Summer Schools
Engineering Summer School
Forge your career in engineering on our incredible summer school.
Why Choose Our Engineering Summer School?
- Incredible engineering summer school in London
- Designed for ages 15-18
- Work alongside aeronautical, material, civil and biomedical engineers
- Amazing site visits to a working airfield and supercar facility
- Boost your university application
Students from
countries around the world
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of students
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students since 2012
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Launch your career in engineering
Engineering Summer Course with Dukes Plus
Ambitious about becoming an engineer? Take your first step with our engineering summer school.
Explore the different fields within the industry, including aeronautical, material, civil and biomedical engineering. Take on fascinating projects under the guidance of professional engineers – with a minimum of 25 hours’ contact time with professionals per week.
With site visits to a working airfield and Europe’s largest Supercar facility, you’ll experience the cutting edge of a career in engineering. And with UCAS accreditation on offer, our summer school is the perfect way to boost your university applications.
Discover more about our engineering summer school and book your place today.
Our immersive career experiences are delivered by InvestIN, a provider of life-changing career experiences since 2012.
UCAS Accredited
Our Engineering Summer School
Interested in becoming an engineer? Join us on The Engineer Summer Experience in London, designed for students aged 15-18.
During this engineering summer school, you will:
– Design high-performing aerofoils with a Rolls-Royce engineer
– Rig and derig a glass fibre glider on an airfield
– Visit a cutting-edge supercar facility
– Design and code a robot buggy using Arduino
You’ll be taught by experienced professionals in the industry and receive career coaching on university choices and ways into the industry.
Hosted at the UCL campus in London, you’ll also experience what it’s like to study at one of the world’s top universities.
Book now and watch your career in engineering take flight.
Engineer Summer Experience
- Price
- Duration
- Location
- Ages
- Start Dates
- From £2,290
- 1-2 Weeks
- UCL, London
- 15-18
- 5, 19 Jul & 16 Aug 2027
View Brochure
To learn more about our engineering summer school, view the programme brochure.
24/7 Safeguarding
And pastoral support, including a nominated Pastoral & Activity Leader, and a dedicated house parent for residential students.
Coaching from professionals
Minimum of 25 hours of contact time with professionals per week – with coaching and networking opportunities.
Exclusive site visits
Excursions to up to 5 professional workplaces and venues, so you can witness firsthand what a job in your industry looks like.
Career simulations
Immersive, hands-on workshops and activities which replicate the experience of working at the cutting edge of your chosen career.
Why Book Our Engineering Summer School?
With a minimum of 25 hours of contact time with professionals per week, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from experts in engineering. Whether you’re receiving personalised career coaching on breaking into the industry or exploring the innerworkings of a petrol engine in a live teardown under the guidance of a mechanical engineer, you’ll learn what life is like as an engineer, master some invaluable skills, and get a competitive edge when applying for university and jobs.
You have the option to gain a UCAS-accredited qualification on completing the engineering summer school. This will provide you with UCAS points to support your application to university.
Discover the variety of fields within engineering, including mechanical, aeronautical, civil, material and biomedical engineering. During our engineering summer school, you will work alongside expert engineers who will guide you through fascinating projects within each of these disciplines, allowing you to explore which interests you the most.
Dive into life as a working engineer on our incredible site visits. Visit a working airfield and learn from aeronautical engineers in a series of hands-on flight simulator challenges, then explore Europe’s largest Supercar facility and come face-to-face with the developments over the past 100 years in automotive engineering.
Testimonials
Our Engineering Summer School Campus
Learn more about where you’ll be studying on our our engineering summer school.
Ages 15-18
University College London
At University College London (UCL), students aged 15-18 discover thrilling career possibilities. All our immersive career experiences take place at UCL, where students can experience living and studying at one of the leading universities in the world. With the thriving professional culture of London on your doorstep and exclusive site visits to some of London’s top firms, it’s the ideal place to launch your career.
- Price
- Duration
- Start Dates
- From £2,290
- 1-2 weeks
- 5, 19 Jul & 16 Aug 2027
Socials and Special Events
Beyond the Timetable
Discover more of London
At the weekend, residential students have the chance to get out and explore. Activities include a guided London walking tour and a sports day in one of central London’s parks.
Available to residential students only.
Celebrate what you have achieved
The programme concludes with a graduation ceremony recognising students’ work and achievements during their time at summer school – a chance to reflect on the experience and celebrate together.
An exclusive evening of professional connection
Reserved exclusively for students on the 2-Week Enhanced programme, the gala dinner is one of the most memorable occasions of the summer. Held on the penultimate evening, it brings students together for a formal dinner and a special networking event with professionals.
It offers valuable exposure to professional conversations and networks at an early stage – as well as a memorable way to mark the end of the programme.
Available to 2-Week Enhanced students only.
Meet your tutors
Our Engineering Professionals
Ella is a Materials Engineer leading metallic material science research and development on all McLaren Automotive products. She is the winner of the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year 2020, McKinsey NGWL 2022, and Surrey 40 under 40.
- Ella Podmore MBE
- McLaren Automotive
- Materials Engineer
Bhavik is currently a Business Change Specialist at Rolls-Royce, with previous experience as a Capability Development Manager, and Thermofluids Technologist. After completing his Aeronautical Engineering degree at Imperial, he went on to become a Satellite Propulsion Technical Lead and invented a first-of-its-kind satellite.
