Research England has once again ranked Cranfield University as one of the leading universities for working with businesses and intellectual property (IP) commercialisation.
The sixth edition of the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) looks at how universities interact with society and the economy on a local, national and international level.
World class for working with business, IP and commercialisation
The KEF assessment groups universities into categories according to specialisms, with Cranfield in the STEM cluster of universities that specialise in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Cranfield received the highest possible ranking for:
- IP and commercialisation
- Working with business
- Continuing professional development (CPD) and graduate start ups
In addition, Cranfield’s ranking improved in the following categories:
- Research partnerships
- Local growth and regeneration
Professor Leon A. Terry, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Research at Cranfield University, said: “Cranfield University prides itself on being an applied research powerhouse, and the KEF6 rankings really reinforce that. We boast deep collaborations with industry, and the work we do here makes an impact in the real world. It’s particularly gratifying to see our ranking for CPD and graduate start ups increase, showing the inextricable link between education and innovation.”
A proven pipeline of innovation
Cranfield has a track record of long-term, strategic partnerships with industry including close collaborations with Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Unilever, Boeing and other global leaders.
Combining STEM specialisms with the internationally renowned School of Management, Cranfield has a track record of both producing spin out companies and offering support for innovative startups in their early stages.
This has been reflected by the University being shortlisted for Entrepreneurial University of the Year at the 2025 Times Higher Education Awards, and further reinforced with a shortlisting for Specialist Institution of the Year for 2026.
Examples of Cranfield’s knowledge exchange success include:
- University spin out Blast Ecoshield, a company exploring how engineered plant systems can help protect people and infrastructure by reducing the impact of explosive events. The company exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year winning won two awards, including a silver medal.
- Key academic member of Lotus’s Hethel Performance Hub , a UK partnership platform for innovation in automotive engineering.
- The Zero Carbon Turn project in conjunction with Exeter Airport, TUI and ULEMCo in which a hydrogen internal combustion tug, a hydrogen fuel cell baggage tractor and a hybrid hydrogen-diesel ground power unit were used airside to turnaround a live TUI Boeing 737.
- Nearly £18million in funding awarded by Ofwat for projects that will tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing the water sector.
The aim of the KEF is to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public funding for knowledge exchange (KE) and to further a culture of continuous improvement in universities. The University’s full result in the Knowledge Exchange Framework can be found on the KEF website.
