NMITE and the British Army celebrate the launch of new undergraduate degree in autonomous robotics
The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) has hosted an event in partnership with the British Army, celebrating the launch of its new MEng (Hons) Integrated Engineering (Autonomous Robotics) course.
The launch event was attended by Al Carns MP, Minister for the Armed Forces and was hosted by NMITE’s President and CEO James Newby. Current NMITE students also joined the celebration, displaying examples of autonomous systems, drone technologies and robotics.
Brigadier Mike Cornwell, Head of Future Force Development at the British Army, attended alongside members of the Experimentation and Trials Group, which includes soldiers who could be potential students of the new degree. Professor Alexandru Stancu, Chair at NMITE and Academic Lead for the new course, was also present.
“The curriculum has been designed from the ground up to combine rigorous engineering fundamentals with hands-on experience in autonomous systems, ensuring students engage with the technologies and challenges facing the country today,” Stancu comments. “I am incredibly excited to be involved and can’t wait to start working with students on this exciting project.”
The course, which was announced in December 2025, is due to welcome its first students in September 2026. Based on NMITE’s hands-on pedagogy, the degree will allow students to achieve a Master’s in Engineering in just three years, compared to the traditional four years.
NMITE says the degree will include a strong focus on the dual-use potential of drone technologies, reflecting how many technologies originally developed for defence are now used in civilian life, including GPS and the internet. Graduates will be equipped with the skills required to drive innovation in civilian, commercial, and humanitarian applications as well as defence.
“This degree reflects the scale of the opportunity in front of us – to equip the next generation of engineers with skills that matter now, and to quickly deliver positive impacts in terms of skills, defence and a security capability and regional growth,” Newby says. “The fact that we expect many local young people to take on the degree and build their futures with us, is incredibly exciting.”
