Cranfield University

Cranfield is one of the top five research-intensive universities in the UK. As a wholly postgraduate university, specialising in science, technology and management, we are different to any other higher education institute in the UK.  Positioned between traditional universities and business and industry, we combine the academic rigour and long-term perspective of a university with the commercial and business focus of industry.  Our specialist expertise combined with excellence in strategic and applied research has enabled us to make significant contributions to the world around us for over 60 years.  As much of our research is directed toward industry, Cranfield can address real-life challenges and, as a result, benefit people in all walks of life. We focus upon excellence in research that is of strategic and practical importance and work with industry in areas where the University's expertise has clear and obvious relevance.

Our research benefits from the strong synergy that has been developed between the science, engineering and management disciplines. This provides a powerful combination of skills and capability that ensures both industrial relevance and academic rigour. This complements our state-of-the-art industrial scale research and development facilities that differentiate the Cranfield activity from other Universities. Our research is driven by industry needs and we work with some of the most recognised names in the business – Airbus, Boeing, GlaxoSmithKline, Rolls-Royce, Shell and BP to name but a few. Our research also benefits from major initiatives such as the EPSRC supported Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre, the Integrated Knowledge Centre in Ultra-Precision and Structured Surfaces, the Boeing Integrated Vehicle Health Management Centre of Excellence, the HEFCE supported Cranfield Centre for Competitive Creative Design, the National High temperature Surface Engineering Centre, the Rolls-Royce University Technology Partnership in Surface Engineering, the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Performance Engineering, the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance and Economics and the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility.

Educating postgraduate students is also an important part of our role, as well as developing products, conducting world-class research and providing consultancy and short courses for business through our major thematic areas:

Our world class academics have proven research records and are in constant touch with industry through research, consultancy and product development. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) provides a measure of research quality for all Higher Education Institutions in the UK.  In the most recent 2008 RAE Cranfield maintained or improved its reputation for the international quality of its research. Overall, 85% of all the research submitted for assessment was internationally recognised in terms of its originality, significance and rigour, with 65% being world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*). Two key highlights include 25% of our business and management submission being assessed as world-leading, and being ranked third in the UK for the impact of our mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing research.