UOA 12: Engineering

Engineering blog primary

REF Highlights 2021

Our outputs

70% of research outputs were judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour.

Our impact

75% of impact was judged to be very considerable in terms of reach and significance.

Our performance

This was a solid result for a first-time submission to a very competitive unit of assessment

Our REF submission

For REF 2014, all research in Engineering was submitted to UoA 11 (Computer Science and Informatics), combined with research in Computing. For REF 2021, a new integrated UoA 12 in Engineering was introduced which was better suited to the nature of our research.

The recruitment of 14 talented researchers during the REF 2021 period has allowed us to bring fresh thinking to a group of staff rich in industry experience and partnership working, and to build the impact of our work. The growth in our doctoral student population has driven growth in the number of PhDs awarded.

Our submission to this unit of assessment featured 16 people, 40 outputs, and two impact case studies:

  • Establishing Property Flood Resilience (PFR) in Flood Risk Management
  • Mobilising the Bio-Economy: Transforming waste to energy processes and practices

This area of our work also saw 13 doctoral awards and £1.5m research income during the REF 2021 period.

Our research

Research in Engineering is supported within the School of Engineering and Built Environment, housed in our Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment. Research undertaken by our staff is fully embedded within our taught programmes for our undergraduate and postgraduate students. 

Our staff include career academics and those who join us with extensive professional practice experience from industry, whom we nurture to become academic researchers.    

Our research combines theoretical work with applied research and encompasses the technologies and processes relevant to manufacturing, with additional expertise in applications of technology to environmental sustainability and the low carbon agenda.  

Much of our research is collaborative with end-users, focusing on developing solutions to industrial problems and societal challenges. Subjects include autonomous vehicles, bio-energy production, smart water networks and hydraulic modelling.  

Our results in detail

Figures relate to the percentage of the submission meeting each standard:

Profile4*3*2*GPA
Overall 3 58 36 2.61
Outputs 5 65 25 2.70
Impact 0 75 25 2.75
Environment 0 0 100

See our full results on the REF 2021 website.