Brunel’s ‘academics and overalls’ work placements

Brunel University embeds work placements across 95% of its courses, ensuring every course has practical applications and draws on real-world developments like AI (which is now included in every degree module).

90% of Brunel’s home undergraduates come from underrepresented communities, showing the University’s continuing commitment to its founding principles to pioneer widening local access to the new university and meet the desire of then Labour prime minister, Harold Wilson, to create employable graduates who could do jobs the future economy needed.

This 'hands-on' approach, once described as 'academics and overalls', has allowed Brunel students – 74% of whom are 18- and 19-year-olds from the least advantaged backgrounds – to gain technical skills to get a headstart in the workplace or as an entrepreneur. As a result, Brunel was recently ranked in the top ten on multiple measures by the Social Mobility Commission.