By Professor Dame Karen Holford, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Cranfield University 

You wouldn’t stumble across Cranfield University.  But if you travel into the Bedfordshire countryside you’ll find our large rural campus, home to some of the most impressive facilities and research that the university sector offers in the UK. 

Cranfield is a ‘quiet achiever’ – unassumingly going about its work with purpose and intent, away from the bustle of city campuses. Being sited on a former RAF base and created to accelerate new technologies with industry brings a sharp focus on applied research – and that’s why our connections with industry partners remain so strong and impactful. This is a place with the space for large-scale technical facilities, where deep collaboration happens. 

Of course, our location doesn’t mean that we are disconnected from our region – quite the opposite.  

Cranfield lies at the very centre of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor and was chosen to host the first regional event for government following the Chancellor’s launch of plans for the Corridor. Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor Champion and Science Minister Lord Vallance visited, and I chaired a roundtable with key partners from industry and government who will be instrumental to growth in our region. It was a fantastic experience to convene so many invested and optimistic partners and really showcase the energy we all have for growth and development. 

We’re also at the southern tip of the Midlands, which means Cranfield unusually also collaborates with a second regional group – Midlands Innovation.  Working with partner universities in projects such as MindForge, we’re helping to accelerate the commercialisation of research and drive entrepreneurship across the Midlands. 

Strong connections across regions can often be sparked by universities, who are natural collaborators. And the benefit of this convening power is that we bring more businesses into the orbit of academic partnerships – driving growth and innovation.  

At Cranfield we’ve attracted like-minded trailblazers, with an ecosystem of startups and SMEs linked into some of our key specialisms such as aerospace, transport, water and agrifood.  

What’s key is adding value to those across the region – and that’s something we do not just with our facilities and expert researchers, but for many businesses with our short courses that are designed to help SMEs and entrepreneurs scale up and develop their ideas. Partnering with Green Future Investments Ltd, we’ve seen 98 ventures progress through a pipeline of technical support and funding, with over £19 million raised in grants and investments. 

What I think universities do particularly well is tune into the skills needs that businesses have across their region. We’re close to Milton Keynes, which is a fast-growing economy and becoming a real hub for technology businesses. These companies need digital and business skills at all levels – and we’re answering that need with MK:U, a new model of higher education in the city, which offers Level 6 degree apprenticeships in key areas such as robotics and supply chain management. Delivering these skills shows our commitment to fostering a local talent pipeline and supporting regional economic development. 

At Cranfield, we have a strong sense of purpose and a strong focus on our areas of specialism. I think this sets us apart – we’ve been able to build unrivalled expertise and facilities.  

For universities, rather than trying to be all things to all people, identifying and leaning into selected areas of strength can create a really powerful identity. And this gives us weight not only within our regions, but with the partners we aspire to work with.