A visit from the senior management team of Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited to Cranfield University showcased the growing collaboration between the two organisations.
Monarch Aircraft Engineering has recently become a key partner in a number of the University’s leading research and teaching centres, including the newly announced Digital Aviation Research Technology Centre (DARTeC) and the Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) Centre, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
As part of its commitment to working with Cranfield, Monarch Aircraft Engineering has signed up as a founding member of DARTeC, and will give a £1 million in-kind contribution, as part of the development of the centre.
Announced last year, DARTeC is a new £65 million centre at Cranfield University which will spearhead the UK’s research into digital aviation technology. Once constructed, DARTeC will provide research facilities unprecedented in Europe.
Monarch Aircraft Engineering has also signed up to be a member of Cranfield University’s IVHM centre until 2023. The IVHM Centre at Cranfield is a core part of the University’s aerospace capability and through-life engineering services, helping businesses with commercialisation, reducing time-to-market and combining technology, business and technology transfer solutions.
Chris Dare, Managing Director of Monarch Aircraft Engineering, said: “As a leading aircraft maintenance provider, it’s crucial that we continually invest to ensure our offering remains at the forefront of the industry.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with such a renowned institution as Cranfield University, working with them to develop and deploy the latest research in aviation technology in the marketplace.”
Professor Helen Atkinson, Pro-Vice Chancellor for the School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing at Cranfield University, said: “At Cranfield, we pride ourselves on our closeness to business. I’m delighted that our collaboration with Monarch Aircraft Engineering continues to go from strength-to-strength. Working in collaboration allows us to strengthen our research and educational offering, and enables us to provide facilities unparalleled in Europe.”
About Cranfield University
Cranfield University is a specialist postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management.
Cranfield Aerospace
Cranfield is the number one university in Europe for aerospace. We are the only university in Europe to own and run an airport and to have airline status. We have been at the forefront of aerospace technology for 70 years.
As the UK's most business-engaged University, we have long-term relationships and close commercial partnerships with many companies in the sector including Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.
Our education, research and consultancy is enhanced by our world-class facilities including the National Flying Laboratory Centre – a unique national asset which provides a hands-on, flying experience, along with flight deck simulators and industrial-scale gas turbine engine test facilities used for performance and diagnostic studies. The Aerospace Integration Research Centre, a £35 million innovative centre built in partnership with Airbus and Rolls-Royce, fosters collaboration between industry and academia. A new £65 million Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre will also be built at Cranfield to spearhead the UK’s research into digital aviation technology.
Notable Cranfield alumni include Warren East, CEO of Rolls-Royce plc and Ralph Hooper, who attended the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield in 1946 and went on to become one of the UK’s most important post-war aircraft designers, creating the Hawker Harrier jump jet.
