NMITE has challenged everything in existing higher education, except for one very important thing – quality. We are, by design, a (politely) disruptive game changer!  

Our unique model was born in 2009 when two people sat at a table with a blank sheet of paper. A lot has happened since then, and against all odds an exciting institution was born. Right for our times. Ready for a new generation. Different. Better. 

Supported by generous donors

Our success has largely been down to our generous supporters and donors. Alongside £27 million investment from central Government, money that the region would otherwise not have received, we’ve benefitted from support from businesses, individuals and charitable trusts.  

Most of our staff are also financial donors – a testament to their belief in our new educational model and commitment to our success. Since higher education is closely tied to economic growth, this investment means benefits for young people, as well as a huge long-term boost to economic growth across the county. 

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Associate Professor Peter Metcalfe delivering training - writing on a digital white board

Our timeline

We responded with resilience and ambition to the early challenges of launching during a pandemic, successfully securing registration as a new higher education provider in 2020. Since then, we’ve expanded significantly, creating a specialist portfolio of courses, developing two new state-of-the-art campuses, recruiting dedicated staff, and, most importantly, enrolling a diverse community of students. 

  • 2013:  New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) was incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital on 3 December 2013. 
  • 2018: NMITE was registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 5 January 2018.  
  • 2020: NMITE was registered as an English higher education provider with the Office for Students on 26 August 2020 and is subject to the OfS’s Regulatory Framework. NMITE is self-governing and legally independent but regulated as a public body. 
  • 2021: NMITE recruited its first students in September 2021, and for our first two years we worked with the Open University as our validating partner.  
  • 2023: NMITE was granted degree awarding powers by the Office for Students, commencing on 1st September 2023, enabling us to award our own degrees. 

The concepts behind NMITE

The NMITE Difference is not simply change for change’s sake: the need to educate passionate, curious, resilient, and agile engineers equipped with the skills and motivation to solve pressing problems has never been more urgent.  

There’s a surplus of sustainability problems in the world today, crying out for talented engineers capable of fully understanding problems, and all the complex considerations required to find solutions. From climate change to poverty, clean water to energy scarcity – there’s no shortage of challenges to overcome, yet there’s a shortage of engineers entering the workforce.

It's clear these problems require a new approach to education. They need an NMITE engineer. 

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NMITE integrated engineering students in study skills workshop

The Design Cohort

Today’s young people are remarkable - they have a lot to say and unlimited access to information and ideas. And at NMITE, we’re excited by risk and challenges. That (and not knowing exactly how to get started) is why we hired 31 young stars to help us design NMITE. We named them The Design Cohort. Discover how they helped to bring NMITE to life below

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The design cohort at NMITE

Our Principles and Founding Declaration

At NMITE’s Inauguration, we shared our Principles as part of our Founding Declaration. These steer the operation and growth of NMITE, as well as underpin the relationships with those closest to us. 

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NMITE Blackfriars campus in the sun with daffodils

A pledge to #bepartofit

NMITE’s origins are deeply embedded in the city of Hereford and the broader county. Whether it’s the value of working with local businesses, graduates entering the workforce or simply the vibrant hum that students bring to the community, we’re playing a strong role in making Herefordshire a great place to live, learn and work.   

Our strategy

We never intended to be like other universities. We take pride in celebrating the ‘NMITE Difference’ and being regarded as a game-changing institution. Our ambitious five-year strategy outlines what we will achieve, and where we’ll be after this next chapter in our story. 

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NMITE Skylon campus in Hereford
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Students in a studio observe oxford dynamics and their robot dog in action

Partner with us

Join our mission to shape tomorrow's work-ready engineers. From multinational corporations to charities and SMEs, our partners come in all shapes and sizes.

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Male and female student working together on a small autonomous vehicle

Donate to us

Your financial support can help the next generation of NMITE engineers to become career-ready and capable of making a real difference to our ever-changing world.