Oxford Engineering Summer School 2025 Ever wondered what engineers actually do? They’re the creative problem-solvers who design everything around you – from the phone in your pocket to the bridges you cross. While all engineers build solutions, their work splits into six exciting specialties, each with its own superpowers.
Take mechanical engineering: it covers both microwave ovens and washing machines. Same metal-box-with-buttons design, totally different tech inside! That’s the fun of engineering – one field can create wildly different inventions.
Originally there were just four main types (civil, chemical, mechanical, electrical), but today we’ve added aerospace and computer engineering to the mix. Want to test-drive these fields yourself? Our hands-on Oxford summer courses let you try them before university.
Oxford Civil Engineering Programs
Civil engineering is where it all began – the original engineering field that gave us roads, bridges, and awe-inspiring structures like Rome’s aqueducts. Today, it’s evolved into a dozen exciting specialties you could explore at our Oxford Engineering summer school 2025 :
- Building the Future: From earthquake-proof skyscrapers to eco-friendly bridges (architectural/structural)
- Earth & Water Experts: Mastering soil stability (geotechnical) and water systems (hydraulic)
- Transport Revolutionaries: Designing smarter highways, railways, and traffic solutions
- Planet Protectors: Creating environmental strategies and restoring ecosystems
While some call civil engineering the “broadest” field (it literally builds our world!), that’s what makes it perfect for hands-on learning. At our Oxford summer school 2025, you’ll test these skills through real projects – maybe even designing flood defenses or sustainable cities!
Discover Mechanical Engineering at Oxford Summer School 2025
Mechanical engineering is all about creating, improving, and mastering machines—from tiny gears to massive industrial systems. It’s one of the oldest and most versatile engineering fields, dating back to inventions like the wheel and early metalworking. Today, it branches into exciting specialties like
Acoustic Engineering – Shaping sound for better music, noise control, and tech
Automotive Engineering – Designing everything from electric cars to high-speed engines.
Manufacturing & Robotics – Building smart factories and advanced automation.
Thermal Engineering – Harnessing heat for energy, cooling systems, and sustainability.
Some areas, like aerospace and nuclear engineering, are growing so fast they’ve become fields of their own—and they’re in high demand worldwide!
At Oxford Summer School 2025, you’ll dive into hands-on projects, from building drones to optimizing energy systems, guided by leading experts. Whether you’re curious about cars, robots, or futuristic tech, this is your chance to explore mechanical engineering’s cutting edge.
Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering is all about turning basic materials into useful things we use every day – like medicine, fuel, plastic, and building materials. It’s a mix of science, creativity, and problem-solving that helps make the world a better place.
At the Oxford Summer School 2025, you’ll learn how chemical engineers work and why their job is so important. You’ll explore exciting topics like:
Petroleum Engineering – How we get oil from the ground and turn it into energy
Materials Science – How we make things like paper from wood or ceramics from clay
Plastics Innovation – How we create better, more eco-friendly plastics
Process Engineering – How we improve the way products like fuel and medicine are made
This is a hands-on course where you’ll do fun experiments, learn from real experts, and see how science is used to solve big problems around the world.
If you’re curious about clean energy, new medicines, or making the world more sustainable, this is the perfect place to start. Come and see what chemical engineering is all about – and maybe even find your future career!
Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering is all about using electricity to create things that help us in everyday life – like computers, phones, power systems, and more. It’s one of the main branches of engineering and combines science, maths, and technology to solve real problems.
At the Oxford Summer School 2025, you’ll get to explore how electrical engineers work and what they do. You’ll learn about exciting areas like:
Computers – Building computer parts and writing the software to run them
Control Systems – Using sensors and programs to control machines and devices
Software – Designing software that powers different types of technology
Power – Creating systems that generate and send electricity to homes and cities
Electronics & Microelectronics – Working with tiny parts like chips and circuits to send and process information
Telecommunications – Designing tools that help us talk, text, or video call across long distance
Some people say electrical oxford engineering is the toughest type of engineering because it needs both hands-on skills and deep thinking. You often work with very small parts, which makes it even more challenging – but also really interesting!
This summer, you’ll get the chance to try it out for yourself. With fun projects and expert support, you’ll see how electrical engineering helps power the modern world – and you might even discover a passion for it!
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering
Aerospace and aeronautical engineering is all about designing and building things that fly – like planes, helicopters, and rockets. Even though it’s part of mechanical engineering, it’s such a big and important field that it’s often treated as its own area.
Flying and space vehicles go through tough conditions – like big changes in air pressure, temperature, and strong forces. That’s why building them isn’t easy. It takes many types of engineers working together to make sure everything works perfectly.
Some key parts of this field include:
Avionics – the electronic systems in aircraft
Materials – choosing the right materials to handle heat, pressure, and stress
Structures – making sure the aircraft is strong and safe
Manufacturing – putting all the parts together to build the aircraft
Because it’s so complex, aerospace engineering needs people with a wide mix of skills. Instead of hiring different engineers for each part, many companies prefer to train aerospace engineers who learn a bit of everything first. Later, they can choose to focus on what they enjoy most – like materials, electronics, or design.
This means aerospace engineers are usually very dedicated. They build special skills just for this industry and often stay in it for a long time because they love it.
At the Oxford Summer School 2025, you’ll get to explore this amazing field, learn how flight and space travel really work, and maybe even discover a future career you’ll love.
Computer Engineering
Computer engineering is all about how computers are built and how they work. It brings together two big areas – electrical engineering (how electronics work) and computer science (how software works).
Computer engineers design both the hardware (like chips and circuits) and the software (programs and apps) that make our devices work.
You’ll learn many of the same things as in computer science, such as:
How computer graphics work (what you see on your screen)
How to keep data safe (network and cybersecurity)
But computer engineering also focuses on things like:
Microprocessors – tiny chips that power computers and smart gadgets
Computer architecture – how the parts of a computer are built and connected
VHDL – a special coding language used to design hardware
As technology gets faster and smaller, we need more computer engineers to build the smart devices of the future. That’s why many people think this is one of the best engineering careers to choose.
At the Oxford Engineering Summer School 2025, you’ll get the chance to explore computer engineering through hands-on activities. You’ll learn how computers really work – and maybe even build one yourself!
