The Office for Students (OfS) has today published bidding guidance for a new £80 million funding competition which was announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Department for Education (DfE) on 5 February 2026.
The funding is provided by the MoD and will be distributed to successful universities and colleges by the OfS after considering bids. It will lead to an increase of approximately 2,400 student places focused on computing and engineering courses over the next three academic years, and support institutions to develop new, cutting-edge teaching facilities.
The funding competition will:
- support the target set out in the Post-16 education and skills white paper for two-thirds of young people to participate in Level 4 study or higher
- increase student places in computing and engineering courses, supporting MoD’s strategic workforce priorities by boosting the number of graduates for defence-related skills and roles
- support the ambition set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy to develop a highly skilled workforce that enables the UK’s defence industry to meet the objectives of the Strategic Defence Review.
Successful bidders will demonstrate:
- how they will increase the number of students in Level 4-6 courses in computing and engineering
- how these courses are relevant to careers in defence or related industries and in line with Local Skills Improvement Plans
- any links already in place with the defence industry through teaching and other higher education activity and the way in which the institution will support students to consider careers in the defence or related industries.
Today the OfS has published the bidding guidance and template to apply for the funding, with the submission window open until 20 March 2026. Successful bids will be confirmed in late spring 2026, to allow activities to commence from the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
For further information on the funding competition, please contact defence@officeforstudents.org.uk.
Notes
- The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. We have a new strategy for 2025 to 2030 which seeks to ensure that students from all backgrounds benefit from high quality higher education, delivered by a diverse, sustainable sector that continues to improve.