Royal Academy of Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering is the United Kingdom's national academy for engineering, founded in 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering and granted a Royal Charter in 1983. It is a registered charity based at Prince Philip House in London, with HM King Charles III as patron, and marks its fiftieth anniversary in 2026. UK government and official development assistance funding is channelled into international programmes, which is why the Academy is a significant funder in Africa despite being a national body. Its flagship African programme is the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, established in 2014, which supports sub-Saharan African engineers commercialising an innovation. Africa Prize businesses have been supported across 22 countries; the Academy reports that 71% of graduates now generate revenue and that alumni have collectively raised US$34 million.