to faster, lower-carbon and more productive housing delivery and why this is ultimately a systems challenge, not simply a technology one!

Read the full article:

Professor Robert Hairstans of Edinburgh Napier University explains why timber works as a renewable resource for sustainable housebuilding

30/09/2026

What can storytelling teach us about engineering? 🎬

Join NMITE for an inspiring evening with engineer, filmmaker and creative leader Neal Hartman, exploring the unexpected relationship between science, creativity and engineering.

Designing and racing the world’s fastest tandem bicycle, producing TED-style talks at CERN and leading the CineGlobe Film Festival, Neal’s career has taken him from engineering and particle physics into film and design.

In this talk, he’ll explore how the structure of a great story can help engineers tackle complex problems, deal with setbacks, make better decisions and keep pushing an idea forward.

A fascinating event for engineers, students, designers, creatives and anyone interested in the relationship between science, technology and storytelling!

📆 26 October 2026, 6pm
📍 Blackfriars Campus, Hereford
🎟️ Free event, but places are limited. Advance booking is essential.
Book your ticket now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-stories-we-build-tickets-1994135925233?aff=oddtdtcreator

30/09/2026

What an incredible day at the Hereford Military History Festival! 🎖️

Last Friday we had 200 Year 5 and 6 pupils from schools across Herefordshire joining us for an inspirational hands-on engineering and history adventure.

The students got to crack codes, get up close with an Enigma machine, explore real military history artefacts, and hear from the team at GCHQ - clarify what GCHQ is perhaps?. They also got their hands on some robots and watched a drone display - what better way to connect the past of engineering to the future?

The day ended with a powerful reminder: the technologies that shaped history were built by engineers. The skills these young people already have? That's exactly what we need from the engineers of tomorrow. 💡

A huge thank you to everyone who made it possible and to the brilliant young minds who showed up curious, engaged, and full of questions!

24/09/2026

What if the career you really want wasn’t the one you originally planned for? 
 
If you’re already working but have started thinking about a career in Engineering or Construction, you might assume you’ve missed your chance, especially if you left school years ago or don’t have Maths or Physics A Levels. 
 
You haven’t! 
 
Our Foundation Course offers a different route into higher education, with flexible entry requirements and the support you need to build your knowledge before progressing onto one of our degrees in Engineering or Construction Management.  
 
You don’t need to know all the Maths or Physics. You’ll learn what you need with our dedicated academic support along the way. 
 
The Foundation Course starts this November, so there’s still an opportunity to take that first step towards a completely new career. 
 
If you’ve been thinking about making a change, this could be your route in! 
 
Find out more at nmite.ac.uk or call 01432 804500

22/09/2026

Moving away from home and living independently for the first time is a big change! It’s completely normal if it takes a little while to feel settled. You don’t have to have everything figured out from day one.

We’ve put together a few practical tips to help make the transition a little easier. 💙

And if things feel difficult, remember that you can always reach out to friends, your course team or student support. You don’t have to figure it all out by yourself.

Do you have any good tips and hack for living away from home for the first time? Share them in the comments! 👇

18/09/2026

Our new Autonomous Robotics degree has kicked off for 2026, and the BBC have been along to find out more! 🤖

Hear directly from NMITE students as they share what it’s like to be part of the very first cohort and what studying robotics at NMITE really involves 🙌

Thinking about joining them? This is your last chance to apply for September 2026, with a limited number of places still available!

Find out more and apply at nmite.ac.uk/apply-now or call 01432 804 500

18/09/2026

It's so exciting to see NMITE grow! 💙

This year, our biggest-ever cohort of degree students has started their studies in Hereford, with students joining Integrated Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Construction Management.

We’ve also launched something new: our very first Autonomous Robotics degree. 🤖 It’s great to see this new area of engineering becoming part of the NMITE experience, with students exploring robotics, autonomous systems and emerging technologies.

With more students, new academic staff and new opportunities to work with industry, there’s a lot to look forward to this academic year - while keeping the practical, hands-on approach and close support that students know NMITE for.

Still thinking about joining us? It's your last chance to apply for 2026 entry for our degree subjects (subject to availability) and spaces are still available for our Foundation Year that starts in November!

Find out more and apply at nmite.ac.uk/apply-now

17/09/2026

Sharing ideas, learning from others and helping shape the future of engineering education 🌍

This September, NMITE academics took part in the annual SEFI - European Society for Engineering Education conference in Prague, joining engineering educators from around the world to explore the theme “Engineering Education for Humanity”.

Professor Sarah Jayne Hitt, Associate Professor Peter Metcalfe and Assistant Professor James Atuonwu shared their work on topics including challenge-based learning and the use of AI in engineering education.

NMITE’s Centre for Advanced Timber Technology was also featured in a new SEFI handbook on transferable skills, with Professor Hitt and Professor Richard Lillington contributing chapters. Professor Hitt was also nominated as co-chair of SEFI’s Sustainability Special Interest Group and helped lead a workshop on bringing sustainability to life on campus.

Find out more about NMITE’s contributions and the work shared in Prague: https://nmite.ac.uk/news/2026/09/nmite-annual-conference-european-society-engineering-education-sefi-prague