- Bhavik Batt
- Rolls-Royce
- Business Change Specialist
Eoghan is an Aircraft Asset Manager at Virgin Atlantic. His previous roles include working at Rolls-Royce as a Materials Engineer, Demonstration Lead Engineer on Civil Nuclear Design, and British Airways Service Representative. He completed his masters of Engineering at the University of Nottingham and holds a Yellow Belt in the Six Sigma Principles.
- Eoghan Sweeny
- Virgin Atlantic
- Aircraft Asset Manager
Mimi is I am a multi-award-winning civil engineer from the University of Portsmouth who was named as one of the ‘Top 50 women in Engineering 2021’. She has worked for Multiplex, WSP, Sir Robert McAlpine, and currently Heathrow.
- Mimi Nwuso
- Heathrow Airport
- Civil Engineer
Pavandeep currently works as the Combat Systems Product Lead at BAE Systems. He has experience working in multiple engineering functions and domains across the defence industry, namely air and maritime, with a specialisation in autonomous systems.
- Pavandeep Bhogal
- BAE Systems
- Combat Systems Product Lead
Gabriela is a Chemical Engineer at Rolls-Royce. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Saskatchewan and her masters in Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham. She has experience working across the full product development lifecycle through rotation placements in Energy and Sustainability, Aerothermal Core engineering and more.
- Gabriela Gosnell
- Rolls-Royce
- Chemical Engineer
Tutors may change from year to year.
Course Content
What Will I Learn?
On our engineering summer school, you’ll receive an incredible induction into a range of engineering disciplines – through teardowns, builds, and coaching from seasoned professionals.
Apply core engineering principles to structural design challenges, working within realistic constraints to develop, build, and test your ideas. You’ll collaborate in teams and see how engineers balance strength, efficiency, and performance.
Explore the physics of flight and learn how aerospace engineers approach aircraft design. You’ll develop and test aerofoils, investigate flight systems, and tackle challenges inspired by both commercial aviation and space exploration.
Discover how mechanical engineers design, analyse, and improve complex machines. You’ll explore engines, vehicle aerodynamics, and the transition from petrol to electric technology on a visit to a supercar facility.
Learn how hardware and software work together in modern engineering systems. You’ll interpret electrical schematics, programme a robot using Arduino, and apply core electrical engineering principles to a working design.
Explore how engineers select, test, and apply materials in fields ranging from electronics to healthcare. You’ll investigate graphene and metallurgical failure, as well as prosthetics, motion capture, and biomedical design.
Learn what it takes to progress towards a competitive engineering career, from university choices to applications, CVs, interviews, and work experience. You’ll also meet practising engineers, ask questions about different career paths, and receive professional feedback on your work.
Get started
Choose Your Date
Pick the start date that suits you and secure your career experience.
Credentials for your applications
A Recognised Certificate of Achievement
After graduation, every student can earn a personalised digital certificate recognising their achievement to use on their UCAS applications.
Students who attend a 2-Week Summer Experience will also receive an industry reference letter, signed by professionals, outlining what they have achieved over the course of the programme.
We can also be included in the UCAS extra activities section, and we are an approved provider for the Gold Residential section of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
Earn UCAS Points for Your University Application
Students who complete the 2-Week or 2-Week Enhanced programme will have the chance to earn a Level 3 Work Experience qualification, worth 8 UCAS points – a boost for UK university applications.
FAQs
Our programme covers a wide range of engineering disciplines, including:
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Civil and structural
- Materials
- Electrical
- Biomedical
On our engineering summer school, students will go on site visits to locations including a supercar facility and working airfield. They will take part in engineering challenges like designing an aerofoil or performing an engine teardown under the supervision of professional engineers. Our tutors are subject experts and working engineers with many years of experience. To learn more about the programme, view the Engineer Summer Experience here.
Accommodation is available if required on our engineering summer school. This also includes meals, guardianship, 24/7 safeguarding, and a programme of social activities and excursions in evenings and at weekends.
Please select this option when booking the summer school.
Simply select your chosen start date, duration, and other add-ons on this page, and click ‘Book Now’. You will be taken to a booking form, where you will need to fill out both the parent’s and student’s details. The process takes just a few minutes.
To secure your place, you can choose to make the whole payment upfront, or to pay a deposit of £950, with the remainder of the payment taken nearer the programme start date.
Of course. If you have any questions, simply fill out this form and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Absolutely. Around half of our students are from the UK or US, with the other half from other countries around the world. We have welcomed students from 100 nationalities and are proud to have a global student community.
We offer accommodation and airport transfers as optional extras if needed; please select these during the booking process.
You need to have a minimum English level of B2 (intermediate) to attend this course.
Yes. About half of our students attend as day students. The programme content is exactly the same for day and residential attendees.
We do not have an application process. Bookings for our engineering summer school are taken on a first come, first served basis.
No. We do not expect any of our students to have any prior knowledge, simply a keen interest in engineering!
We introduce each topic at an introductory level, with guidance from our industry professionals. There are also opportunities to work towards more advanced concepts where students feel comfortable.
Have a Question?
Fill out the form and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Make the most of your evenings
Residential students can enjoy a varied programme of evening activities designed to bring the group together in a relaxed setting. Depending on the programme, activities may include movie nights, a board game café, sports and games, wellness evenings, quizzes, scavenger hunts, and craft nights.
Available to residential students only.