Digital Engineering Technology and Innovation (DETI)
What is DETI?
The Digital Engineering Technology and Innovation (DETI) programme is investing in the future of digital engineering for our region.
The West of England is a hub for innovative Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) industries, and home to a thriving ecosystem of digital creatives and future arts industries.
However, there is a huge skills and employment gap in the UK for future engineers.

Industry partners
DETI is a strategic programme of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), delivered by the National Composites Centre, in partnership with;
- Centre for Modelling and Simulation
- Digital Catapult
- UWE Bristol
- University of Bristol
- University of Bath.
Industry partners include Airbus, GKN Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, and CFMS, with contributions from UWE Bristol, Digital Catapult and Siemens. DETI is funded by £5m from WECA, with co-investment from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and industry.
Skills development
UWE Bristol’s School of Engineering are leading the Skills Development branch of DETI, establishing an engineering engagement hub for the West of England, based at UWE Bristol's engineering building. Working in collaboration with key DETI partners and industry supporters they are delivering three programmes.
Inspire
Encouraging diversity and inclusivity, DETI Inspire engages children in primary and secondary education across the West of England, with a focus on disadvantaged areas. Using curriculum-linked engineering outreach and careers support, we are connecting children with real-life, diverse engineering role models to widen participation and aspirations for STEM careers.
DETI Inspire builds on the success of previous projects founded and launched by UWE Bristol, including Curiosity Connections – the network for inspirational primary STEM education in the West of England, and Women Like Me – a tiered mentoring project for women engineers, and has established the DETI Diversity Demonstrator - a network of high-quality diverse engineering career role models, supported by Inspire to interact with outreach events throughout the West of England.
Transform
Inspiring future generations, the DETI Transform programme plans to engage with further and higher education institutions to map and upgrade current taught provision and demonstrate how digital engineering can contribute to the sustainability goals for the West of England, leading into the next phase of clean and sustainable growth.
Innovate
To ensure the current and future workforce is digital ready, the DETI Innovate programme will examine the tools, technologies, and processes needed to rapidly accelerate engineering capabilities and identify the skills needed to embed a digital culture throughout organisations in the West of England. By undertaking a Skills Gap Analysis, DETI Innovate will map current roles within the design and manufacturing fields to digital skills, both current and future, to understand the gaps and help focus solutions.
Working with the existing engineering community DETI Innovate will ensure courses are ‘fit for purpose’ to build the workforce of the future. Working with established national and regional initiatives, short courses will be developed to enhance digital awareness and a Postgraduate conversion course for technical and non-technical graduates will equip them with the necessary digital skills to fulfil roles in a digital manufacturing workplace.
Further information
Find out more about DETI.
For further information about our DETI Skills programme contact deti@uwe.ac.uk.
You can also read about our progress on the Engineering Our Future blog.
Engineering Our Future blog
Follow our blog to keep in touch with what our current, past, and future engineers are up to and see the impact our students have in the world.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been in the news lately. UWE Bristol’s Professor Alan Winfield is a signatory of an international open letter, also signed by Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, asking for training of powerful AI systems to be suspended. Here Alan shares his views and expertise on the latest developments. Do you … Continue reading "Professor of Robot Ethics Alan Winfield shares his views on AI advancements and how society should respond"
Professor of Robot Ethics Alan Winfield shares his views on AI advancements and how society should respond
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Tickets are now available for the School of Engineering’s annual Family Fun Day on Saturday the 1st of July. The event runs between 10:00 and 16:30, tickets are FREE and can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/engineering-family-fun-day-tickets-578609144527?aff=erelexpmlt There will be a variety of activities throughout the day for families to enjoy including UWE’s robots, LEGO Mindstorm robot … Continue reading "Inspire Engineering Family Fun Day: Tickets Available Now! "
Inspire Engineering Family Fun Day: Tickets Available Now!
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This week, a multi-department team from UWE formed part of the Somerscience Festival, in Bruton. The festival, organised by the Somerscience Trust, invited local families and children to engage with STEM and get involved with lots of fun activities. The Somerscience Trust is a charitable incorporated organisation set up to advance the education of the … Continue reading "UWE team at Somerscience festival 2023, inspiring families with health science and engineering"
UWE team at Somerscience festival 2023, inspiring families with health science and engineering
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The UWE Bristol Turing Network is collaborating with Bristol University’s Jean Golding Institute to create a family-friendly public event at the Bristol Beacon on 8th June, which forms part of Bristol Data Week. The public is invited to join the conversation around ChatGPT, protecting vulnerable communities, and creating a sustainable future. Data is all around … Continue reading "Free event on collaborating with communities using data and AI to create more inclusive cultures"
Free event on collaborating with communities using data and AI to create more inclusive cultures
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Over 150 secondary students from schools across the region attended the event at the Aerospace Bristol museum on the 26th April. There were several different interactive and engaging sessions available based on the various challenges that the West faces as it hopes to move towards a more sustainable future; including transport, waste and retrofitting our … Continue reading "WECA Schools Summit brings together young voices, politicians and business leaders to discuss sustainability and green careers"
WECA Schools Summit brings together young voices, politicians and business leaders to discuss sustainability and green careers
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Laura Fogg-Rogers, Associate Professor for Engineering in Society, was recently featured on BBC Radio Bristol, where she talked about her work at UWE Bristol and her latest project. In the interview with host Steve Yabsley, Laura talked about how her work focusses on the relationship between people and technology, and her passion for sustainability, climate … Continue reading "UWE Bristol Academic Laura Fogg-Rogers discusses the university’s new Repair Café on BBC Radio Bristol"
UWE Bristol Academic Laura Fogg-Rogers discusses the university’s new Repair Café on BBC Radio Bristol
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A programme designed to inspire a future generation to take up roles in green engineering has been completed, with more than 20,000 local school children benefitting. Using curriculum-linked engineering outreach and careers support, the DETI Inspire programme connected primary and secondary school pupils with real-life, diverse engineering role models to widen aspirations for green STEM … Continue reading "Programme to inspire next generation of engineers reaches more than 20,000 pupils"
Programme to inspire next generation of engineers reaches more than 20,000 pupils
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UWE’s very own Appolinaire Etoundi spoke on Radio Bristol on 13th March about designing joints for amputees. Listen from 2h 20min into the programme at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0f488jc The show marked British Science Week by speaking to local scientists. Appolinaire’s story is fascinating and well worth listening to for 5 min!
Listen to UWE robotics expert on Radio Bristol
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