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OUR STORY

THE ACCIDENTAL ENGINEER

Unafraid to stand apart, James Dyson has always done things differently. After studying classics and art at school, he went on to do furniture design at the Royal College of Art. But instead of dowels and drawers, he found engineering. And with it, his passion.

"At school I opted for arts, put off by all the formulae in science. There was nothing that combined the two like design engineering does. I only stumbled on engineering by accident and immediately decided what I wanted to do - make things that work better". 

James Dyson, Inventor



DISSATISFACTION, REAPPLIED

THERE HAD TO BE A BETTER WAY

In 1978, dissatisfied with the performance of his new Hoover Junior, James had an idea. He'd spotted a local sawmill using cyclone technology to separate sawdust particles from the air. Could this work on a vacuum cleaner? James ripped off his Hoover's clogging, stinking bag and replaced it with a crude cardboard prototype of his cyclone design - and it worked!



PERSEVERANCE AND PERFECTIONISM

5,127 PROTOTYPES

James knew he was onto something, but it would take time to perfect his idea. Five years and 5,127 prototypes later, he created DC01, the world's first bagless vacuum cleaner.

TODAY

DYSON IS A GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISE

Fast-forward over three decades and Dyson has grown from one man with an idea, to a global technology enterprise. Dyson Technology Ltd now has a whole team of engineers, from acoustic to robotic, software to electronics, mechanical to design. They all use their diverse skills to solve the problems that others ignore.



ENGINEERING TOMORROW

THE JAMES DYSON FOUNDATION

Every year, the UK faces an annual shortfall of 59,000 engineers (EngineeringUK). Feeling strongly that bright minds shouldn't miss out on an engineering career, as James nearly did, he set up the James Dyson Foundation in 2002 to challenge misconceptions about engineering and combat the shortage.



GLOBAL AMBITION

THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE

The demand for engineers isn't limited to the UK. We need them all over the world. The James Dyson Foundation launched in the US in 2011, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and the Philippines. The Foundation also runs activities across other countries and regions, encouraging young people from across the globe to pursue an engineering career.

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OUR WORK

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