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Industry Collaboration Index 2026 · University profile
United Kingdom · Europe · Silver
Cranfield University is ranked #380 of 1,038, with Silver standing. Its strongest pillar is co-creation (93): 365 verified industry works against about 220 expected for its mix of fields. It is held back most by breadth (34): partners concentrated in a few research fields; and by durability (45): 14 of its company groups are sustained partners (five or more joint works in three or more of the five years).
Research Collaboration Index 2026: #597 of 1,195, Silver standing · View the RCI profile →
Why this position
How often it co-authors with companies, compared with what its own mix of research fields would predict; size makes no difference. 365 verified works against about 220 expected for its fields (1.66 times the expected rate).
How much of its industry work sits in sustained partnerships with the same company group. 14 sustained partnerships: five or more joint works in three or more of the five years.
The size of its industry network: company groups on two or more works, sustained partnerships, and its place in the worldwide network of universities and companies. 67 company groups on two or more joint works; 14 sustained partnerships.
How varied its partners are, judged by each company's main research field. Measured across the main research fields of all the company groups it worked with.
Each pillar is a percentile among the 1,038 ranked universities: a value of 80 means a higher value than about 80 in every 100 of them. The ICI score (57.9) is the weighted average of the four percentiles. Rank 380 of 1,038 overall; 32 of 62 in United Kingdom; 165 of 388 in Europe. Standing bands: Platinum for ranks 1 to 100, Gold 101 to 300, Silver 301 to 600. How the index is built →
In numbers
In United Kingdom
Where it works with industry
Verified industry works by sector, with its position in each sector ranking. A university is ranked in a sector once it has at least 20 verified works there; sectors with fewer than 50 eligible universities are provisional.
220.5 of its 365 verified industry works fall within the 21 sectors. The rest have research topics that belong to no industry sector (basic science, for example) or are consortium papers with 100 or more authors, which the sector indices leave out; all of them count fully in the overall index.
Who it works with
Cranfield University co-authored verified work with 197 company groups, consortium papers aside: 67 of them on two or more works, and 14 as sustained partners.
| Company group | Based in | Company's main research field | Joint works | Years with a joint work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolls-Royce | United Kingdom | Engineering | 65 | 5 of 5 |
| Severn Trent | United Kingdom | Environmental Science | 12 | 5 of 5 |
| Airbus | France | Engineering | 11 | 4 of 5 |
| Anglian Water Services | United Kingdom | Environmental Science | 11 | 5 of 5 |
| Thames Water | United Kingdom | Environmental Science | 10 | 5 of 5 |
| Siemens | Germany | Engineering | 7.5 | 3 of 5 |
| SyngentaSTATE-OWNED | Switzerland | Medicine | 7 | 3 of 5 |
| BAE Systems | United States | Engineering | 6 | 5 of 5 |
| Scottish Water | United Kingdom | Environmental Science | 6 | 3 of 5 |
| Carl Zeiss | Germany | Engineering | 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Northumbrian Water Group | United Kingdom | Environmental Science | 5 | 4 of 5 |
| Network Rail | United Kingdom | Engineering | 5 | 4 of 5 |
A company group brings together a company's subsidiaries and research labs under one name. A work counts half when its only company author also holds a post at this university. Consortium papers with 100 or more authors are left out of this table.
Examples of its work with industry
Its most-cited verified works with 30 or fewer authors, leaving out guidelines and consensus statements. Citation counts are those of the open scholarly record at harvest. Each title links to the work.
Over time
2025 is not yet complete: papers published late in the year are still being added to the open record, and coverage may not be equally complete for every university, so compare years with care. A work counts half when its only company author also holds a post at the university, so some totals end in .5.
Funded partnerships (reported, not scored)
Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects starting 2021-2025 in which this university and at least one company take part (206 distinct companies). Most frequent: Collins Aerospace Ireland, Limited, Comau SpA, Easn Technology Innovation Services Bvba, Rolls-royce plc, Euroquality SAS, Anra Technologies Uk Ltd.
Projects funded through UK Research and Innovation (research councils and Innovate UK, including Knowledge Transfer Partnerships) starting 2021-2025 in which this university takes part and at least one company is a named partner (406 distinct companies, including collaborations reported after the award). Most frequent: ROLLS-ROYCE PLC, Airbus Group Limited(Airbus Group Ltd), Anglian Water, AIRBUS OPERATIONS LIMITED, Severn Trent Water, THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED.
Shown for context from the public grant registries; they do not enter the score in Edition 1. Comparable open registries of company partners exist for the European Union and the United Kingdom but not yet for most other research systems, and in some countries national research organisations take part on behalf of university laboratories, so these counts are not comparable between countries.
Funded and co-publishing. Of the funded company partners that match an ICI company group, 36 also appear in this university's verified co-authorship record (Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Severn Trent, Thames Water, Anglian Water Services, Northumbrian Water Group) and 102 are funded partners not yet visible in it. About 26% of funded company names could be matched to a company group; the rest are counted, not guessed. Sources: UKRI Gateway to Research harvested 4 Oct 2026; CORDIS bulk files of 2026-10-12 (latest record update 2026-06-10). Funded partnerships cover UK (UKRI Gateway to Research) and EU (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, CORDIS) projects starting 2021 to 2025 only. They are reported, never scored, and a funder record outside these two sources is not visible here.
Evidence checked
Each counted link (one work, this university and one company) was confirmed against the affiliation text its author wrote; 214 of 669 candidate links were set aside.
If a partner is missing or should not be here, send the evidence; corrections are free and reviewed against the public record.
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In the Research Collaboration Index 2026, Cranfield University ranks #597 of 1,195, with Silver standing. It measures the whole research network, not only industry.
Something wrong? Every figure comes from the public record and can be checked. If a partner is missing or should not be there, tell us and we will review it with the evidence. The 2027 edition will be calculated with the same published methodology. The window for universities to submit data for it is open now: submit data for the 2027 edition. The index is free, public and independent. No commercial relationship with any university or company changes any position, and no one can pay to be included, excluded or moved.