Inspiring the next generation with Tomorrow’s Engineers Week 2026
Tens of thousands of students across the UK explored engineering and technology careers this week.
This year's theme, Shape our future, invited students to discover the topics of extreme heat, artificial intelligence and food waste through an engineering lens. Our free resources challenged them to create their own solutions and then reflect on how they could turn their inspiration into a STEM career.
Running from 9 to 13 November, the Week also showcased the people and careers helping to solve these real-world challenges. 30 career stories from across the engineering and tech industry were featured on our website to showcase some of the careers available and routes in.
Apprentices, T Level students, further education colleges, employers, professional engineering institutions, and individual engineers all joined the celebration on social media. Their stories were key to highlighting the breadth of careers all working to shape our future, and the varied routes into the industry.
We'd like to thank everyone who took part and helped make this year's campaign such a success.
Challenged to shape the future
Teachers played a vital role in bringing the week to life. Through hands-on activities, discussions and careers conversations, they helped students understand how the subjects they're studying today connect to future careers. Across the Week students developed problem solving, teamwork and creative thinking skills. The activities were designed to show that people from all backgrounds can play a part in shaping our future.
Schools have begun to share their students' designs with us. We’ll be featuring some of them on social media and on our website in the coming weeks.
Carrying on the careers inspiration
While Tomorrow's Engineers Week may have come to an end, the learning doesn't stop here. Schools can continue to download campaign resources, explore career stories and build on the conversations started during the week. If the Week has encouraged students to get into STEM, they can enter their Shape our future design challenge projects into The Big Bang Competition. We also have careers resources available to carry on conversations.
For many young people, the future can feel like something that happens somewhere else, done by someone else. With Tomorrow’s Engineers Week 2026 we want to change that. We hoped this year’s theme, Shape our future, would help young people recognise that the future isn't something that simply happens to them. It's something they can influence, contribute to and create.
We’re delighted with the response from schools and the engineering community to the campaign. Thanks to everyone who has helped make it a success!
— Jo Hollingdale, Senior Careers Inspiration Manager, EngineeringUK
