• Aston University Professor Claire Lucas is the dean of engineering and innovation at Aston University
• Her inaugural lecture is entitled ‘Unlocking the future: A Case for Key-shaped Engineers
• Professor Lucas is a principal fellow of Advance HE and a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Professor Claire Lucas, dean of engineering and innovation at Aston University, will give a public lecture about her work on 23 October 2025.

Her inaugural professorial lecture, ‘Unlocking the future: A case for key-shaped engineers’, will challenge the old idea that the “T-shaped engineer” – someone with broad knowledge and deep skills in one area – isn’t enough anymore.

In her talk, she will advocate an alternative kind of engineer, the “key-shaped” engineer. Professor Lucas said: “In today’s world of fast-moving technologies, sustainability imperatives and cross-sector challenges, the T-shaped model is no longer enough. ‘Key-shaped’ engineers not only have strong technical skills, but also understand big-picture thinking, sustainability, ethics, and creativity. They can work across different areas – from developing renewable energy to solving transport problems – and design solutions that really work for people.”

The professor will also talk about her design-first approach to teaching engineering at King’s College London, which helped students become more confident, creative, and ready for the real world.

Professor Lucas is a principal fellow of Advance HE and a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). She has held senior academic leadership roles and previously worked in industry at Jaguar Land Rover. Nationally, she has influenced policy and standards as deputy chair of the 2022 QAA Subject Benchmark for Engineering, as an IET academic accreditor, and as a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Education and Skills Committee.

Now dean of engineering at Aston University, she continues to push for education that prepares students to make a real difference.

As a woman from a working-class background and a first-generation university graduate who is now in leadership in higher education, she is committed to widening participation and creating opportunities for students from all backgrounds and places. She was recognised as one of the UK’s Top 50 women in engineering in 2020 and received the Women’s Engineering Society prize at the IET’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards in 2019 for her work on gender diversity in engineering education.

At Aston University, Professor Lucas provides strategic leadership for the School of Engineering and Innovation, aligning its work with Aston’s 2030 Strategy. In her role, she is building a new identity for engineering at the University and strengthening its reputation nationally and globally, driving academic excellence, impactful research, and industry partnerships.

The lecture on Thursday 23 October 2025 will take place in the Susan Cadbury Lecture Theatre at Conference Aston. The public lecture will begin at 18:00 hrs with refreshments served from 17:30 hrs. The event is free of charge and will be followed by a drinks reception. The lecture will also be streamed online.