February 2021 marked the successful completion of the new £46.5M School of Engineering building at the University of Birmingham. The state-of-the-art 12,000 sqm facility spans across five floors and features a double-height atrium.
The unique development brings together many of the engineering disciplines from across the University whilst providing opportunities for successful collaboration between academia and industry. The facility’s contemporary and flexible design will also enable greater collaborative working between academics, researchers, students and staff.
With a focus on enhancing student experience, the new School of Engineering building will encourage undergraduate and postgraduate students to contribute to cutting-edge research and develop a strong connection to the engineering industry.
Our new home for Engineering includes:
- Open plan spaces and cellular facilities
- A dedicated Student Support Hub
- A new 179-capacity Design Centre
- 50-seat electronics and electrical focused project spaces
- 20 flexi-bays specifically designed for staff and student interactions
- Three 50-seat seminar rooms
- Expanded computer labs
- 160 drop-in study spaces
- A full-size set of railway points, the University's pantograph test rig and a test track for our scaled hydrogen-powered train
The new School of Engineering building sits alongside the £16.4M world-class centre of excellence in rail funded as part of the newly-created UK Railway Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN), which opened in November 2020. The Centre of Excellence in Digital Systems will focus on railway control and simulation, data integration and cyber security, condition monitoring and sensing, and improved methods for technology introduction. This builds on our existing strength in rail research.
The University of Birmingham is passionate about educating the next generation of engineers. Our new building provides students with the opportunity to work with engineers across multiple disciplines. Their learning will mirror the workplace, encouraging and developing their understanding of industry and their role within it.
Discover more about the new School of Engineering building.