Scholarships for aspiring fire engineers are being made available under a new £6.5m government-funded programme designed to strengthen skills and capacity in one of the built environment’s most safety-critical professions.
The Royal Academy of Engineering has been awarded the funding to launch its Fire Engineering Scholarships programme, which will support more than 200 full- and part-time MSc students over two academic years from 2027 to 2029.
The funding comes from the government’s £70m Building Professional Workforce Programme, established as part of its response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to increase the capacity and capability of safety-critical professions.
Of the £70m programme, £13m has been allocated to fire engineering education, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) appointing the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as delivery partners.
The initiative comes as the fire engineering profession undergoes significant reform following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, with a renewed focus on competence, accountability and professional standards.
The government has accepted recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry relating to fire engineering, including the need to regulate the title of ‘fire engineer’ and increase the number of places available on high-quality master’s-level courses.
Public confidence
Dame Judith Hackitt DBE FREng, a trustee of the Royal Academy of Engineering who led the government’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety following Grenfell, said the programme would help build a profession the public could have confidence in.
“The Grenfell Inquiry made clear that changes are needed to ensure that fire engineering is a rigorously regulated profession employing individuals with the skills, knowledge, behaviours and ethical commitments needed to keep people and buildings safe,” she said.
“It is good to see government taking action to regulate and increase capacity in this profession.”
UK higher education institutions are now being invited to bid for funding to provide the scholarships. They can also apply for support to promote both the scholarships and careers in fire engineering to prospective students.
Meanwhile, the EPSRC will coordinate funding for doctoral training and the development of postgraduate and continuing professional development programmes in fire engineering.
The Academy said the combined investment would help develop the next generation of practitioners, researchers and innovators, and support existing professionals in building their skills in an area critical to the safety of the built environment.
Higher education institutions have until 4pm on 3 November 2026 to apply for the scholarship funding.
