The partnership between Cranfield University and Airbus is among the five finalists shortlisted for the 2024 Bhattacharyya Award, the winner of which will be announced on Thursday 26 September.
Awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), the Bhattacharyya Award celebrates collaboration between academia and industry. It was started in 2019 in recognition of the career of Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya CBE FREng FRS, the founder of the Warwick Manufacturing Group and Regius Professor of Manufacturing at the University of Warwick.
At over 50 years and counting, Cranfield University and Airbus’s partnership is one of the longest running collaborations between academia and the aviation industry. In the last few years it has delivered over £13 million of research activity and more work in the pipeline will see that increase to over £25 million in the near future.
“The Cranfield Airbus partnership brings together the best of aerospace academic research and innovation with the market understanding, product development and industrial skills needed to pioneer the future of aviation” said Tony Wood, Non-Executive Director at Airbus.
Those sentiments were echoed by Mark Aizlewood, Head of the Aerospace Integration and Research Centre at Cranfield University, who said: “Cranfield prides itself on strong industry links and the practical applications of its research. Our work with Airbus is a testament to what can be achieved when academia and industry collaborate.”
The winner of this year’s award will be announced on Thursday 26 September. You can watch Cranfield’s award submission for 2024 in the below video: