The document summarizes a pilot study on understanding the impact of Engineering Doctorates (EngDs). It found that: 1) EngD graduates have higher rates of full-time paid work in non-academic sectors than Industrial PhD graduates. They also tend to earn higher salaries. 2) Industry partners value EngDs for the portfolio of projects, time researchers spend in industry, and control over projects. EngDs complement other programs and provide balanced skills. 3) EngD alumni pursue diverse careers, expanding from technical to managerial roles. Additional business/management training provides advantages.

1. Understanding the EngD Impact –
A Pilot study
Dr. Fumi Kitagawa
University of Manchester
26 November 2013
The AEngD Annual Conference, London

2. The Study contexts
• A pilot study aiming to understand the nature of the
EngD impact and to identify how it can be best
evidenced
• March-October 2013
• Sponsored and supported by the Association of the
Engineering Doctorates (AEngD) and the Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
• The final report will be available shortly.

3. Acknowledgements
• The study has been commissioned and supported by
the AEngD and the EPSRC
• I would like to acknowledge the support from the
following individuals for comments and inputs –
Prof P. Jeffrey, Dr O Kasyutich, Dr D. Stanley,
Dr S. Yeomans, Dr C Bachelor and Dr M. Wilson
• I would like to thank the following MBS students who
worked on the data collection between June-August
2013 - Syahirah Abdul Rahman, Tzu-Miao Lin,
Teimuraz Mamatsashvili, Meng Qiang, Ran Cai
(MBS, M.Bus Global Business Analysis students)

4. The Study focus
The primary target of the study is to understand the
impact of the EngD with specific focus on:
1) impact on industry partners - providing
evidence of the value of EngD project to industry
2) career pathways of REs- identifying how the
EngD experience shapes the career paths of EngD
graduates (EngD Alumni)

5. The Study - Research Design
• Desk top research
• The 2009 IDCs mid-term review (May 2011) –
18 IDCs (the AEngD member centres)
• Semi-structured interviews (June-August 2013)
- 20 EngD alumni (from IDCs/EngD centre)
- 15 Industry partners (10 types/sectors)
• HESA Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education
(DLHE) survey 2008/9-2010/2011
125 EngD; 201 Industrial CASE PhD graduates [initial
analysis]

6. Conceptualising the EngD impact
EngD inputs
EngD
scheme/programmes/
project levels
Economic
impact
Individual (RE, EngD
alumni);
Organisational
(sponsoring company, IDC);
Sector (Industry, HE) levels

7. Key factors influencing the EngD impact
• RE’s individual factors (e.g. age, gender, industry
experiences);
• characteristics of the EngD projects ; the nature of the
technology e.g. ‘technology readiness level’ , areas of
scientific disciplines;
• the academic environment and organisational factors e.g.
the history and characteristics of the IDC/EngD Centre;
• the nature of the sponsoring firm and the sector e.g. HR
policies, R&D and skills needs; industry problems;
• broader social and institutional conditions e.g. labour
market conditions, corporate governance structures and
R&D investment in the scientific fields.

8. Understanding the EngD impact
Economic
impact

9. EngD/IDC Economic impact “Key Metrics”
(Source: EPERC mid-term review; framework adopted from DTZ/EPSRC, 2011)
EngD/IDC inputs(2009-2013)
ESRC funding Leverage
Resources
Per IDC
Economic
Impact
Industry Cash
£2.5M;
£ 4.5 M
Across
IDCs
Outputs/
Outcomes
Estimated inkind
contribution
£2M;
University
cash and inkind
contribution
600 industry
partners
(over
20 years)
Industry
supervisor
time
Facilities,
equipment;
Academic
supervisor
time
Facilities,
equipment
See Table 8 in
the Report
“The total
additional
average
declared
contribution per
RE is £159K,”
a leverage of an
additional £1.77
for every £1
1400 REs trained invested by
Across IDCs
EPSRC
(2009-2013)

10. Understanding the EngD impact
RE/EngD
alumni
career
paths

11. HESA Destinations of Leavers of HE Survey
2008/09-2010/11 (restricted population)
• The data on destinations and career development of the
EngD graduates have not been systematically collected and
analysed.
• Initial analysis of the HESA Destinations of Leavers of
Higher Education (DLHE) Survey data was conducted
comparing the
EngD and Industrial CASE students funded by the EPSRC
between 2008/09 and 2010/11.
• There are 125 EngD graduates across the three cohorts and
201 Industrial CASE PhD graduates for the same period.

12. HESA Destinations of Leavers of HE Survey
2008/09-2010/11 (restricted population) – Initial analysis
• Demography of EngD
37.6% of the EngD graduates are over 30 years
old, as opposed to 22.2 % of the Industrial
CASE PhD
Age group
EngD (%)
25-29
62.4
Industrial Case
PhD(%)
77.6
30-39
25.6
17.9
40-49
10.4
0.99
50-59
1.6
2.4
60-
-
0.99

13. Demography
Gender
• Female EngD graduates are
17% compared to 23 % of
Industrial CASE PhD.
EU/Overseas
• Small number of students
comes from European
countries for both EngD
(5%) and Industrial CASE
PhD (7%) whilst there is no
information available in the
DLHE for those not
sponsored by the EPSRC
who come from outside the
EU countries.

14. HESA Destinations of Leavers of HE Survey
2008/09-2010/11 (restricted population) – Initial analysis
• How they found
employment
24% of the EngD
graduates found a job
as they “already
worked” there (e.g. the
sponsoring firm), whilst
10% of the Industrial
CASE PhD graduates got
a job where they
worked already.
• After the completion of
the programmes
91 % of EngD graduates
are in full time paid
work as opposed to
80% of Industrial CASE
PhD graduates.

15. HESA Destinations of Leavers of HE Survey
2008/09-2010/11 (restricted population) – Initial analysis
EngD destinations
CASE Industrial PhD destinations
85% of the EngD graduates work
in non-academic sector
Manufacturing sector
Professional, scientific and
technical activities
Education
Electricity, gas, steam and air
conditioning supply
Construction
Public administration and
defence; compulsory social
security
Information and Communication
66% of Industrial CASE PhD graduates
work in non-academic sector
32%
27%
15%
5%
5%
2%
2%
Education
Professional, scientific and
technical activities
34%
Manufacturing
Information and
Communication
Public administration and
defence; compulsory social
security
14%
19%
7%
3%

16. HESA Destinations of Leavers of HE Survey
2008/09-2010/11 (restricted population) – Initial analysis
For those who are in full-time
employment, 33% of the EngD
graduates earn more than
£35K per year, as opposed to
12.6% of the CASE PhD
graduates

17. HESA Destinations of Leavers of HE Survey
2008/09-2010/11 (restricted population) – Initial analysis
The initial analysis of the data seems to indicate that •The EngD students - more experienced older students than the
Industrial CASE PhD;
•The EngD graduates have higher rate of full time paid work than
Industrial CASE PhD graduates;
•Majority of the EngD graduates - likely to work in industry than in
academia
•About One in four REs seems to get a job at the sponsoring firm after
the completion of the programme;
•The EngD graduates tend to earn relatively higher than the Industrial
CASE PhD graduates when they are in employment.

18. Previous economic impact study
by PA Consulting Group/SQW Consulting (2007) shows
• EngD graduates,
relative to other PhD
graduates in similar
disciplines, enjoyed
significantly higher
salaries (between
£100,000 and £300,000
over their careers) as a
result of their training.
• The aggregate salary
benefit as £80 million, if
all achieve the highest
salary benefit, for an
EPSRC investment of
around £12 million.
(p.43)

19. Understanding the EngD impact
Industry partners- Sector impact

20. Highlights from the Industry interviews
The EngD programme is
seen as a unique scheme
and supported by the
industry partners because
of:
1) the “portfolio of the
projects” compared to
the specialised nature of
the PhD;
2) the time REs spend
within the industry,
which is much longer
than the PhD and
3) the direct contacts and
control industry
partners have over the
nature of the project.

21. Highlights from the Industry interviews
From an industry
perspective it is important
to have a “balanced
portfolio of R&D activities
and skills.”
It is argued that different
centre types – CDTs and
IDCs - complement the
R&D activities across the
industry sectors covering
different scopes of
technology and different
types of skills needed for
the future leadership and
technical research in
industry.

22. Highlights from the Industry interviews
Monitoring and rewarding
Rolling out impact
• Some industry partners have
more regular and rigorous
approaches of monitoring the
progress of the EngD projects,
including short-term impacts
• Embedding the REs as part of
their organisational
mechanisms; for example,
through reward and
recognition mechanisms[e.g.
energy, water management].
• According to one industry
partner [Retail], the
environmental technology
developed through an EngD
project has led to £5 million
cost saving.

23. Highlights from the Industry interviews
Wider skills development
• EngD programmes as
continuing professional
development (CPD).
• The EngD projects have also
had impact on the
organisational capability
through improved skills and
knowledge.
Sector-based approaches
• Sponsoring companies
sometimes work together
to solve the sector-wide
problems by identifying
common issues and cosponsoring EngD projects.

24. Highlights from the EngD alumni
interviews
• Career Typology of the
EngD alumni
- Prior / Post EngD
• Expanding from purely
technical/R&D
backgrounds to more
managerial roles
• a business/management
related qualification
seems to advantage their
professional status
•Link to the Chartered
Engineering status

25. Key recommendations from the industry interview
findings :
• The nature and diversity of industry sponsors –
existing and potential ones - has to be better
understood e.g. their motivations, R&D and skills needs
and perceived barriers for collaboration.
• A strategic monitoring and support to the RE by the
sponsoring firm would help better capture and roll-out
the outcomes of the EngD during the programme.
• A broader impact of the EngD programme through
supply chain relationships needs further investigation.

26. Key recommendations from the
EngD alumni findings :
• Diverse career development and pathways of the
former REs - more data sets and comparative
analysis needed.
• Former REs - vital agents who can communicate the
value and impacts of the EngD
• Closer alignment could be made between IDCs and
the AEngD, and professional bodies for alumni and
professional relationship building.

27. Thank you for listening• This is a ‘snapshot’ of the findings.
• Please see the report for the details when
available.