About the fire engineering scholarship programme
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry highlighted the need to improve capacity and skills in the fire engineering sector.
The Inquiry recommended the creation of a panel which produced an Authoritative Statement in Dec 2025: Fire Engineers Advisory Panel: Authoritative Statement - GOV.UK. This led to the identification of Next steps on fire engineering profession reform - GOV.UK which highlighted the need to:
- develop higher education provision
- provide scholarships for prospective entrants
- support research and academic capacity
The UK Government have set up a £70m Building Workforce programme to increase capacity and capability of safety-critical professions: £70m funding to address building safety professional shortages - GOV.UK, of which £13m is dedicated to the fire engineering education. It has also committed to regulating the fire engineering profession.
To help increase capacity and support the development of the next generation of fire engineering practitioners, researchers and innovators, the Fire Engineering Scholarship Programme (FESP) will provide eligible UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with:
- funding for the provision of full and part-time MSc scholarships in fire engineering for UK students to cover tuition fees and living costs
- funds for HEIs to support both a promotion and a marketing campaign for the scholarships
- funds for HEIs to develop and deliver awareness raising campaigns to support new entrants into the profession or engineers looking to upskill or reskill
This will help to increase the number of professionals in this safety-critical area of the built environment and boost economic growth in the UK through their contribution to building construction and remediation.
Strengthening of the fire engineering profession cannot be done without a strong fire engineering higher education sector offering innovative programmes of study, which are research-informed and up to date. These programmes are needed to upskill existing practitioners in fire engineering and related professions but also recruit new entrants into the profession.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
As part of the wider Building Workforce programme, HEIs can also apply to our fellow delivery partner at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for funding for:
- a doctoral training programme to support the next generation of researchers in fire engineering through a cohort based, highly tailored training programme
- the development of taught postgraduate (level 7 or equivalent) development programmes for the fire engineering community with innovative modes of study to cater for a range of audiences
- the development of level 7 or equivalent fire engineering continuing professional development training for the wider fire engineering community and adjacent professions wishing to upskill or re-train into fire engineering
The opportunity is listed on the UKRI funding finder as: Focal Award: EPSRC and MHCLG Fire Engineering Skills Hub.
Funder
This Fire Engineering Scholarship Programme and the Focal Award: EPSRC and MHCLG Fire Engineering Skills Hub are being funded by The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to increase the number of fire engineers and the availability of fire engineering education across the UK.
