Cranfield University
Cranfield University has been at the forefront of global aerospace research since the end of the Second World War. With its own airport and specialist aircraft, it offers students unparalleled research facilities, and its work was recognised with a Prize in 2019.
An Alumni Story: Professor Graham Braithwaite, Director of Aerospace and Aviation
It’s hard to describe how big a deal winning the Prize was for us, because it was so positive in so many ways. The impact it had across the University was huge.
We see it as the ultimate endorsement for an academic institution and so everyone was boosted by it. People from completely unrelated departments would come up to me and say thank you, because they could see that we all benefited from it.
For the team working on the project, it was an incredible moment. Not just for the employees, but for the students and the colleagues around us. Academia can be quite a tough environment – the peer review process can be pretty brutal and we’re constantly fighting for research funding – so it makes winning this, something that celebrates and lifts you up, really special.
When you apply, the institution’s name is kept anonymous and I think that’s important. This Prize is not about reputation, the work has to speak for itself.
And while it may be a national honour, the impact is global. When we tell our industry partners around the world about it, it’s always a “wow” moment. If I’m being introduced as a speaker at an international conference, they always mention it.
When I found out we’d won I actually cried. It was such a wonderful recognition of everyone’s hard work and it was so uplifting for us to get the good news. But it was also very emotional from a personal point of view. Before my mother passed away, we’d talked about the application and how to tell the story of what we do. She was a schoolteacher and she understood how important it was. I know how proud she would have been.
Going to the Palace for the presentation is a day none of us will ever forget. We were a group of staff and students, but the University’s driver got to come too. There was a wonderful moment when he was stood outside the Palace helping one of our students to tie a tie, because they’d never worn one before. And I remember His Royal Highness, now The King, talking to another student, and the look on her face was just one of awe. He was so incredibly warm and generous with his time. We didn’t want it to end.
You could feel the excitement of the other universities, and it was lovely because for once we weren’t there to compete. In fact, when you see the other winners and hear their citations, you feel humbled. The Prize celebrates the very best our country has to offer and to be recognised among them is an incredible honour.
But it’s not just about recognition and boosting morale. It was at around this time that we needed to replace one of our heavily modified aeroplanes – a very expensive purchase, as you can imagine. The University would pay for a third of it, but the rest had to come from industry and donors. The timing couldn’t have been better – being able to talk about the Prize, this fantastic, tangible measure of our worth, made a huge difference to our fundraising.
When the new plane was finally flown from Sweden to Cranfield in 2021, not only did we ensure that our medal was on board that first flight, but we’d also modified the plane so that the Prize logo would forever be on its door. Now everybody who uses the plane sees it – and they all ask about it. We couldn’t be more proud.