Description of impact
The activities of the West Midlands Military Education Committee are to do with matters of national and international security, and on collaborations that foster education on these matters: knowledge, preparedness, training, resilience.As part of the Haldane Reforms which restructured the British Army, the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 established the University Officer’s Training Corps and with them, a legal requirement for universities to establish a Military Education Committee (MEC) to ensure the provision of military training to the student body. While that mission has evolved over time the central relationship between the military service units and the universities from which they draw students has continuously been facilitated by the existence of the MEC’s.
Dr Hamourtziadou has been a member of the WMMEC for two years. The committee of over 100 delegates meets at least biannually to oversee activities and discuss security, the UK Armed Forces, and the role UK Universities can play. As members, our role is:
• To oversee and monitor the work of the three University Service Units: The Royal Naval Unit; Officers Training Corps; and University Air Squadron, and to liaise with them in order to advise and make recommendations where appropriate.
• To receive annual reports at an AGM on the activities of the military service units.
• To advise the constituent Universities on matters relating to military education.
• To encourage and promote an interest in military education within the Universities.
• To liaise with the three Services, making recommendations or advising on matters relating to the appointment of commanding officers and senior honorary posts in accordance with the arrangements established by each Service.
• To foster arrangements to promote equal and beneficial partnership between the Council, the MEC, the MoD, and Universities.
• To liaise with the Council of Military Education Committees, which is the national body of Military Education Committees.
Strong alignment between the Council of Military Education Committees (COMEC) and MEC activity with the Strategic Defence Review’s central premise that defence is a collective societal endeavour. Universities were repeatedly identified as critical civic institutions with a unique concentration of young people, skills development, and social influence, yet currently under-leveraged within defence education and resilience frameworks.
Framing military education around employability, transferable skills, widening participation, and civic contribution emerges as the most credible and inclusive narrative for engaging universities, students, and student representative bodies, while remaining consistent with SDR objectives.
Strategic recommendations:
COMEC should lead a structured process with MECs to agree and articulate a clear national statement of purpose, supported by flexible but consistent Terms of Reference and shared success measures. This framework should clearly define authority, expectations, and value to cadets and universities.
MECs should move from episodic or transactional engagement toward sustained, relationship-based models, including named points of contact, mentoring approaches, and regular touchpoints with cadets. COMEC should lead workshops to develop a stronger partnership and cohesive process and provide strategic guidance and assurance to ensure national coherence.
MECs, supported by COMEC, should explicitly adopt a bridging role between academic institutions, service units, and welfare systems. This mediation should aim to normalise cadet participation within university life and reduce reliance on informal or ad hoc arrangements.
There is a strong case for nationally endorsed, standardised university policy frameworks that protect and normalise cadet engagement. COMEC should identify where policy levers sit above its direct authority and engage strategically with those stakeholders.
COMEC should set clear national principles and expectations while enabling bespoke local implementation that reflects institutional culture and governance. Consistency should be achieved through shared frameworks, not rigid uniformity.
Cadet-generated insight should be treated as legitimate evidence and systematically embedded in policy design, communications, and evaluation. COMEC should endorse creative and qualitative methods and ensure active feedback loops across MECs.
Success should be measured not only by activity or awareness, but by outcomes: improved recruitment and diversity aligned with SDR targets, demonstrable policy change within universities, and evidence of cultural normalisation of military participation.
The activities of the WMMEC and its engagement with the Council of Military Education Committees make a significant contribution to the objectives of BCU Strategy 2030. Through its oversight and promotion of military education, the WMMEC supports the development of transferable skills such as leadership, resilience, and teamwork among students. By framing military education in terms of employability and personal development, rather than sole recruitment, this activity contributes to the University’s aim of producing career-ready graduates equipped with practical experience and the ability to succeed in complex, real-world environments.
| Impact level | Engagement |
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