Skills & Education | 11
Campaigning for timber sector education, training and skills development
HISTORIC MILESTONE FOR NMITE
NMITE recently held its inaugural graduation ceremony
“Graduates, if there is one defining trait of your NMITE journey, it is grit,” continued Mr Newby. “Grit is more than just staying power; it is the ability to push forward when challenges seem insurmountable. It is the courage to embrace uncertainty, to learn from failure, and to persist with purpose. You have spent years solving complex real-world problems, collaborating with industry, and learning by doing. You are graduating into a world that is more complex and troubled than ever with problems that don’t have any easy answer. You’re stepping into problems that don’t come with easy solutions or sometimes without any solution at all.
Above: NMITE’s first graduation day was held on May 10
On May 10, at Hereford Cathedral, NMITE celebrated the achievements of its inaugural cohort of 25 pioneering students, in a historic milestone for the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE).
When news of NMITE was announced in March 2019, it was recognised as the UK’s first new purpose-built university in over 40 years, designed to solve the UK’s ‘alarming’ engineering shortage.
The moment marks not just the culmination of the university’s unique journey, but a major landmark in the evolution of higher education in the UK. NMITE is one of a new breed of institutions seeking to revolutionise higher education by tying together academic knowledge, practical skills and professional learning. “NMITE was built on an ambitious vision – a belief that engineering education could be reimagined, that learning could be transformed, and that you, the students, could become the engineers and problem- solvers of tomorrow through an entirely new approach,” said James Newby, president and CEO of NMITE, in his address at the graduation ceremony.
“This institution exists because of the relentless faith and support of our founders, our industry partners, and our wider community. To all those who stood by us through the challenges, who believed in NMITE when it was still just an idea, and who continued to invest in its promise - you have not just built a university; today shows how you have shaped futures. Thank you.
“NMITE has tried to prepare you to work in ambiguity, to be used to that uncomfortable feeling of not knowing, to ask better questions and not just reach for the simplest answer. You have learnt to listen harder and work with those you might not always agree with – that’s rarer than you think, and it’s a skill the world badly needs.”
Since NMITE first opened its doors to students in
2021, it has demonstrated how a new model can offer something new to the university system and help young people, to become not just critical thinkers, but thinking doers. The new model has become a proven success. Since last year:
• Applications are up 77% • Offers are up 90% • Female applicants are up 175% • Local applicants are up 96%
NMITE’s innovative, hands-on learning model has now produced its first work-ready engineers who chose a bold new path in engineering education and are set to become the next generation of change makers. Today’s graduates are already making their mark on the world, with 100% of graduates seeking jobs already in work at some of the most prestigious engineering firms in the UK, including Balfour Beatty, Mondelez and Kier. ■
Supporting the Confederation of Timber Industries’ (CTI) Skills & Education initiative
www.ttjonline.com | July/August 2025 | TTJ
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