How Tomorrow's Engineers Live helps the sector collaborate
Since 2022, Tomorrow's Engineers Live has brought together employers, educators and STEM outreach professionals to share ideas and tackle common challenges. With more than 500 delegates across 5 sold-out conferences, the annual event helps strengthen collaboration across the sector. As EngineeringUK celebrates its 25th anniversary, discover how Tomorrow's Engineers Live is bringing organisations together to inspire the next generation.
Inspiring more young people to consider careers in engineering and technology is a challenge no organisation can tackle alone. Across the UK, employers, educators, professional engineering institutions and STEM outreach providers are working to introduce young people to the opportunities engineering and technology offers. But with so many organisations delivering different activities, finding a way to share knowledge and work together isn't always straightforward.
That's the challenge we set out to address when we launched Tomorrow's Engineers Live in 2022.
Creating space for collaboration
What began as an opportunity for STEM outreach professionals to connect has become an annual touchpoint for organisations working to inspire the next generation.
Since the first Tomorrow's Engineers Live in 2022, we’ve held 5 packed conferences, with a sixth event will take place on 9 February 2027. The Royal Academy of Engineering, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Institution of Civil Engineers have generously hosted the events over the years. And we’ve been grateful for support from ERA Foundation, Network Rail, Shell and Thales too.
Tomorrow’s Engineers Live brings together people who might otherwise have few opportunities to exchange ideas, from employers and education leaders to charities and STEM outreach providers. Through talks, workshops and delegate-led discussions, we invite participants to explore how to make engineering and technology enrichment more accessible and inclusive.
Recent conferences have tackled issues including social mobility, gender equity and how organisations can share learning from their STEM outreach activities. Young apprentices have also shared their experiences, helping delegates understand how outreach can influence young people's career choices.
Turning conversations into connections
The real value of Tomorrow's Engineers Live lies in what happens when people with different experiences, insight and expertise come together. Delegates can share successful approaches, discuss common challenges and identify opportunities to work with organisations they might not otherwise meet.
Feedback from the latest event suggests those connections have the potential to lead to further collaboration. Almost 9 in 10 delegates said they were likely to begin new collaborations with organisations they'd met at the conference.
The conference also introduces organisations to The Tomorrow's Engineers Code. This framework brings together more than 400 organisations committed to increasing the number and diversity of young people entering engineering and technology careers.
Shaping what comes next
Tomorrow's Engineers Live continues to evolve in response to the needs of the sector. Discussions during the conference and feedback from delegates help shape future events, ensuring the programme reflects the challenges organisations are facing.
As we look towards our next 25 years, bringing people together will remain essential to achieving our mission. Tomorrow's Engineers Live demonstrates the value of creating space for organisations to share expertise, challenge one another and find new ways of working together. Because inspiring the next generation of engineers and technologists isn't simply about what individual organisations can achieve. It's about what becomes possible when the community works together.
