Airbus has signed a partnership agreement with Cranfield University to help ensure its graduates have the right skills to face future challenges in a complex and competitive aerospace environment.
The signing ceremony took place at the Farnborough International Airshow in the presence of university representatives and senior Airbus management.
Cranfield University is the latest university to join the Airbus Academic Programme (AAP), which aims to partner with universities and higher education institutions around the world to develop an industry leading pipeline of talent and innovation by fostering world-class university relationships.
“These partnership agreements underline our commitment to working hand-in-hand with academics and engineering education leaders to develop and secure the skills the aerospace industry will need in the future,” said Thierry Baril, Chief Human Resources Officer of Airbus. “Developing the right talents and skills is vital to our success. We are proud to partner with Cranfield University in our pursuit of pioneering sustainable aerospace.”
Professor Dame Helen Atkinson DBE FREng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the School of Aerospace, Transport Systems and Manufacturing at Cranfield, welcomed the partnership: “Cranfield has a long association with Airbus and this is a huge strategic partnership for us, both in research and development but also in employment. We are looking forward to helping rebuild the industry as we regenerate after a very difficult time.”
The agreement aims to foster long-term collaboration in all areas of mutual interest, including the development of strategic competences, notably in the fields of decarbonisation, digital transformation, software engineering and cyber technology.
Professor Iain Gray, Director of Aerospace at Cranfield University, said: “We are proud to be part of this programme – there can be no doubt that this rapidly evolving and exciting sector requires a flow of highly skilled talent. Our longstanding work at Cranfield around intelligent automation, robotics, thermal management, space, helicopters and defence will feed into this programme, creating the talent of the future for aerospace.”
Find out more about development and learning opportunities at Airbus.
