BAE Systems and the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering have partnered to launch a master’s degree in radio frequency and wireless systems engineering, BAE Systems stated.
The company said the MSc is aimed at addressing a critical shortage of specialist engineering skills in the UK, where demand for engineers with radio frequency expertise continues to outstrip supply. According to BAE Systems, RF technologies underpin systems ranging from wireless communications, radar and satellite navigation to medical imaging and critical infrastructure such as power grids and water systems, making the shortage a risk to national security, industrial resilience and economic growth.
BAE Systems’ Digital Intelligence business is providing the initial investment to launch the MSc and will help fund the first two years of the programme, including funding for an academic position. Engineers from the business worked alongside NMITE to shape the curriculum, and the company will continue to support delivery through guest lectures, technical masterclasses, industrial projects and mentoring.
Andrea Thompson, Group Managing Director of BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, was quoted in the press release as saying: “Radio frequency engineering underpins both our national security and our modern way of life, from secure communications and advanced sensing to healthcare, transport and next-generation wireless networks. But the demand for highly skilled radio frequency engineers continues to exceed supply. This new programme addresses that shortage, helping to develop the next generation of engineers by combining academic teaching with practical industry experience to support the long-term capability and resilience of the UK’s engineering ecosystem.”
Jesse Norman, Founder and Chair of NMITE and MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, was quoted in the press release as saying: “This partnership between BAE Systems and NMITE is an excellent example of how industry and education can work together to build vital engineering skills. Initiatives like this support high-value careers, strengthen our regional economy and help ensure the UK has the technical expertise it needs for the future.”
James Newby, President and CEO of NMITE, was quoted in the press release as saying: “Having successfully launched our MEng in Autonomous Robotics degree in partnership with the British Army in December 2025, this MSc reflects NMITE’s mission to develop highly capable engineers through close collaboration with industry. Working with BAE Systems enables us to create a Master’s programme that is both academically rigorous and deeply connected to the needs of modern industry. Students will benefit directly from engagement with practising engineers and exposure to genuine technical challenges throughout the programme.”
According to BAE Systems, the programme will equip students with advanced knowledge of RF engineering, wireless communications, sensing technologies, spectrum engineering and secure wireless systems, preparing them for careers spanning defence, aerospace, national security, law enforcement, telecommunications, healthcare and transport. Applications are not yet open, with prospective students able to register for updates.
Now this is the value add our armed forces give the country, that is undersold. Training and funding cutting edge technologies
With so many young people unemployed or on the wrong path, as a result of lack of opportunities HMG should really be looking at providing military based apprenticeships. Whilst this is more advanced, we need to start somewhere. UK has a massive shortage of engineers & STEMM+ workers, we need to find them from late bloomers & those that haven’t had a fair shake, the military is great at giving people an opportunity
Agreed this has far wider implications, Europe is now totally committed to a future without major US companies dominating these sectors unless they ring fence their operations (as with Google Cloud Services) to completely make them immune to the US Cloud Act which previously had been more a theoretical threat to non US communications but now being used as a direct political and economic weapon equivalent, indeed beyond Chinese intentions in the immediate future. So we are going to require all manner of talent with these sort of skills as the companies often involved in achieving this sort of European security have serious military interests like Thales and the capabilities required often or usually first fielded in a military application.
As an aside it will be interesting to see whether the UK adapts to or participates in European structures being fielded in France and Germany and soon much of the EU to resist the Cloud Act (and other US control) or will need to introduce its own independent networks… or simply bury its head in the sand of course as the US furthers its extra territorial influence over all our lives for its own political, economic and military benefit.
This is great news.
It will fill a huge training gap that has been around for a long time for Electronic Engineers
This should have been done by existing universities except too many are doing cheap not laboratory so called subjects. Reflects the sad state of “free market / choice” in education and BAE has to pick up the mess. How did UK come to throw away it’s technology base for the opinionated nonsense of today.