Environment industry links
Whether you’re from a multi-national company, a growing SME or a small start-up, working with us will make a real difference to you and your organisation. Our experience is vast, enabling us to work with environmental agencies and governments to ensure that our research benefits all in society.
Our work spans the entire environment sector, from early innovative thinking through to practical application. We are multidisciplinary and are able to bring together a variety of technologies and different expertise for your total solution. Our working culture encourages close engagement with industry at both strategic and operational level, businesses choose to work with us because of our deep knowledge and outstanding reputation.
Sometimes scoping the project effectively can help focus solutions. We are able to help you focus real issues and assist in identifying exactly what resources might contribute to the successful outcome.
You will be able to estimate, test and forecast development and manufacturing challenges through our specialist facilities, which are on an industrial scale and unavailable anywhere else in the world.
Whether you have a small immediate challenge to overcome or need a long-term business growth strategy, we can help to facilitate responsive and productive initial and follow-on interactions.
Collaborate with us
Group projects
By sponsoring a group project you will benefit from a group of master’s students, with different skills sets, researching different aspects of a larger problem. These are usually assigned between October and May. Group projects are one of Cranfield’s strengths, enabling our graduates to experience working together across disciplines in a business context.
Group projects typically cost in the range of £7,000-£30,000 for four months. However, actual costs are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the project.
MSc thesis projects and placements
Sponsored master’s projects are tailored to deliver your business needs. You will have a master’s student working to resolve your business challenge full-time over four months for their thesis. Our student can be based either on campus or at your location (placement) according to the requirements of the project. Students tend to commence work on the project in May and deliver in the first week of September. In the case of placements, the period the student spends based at the company is adjusted based on the project requirements and the sponsors’ needs. Master’s projects typically cost in the range of £3,500-£12,000 for four months. However, actual costs are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the project.
Involvement in lectures
We work with many industrial companies and organisations, which are able to directly interact with our students via seminars, lectures and workshops.
If your organisation is interested in showcasing findings which link to our MSc courses, we can design a bespoke activity for one of our courses in collaboration with the course directors. We welcome lectures from your organisation about findings, guided visits to your company, activities that enable extraCV accreditation (CPD courses), problem solving tailored activities, staged debates, mocked panels, mock interviews and any other activities which offer our students additional industrial experience.
Our students recently visited FAAM, a world-class research facility dedicated to the advancement of atmospheric science.
Sponsored MSc prizes
Every year we have multiple prizes allocated to the best projects and students, with the prizes and awards ranging from certificates to financial contributions.
The prizes help to boost the CV of our students and can create a strong online presence, which is complimented by the promotional channels used to highlighted the prizes won – blogs, press releases, website and social media.
Job offers
Our Career Development Service is passionate about helping Cranfield students to launch their new postgraduate careers. Our team has significant real-world experience in the areas of coaching, recruitment and professional development. As an accredited member of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), we provide a bespoke Career Development Service to all students, working to enhance careers and increase opportunities.
We offer an enhanced, interactive intranet hub, online career development and talent management system, which regularly post job vacancies, a 24-7 CV critiquing software and subscriptions to online resources. We provide support through face-to-face coaching appointments, CV, cover letter and interview guidance, suites of digital, downloadable assets such as learning packs, video tutorials and factsheets, training sessions on assessment centres, application forms and psychometrics and advice on starting a business. We also run events throughout the year for students to attend. Cranfield University also has a dedicated Employer Engagement Team that have established connections with recruiters across all industries. Organisations regularly come to campus to present recruitment opportunities to specific student groups.
Current thesis projects
- Modelling flood risk on rail infrastructure for Network Rail
- The impacts of landscape and climate change on groundwater recharge in Sherwood Forest – The Woodland Trust
- Food Waste Innovations: case study of small- to medium-sized businesses for the Innovation in Manufacturing, Aerospace and Green Economy (IMAGE) programme
- Critical evaluation of methods to calculate the biodiversity value of a habitat – Tarmac
- Assessing route options for an east-west rail link using a natural capital-based approach for the Bedfordshire Local Nature Partnership
- Identify and locate polytunnels to develop and maintain a strategic overview of a rapidly expanding industry sector – AHDB Horticulture.
Find out why we are the university of choice for businesses worldwide and work with a university which has a distinctive combination of technology and management.
If you would like to discuss recruiting our students, please feel free to contact our Careers and Employability Service.
We have sponsored two MSc Group projects on sustainability topics. We found the process was very organised and went smoothly. The two projects were quite complex requiring the students to gather a lot of data from our growers. We had a dedicated key contact for the students and worked with a specific spokesperson from their team as a simple open channel of communication. The students were very professional and thorough in their data collection and communication. Their final presentations were excellent and translated some complex science into practical solutions.
Working with Cranfield and their MSc students has allowed us to work with the best expertise and experience in the remote sensing field. Their work has been a great success and the initial research findings have great potential. As such, we are already in discussions on ways we can build on the project.
