Over the last 2 years, 300 aspiring engineers from across Staffordshire have taken part in Next Engineers : Staffordshire Engineering Experience - a week-long programme which enables young people to become immersed in the engineering design process and complete design challenges inspired by real-world scenarios. The experience enables students to forge connections with other aspiring engineers and transform them into enthusiastic explorers of the future.
The Next Engineers : Staffordshire Engineering Experience, which has become a firm favourite in The Inspirational Learning Group’s calendar, will return in August 2025 and is aimed at students who have just completed Years 9 and 10 who live in the greater Staffordshire area.
“I’m interested in the Next Engineers:Staffordshire Engineering Experience - what can I expect?”
Throughout the week-long experience, 100 students will be introduced to the engineering process through design challenges inspired by real-world scenarios. Students will also take part in field trips to University of Staffordshire and GE Vernova site, with opportunities to work closely with a professional engineering faculty and facilitation staff from The Inspirational Learning Group.
The week is guaranteed to spark young people’s interest in engineering career paths and to raise aspirations for their future educational paths, whether that be university or apprenticeships.
The experience is open to students who either live or go to school in Staffordshire,
“This sounds great, when and where is it?”
Engineering Experience will be held at TILG HQ - Stafford Education and Enterprise Park, Stafford, ST18 0BF.
Experience sessions will run daily from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday each week and young people will be able to choose their preferred week:
- Monday 4th to Friday 8th August
- Monday 11th to Friday 15th August
TILG will arrange transport to and from each session for each participant (usually utilising the student’s school as the meeting point) - pick up and drop off times will be communicated to participant’s parents and guardians prior to the start of the experience.
“How much will the experience cost?”
The experience is completely free of cost and all young people will also receive breakfast and lunch each day, which also includes a packed lunch for the field trip day!
“This sounds like something I would like to be invovled in! How do I go about applying?”
Applications are now open! Use the below link to apply for your spot:
https://www.nextengineers.org/form/staffordshire-engineering-experience-application-2025
The closing date for applications is Friday 28th March, with successful applicants notified by Friday 25th April.
Eligible students will be selected based on a lottery system, with students who have not attended a previous Engineer Experience given preference over students who participated in 2024.
For further information on the application process, please visit: https://www.nextengineers.org/how-apply-engineering-camp
Don’t just take our word for it, we asked our previous participants and their parents to share their thoughts about their Engineering Experience:
“Fantastic week and my son enjoyed every minute. Thank you to all your team for giving him such a wonderful and memorable experience” – Parent
“We discovered that being enthusiastic and learning from mistakes is an important part of engineering!” – 2024 participant
“We’ve loved this week! It’s shown us that engineering isn’t just for men, it’s for everyone!” – 2023 participant
Ben Dyer, co-founder of The Inspirational Learning Group said, “We are delighted to be running the Next Engineers : Staffordshire Engineering Experience for the third year. In previous years, we have been blown away by the number of applications that we receive and we expect similar application figures this year - demonstrating the significance of the experience to young people in the Staffordshire area, We are so proud to be a part of this initiative with Next Engineers and GE Vernova and look forward to welcoming 100 aspiring engineers to our HQ this summer!”.
