Karen Usher

…who was central to the creation of an innovative new university with the aim of creating work-ready engineers while at the same time bringing a first university into the ecosystem of the county of Herefordshire. Originally working in the US with her own HR outsourcing business, Karen moved to the UK in 2004 and effectively retired from commercial work, focusing instead on working locally and undertaking projects such as the development of a hub meeting place and coffee shop for the community. In 2014 the local MP Jesse Norman began a quest to create a university in the county and, after writing to 100 US unis to see if they’d like to partner (and getting no response), he asked Karen to get involved. She led a small team to undertake the process and all soon realised that the only path forward was to create their own new university to meet the needs of the students and the economy of the surrounding area. The team spent 3-4 years learning what was needed, lobbying central government and defining how a new approach could address the desperate need for engineers. They found that engineering employers were needing to put recent graduates through up to 6 months additional training to make them ready for work. So the aim became to not just to achieve academic proficiency with the new university - the same as any other engineering institution - but to develop graduates already equipped with interdisciplinary capabilities of leadership, communication, business savvy and customer relations. The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) is the result. And it’s very different… Admission criteria do not include Maths and/or Physics at A-Level. Students “work” (read, learn and study) 5-day weeks from 9 to 5, 48 weeks a year (accelerating to receive an MEng in 3 years). There are no lecture halls, there are no exams, and there is no work outside the “normal” work week. Students tackle one topic every 6-8 weeks in teams of five, based around a real world challenge supplied by an employer partner, and representing the required learning. All learning is through collaborative working applied immediately to deliver a real solution to the employer partner as “client”. Having started from scratch, leaders and teachers (who only want to teach – not do research) and the first, bold students joined in 2021. The first MEng's have now graduated and 100% of students were employed within 8 weeks of graduation, all in engineering positions.  Some are working in Herefordshire (part of the objectives) and others with multinationals ranging from the nuclear industry to international food production. Fundraising is tough while you’re proving the model (and battling the regulatory requirements), but the initial £1million was raised from Herefordshire residents, government provided a further £27m and, over time double this initial funding, has been raised from businesses, individuals and charitable trusts. Most tellingly, a majority of staff are also financial contributors – serious commitment behind this bold, pioneering new idea.