Cranfield University


Cranfield University is a British postgraduate and research-based public university specialising in science, engineering, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics in 1946. Through the 1950s and 1960s, the development of aircraft research led to growth and diversification into other areas such as manufacturing and management, and in 1967, to the founding of the Cranfield School of Management. In 1969, the College of Aeronautics was renamed the Cranfield Institute of Technology, was incorporated by Royal Charter, gained degree awarding powers, and became a university. In 1993, it adopted its current name.
Cranfield University has two campuses: the main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and the second is at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Shrivenham, southwest Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United Kingdom for having its own semi-operational airport Cranfield Airport and its own aircraft, used for teaching and research.

History

College of Aeronautics (1946–1969)

Cranfield University was formed in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics, on the then Royal Air Force base of RAF Cranfield. A major role was played in the development of the college by Roxbee Cox, later Lord Kings Norton, who was appointed to be the first governor of the college in 1945 and then served as vice-chair and chair of the board. He led the drive for the college to diversify, with the Cranfield University School of Management being established in 1967, and petitioned successfully for a royal charter and degree awarding powers. When these were granted in 1969, he became the first chancellor of the Cranfield Institute of Technology, serving until 1997.

Cranfield Institute of Technology (1969–1993)

The Cranfield Institute of Technology was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1969, giving the institution its own degree-awarding powers and making it a full university in its own right.
In 1975 the National College of Agricultural Engineering, founded in 1963 at Silsoe, Bedfordshire, was merged with Cranfield and run as Silsoe College.
An academic partnership with the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham was formed in 1984. RMCS, whose roots can be traced back to 1772, is now a part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom and from 2009 has been known as "Cranfield Defence and Security". RMCS became wholly postgraduate in c.2007 with undergraduate courses moved elsewhere.

Cranfield University (1993–present)

In 1993 the institution's Royal Charter was amended changing its name to Cranfield University. A decade later in 2003, Cranfield became wholly postgraduate and the Shrivenham site admitted its last undergraduates.
In 2007, the University's first international campus was opened by the Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, located in the Torrens Building in Adelaide, alongside the Carnegie Mellon University. It offered short-term postgraduate degrees in defence management and technology, in partnership with local institutions and using some distance learning courses. However South Australia's "defence boom" did not materialise and its failure to attract enough students caused the closure of the campus in 2010.
In 2009 Silsoe College was closed and its activities were relocated to the main campus at Cranfield.

Location and campus

Cranfield campus is approximately north of central London and adjacent to the village of Cranfield, Bedfordshire. The nearest large towns are Milton Keynes and Bedford, the centres of which are both about away. Cambridge is about east.
Shrivenham is about west of London, adjacent to Shrivenham village, from the centre of the nearest town, Swindon, and around from Oxford.
The Cranfield campus sits within the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford corridor where there are plans to link these cities and stimulate economic growth. There is also a proposal for a rapid transit system between Milton Keynes and the campus, although this is still at an early concept stage.

Technology Park

There are a number of companies located on the Cranfield University Technology Park ranging from large international companies to small start-ups. Major companies on the park include:
Prior to 2016:
Cranfield University is the academic partner in project with Milton Keynes Council to establish a new university, code-named MK:U, in nearby Milton Keynes. The plan anticipates opening by 2023, with a campus in Central Milton Keynes. In January 2019, the partners announced an international competition to design a new campus near the Central railway station. In May 2019, Santander Bank announced a 'seed funding' grant of £30 million to help with building and initial running costs. On 4 July 2019, the shortlisted proposals for the campus were announced. On 30 July 2019, the evaluation panel announced that Hopkins Architects had produced the winning design.

Organisation and governance

Motto

The university's motto, post nubes lux, means 'after clouds light'. It is depicted on the university coat of arms which was introduced when the university was awarded its royal charter.

Chancellors

The academic schools are:
Cranfield University’s specialist areas of focus, or Cranfield themes, aims to bring a range of academic disciplines together in order to tackle the grand challenges facing the world within a range of industrial and commercial sectors. These are Water, Agrifood, Energy and Power, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Transport Systems, Defence and Security and Business/Management.
Within Cranfield University’s postgraduate environment, the academic disciplines work closely together, blending as they do in the commercial world and industry to deliver real world solutions.

Reputation and rankings

As an exclusively postgraduate university, Cranfield University is excluded from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, The Times World Rankings, The Complete University Guide and The Guardian, which focuses on helping prospective undergraduate students to compare universities. As the university is postgraduate, direct comparison with undergraduate institutions is difficult. Some key facts and figures are:
In 2015/16, 49% of Cranfield University's students were from the United Kingdom, 25% from Europe and 26% from the rest of the world. Cranfield University's student to staff ratio is 5:1, second among all UK universities.
More than half of Cranfield University's students are over 30 years of age.

Partnerships

Cranfield University has strong links with business, industry and governments. Cranfield University has mutually beneficial relationships with nearly 1,500 organisations around the world including small owner-managed SMEs to large multinational conglomerates; British and international universities, non-government organisations and governments. Some of Cranfield's close partnerships include Airbus, Rolls-Royce Group, Grant Thornton, BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Ford, BP, British Airways, PWC, Jacobs, Metro Bank, L'Oréal, Royal Dutch Shell, Jaguar Land Rover, Oracle Corporation, PepsiCo, Unilever, to name just a few.
Cranfield University has close links with more than 130 universities in the Americas, Asia and Oceania, Europe, Middle East and Africa. The University collaborates with the Singapore University of Social Sciences on SUSS’s BEng Aerospace Systems.
The IMRC - Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre at Cranfield University is a project funded by the EPSRC undertaking research that addresses issues identified in the UK government’s High Value Manufacturing strategy.

Student life

Facilities at the Cranfield University campus include a sports centre, which incorporates a fitness centre and aerobics studio, playing fields, sports pitches and several tennis courts. There is a wide range of shops, restaurants, cafes and bars available for students and staff.

Students' union

Cranfield Students Association is the students' union and runs the main student bar, cafe and shop on the Cranfield campus. It is based in building 114 close to the centre of the campus.
The CSA is run by a team of elected students and supported by a small team of staff. The aim of the CSA is to support and represent Cranfield University students, promote student welfare and organise social, cultural and sporting activities.
The student newspaper is called Entropy.

Student accommodation

At the Cranfield University campus there are a wide range of accommodation options for full time students, from halls of residence to shared houses, apartments for couples and houses for families.
For part time students, there are two options available - the 186-room Cranfield Management Development Centre and the 114-room Mitchell Hall, both of which are situated on campus.

Notable alumni

Cranfield University has a number of notable academic staff and alumni, including politicians, business people, entrepreneurs, engineers, authors, and TV personalities.
Cranfield University is in the top 1% of institutions in the world for alumni who hold CEO positions at the world's top companies according to the Centre for World University Rankings, 2017.