Engineering Educates brings hands-on engineering to the classroom
Published 10th November 2025
Engineering Educates Robotics Challenge equips primary and secondary teachers with practical engineering challenges designed to inspire 7 - 14 year-olds to think like engineers. The programme focuses on real-world sectors such as robotics, civil and mechanical engineering, and agriculture, blending design and technology, science, and computing to link learning with future careers.
The latest UK STEM skills pipeline report highlights ongoing concerns about skills shortages, with 49% of engineering and technology businesses reporting recruitment difficulties. SEERIH addresses this long-standing issue by supporting teachers, the key influencers of pupils’ learning, embedding engineering concepts into engaging lessons and helping young people understand the relevance of these skills in the workplace.
A launchpad for future engineers
Design and technology has emerged as a natural route into engineering in schools. Engineering Educates Robotics Challengeraises the profile of the subject while helping pupils appreciate the role of engineering in modern technology and industry. While government curriculum changes are unlikely to introduce engineering as a standalone subject, the programme shows how teachers can confidently integrate engineering into lessons through making, tinkering, and problem-solving.
How it works
Launched in 2017, Engineering Educates is a non-competitive, inclusive campaign that encourages curiosity and creativity in junior and lower secondary pupils. Grounded in research with the Royal Academy of Engineering, it fosters a culture of making across the curriculum. Each two-year cycle focuses on a different engineering sector, with the current campaign centred on robotics. Teachers have access to:
- Teacher notes and pupil resources aligned to the National Curriculum for England and the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence
- EngEd Toolkit, including templates, prompts and technical guides to support designing and making
- Careers Chats, featuring profiles of diverse engineers and innovators working across the UK
- Webinars, training events, and showcase exhibitions
Bringing engineering to life
Challenges such as The Secrets Within Challenge demonstrate how pupils can apply their learning to real-world contexts. In this activity, pupils design and build robots to navigate hard-to-reach spaces, incorporating motors, sensors, buzzers, and bulbs. They write their own design specifications, create sketches to communicate ideas, and consider how their designs are fit-for-purpose. These challenges combine science, computing, and design and technology skills in a meaningful, hands-on way, while introducing pupils to the people and careers connected to engineering.
Engineering Educates empowers teachers to bring creativity, problem-solving, and practical engineering into their classrooms, giving pupils confidence, curiosity, and skills for the future.
For further reading and classroom inspiration, teachers can download the PDF article featured in the latest issue of Practice magazine.
