Latest updates and stories from Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce and its Members

Joe Nellis, Professor of Global Economy at Cranfield University’s School of Management, has been awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in King Charles III’s New Year Honours List. The CBE has been awarded in recognition of Joe’s contributions to higher education, economics, business, and charity.

More than 3,000 trees have been planted in Bedford as part of a Miyawaki forest project involving Cranfield University. 

Bedford had its first Miyawaki trees placed in the ground on Saturday (21) – through a partnership between Bedford Borough Council, Cranfield University, the Forest of Marston Vale, and Bedford Rotary Club. The project is part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ funded Trees for Climate initiative.

In recognition of its wide-ranging support for small businesses, outstanding student entrepreneurship provision and dedicated work with small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to support growth in the local community, Cranfield School of Management has achieved the Small Business Charter Award.

Cranfield School of Management has been recognised for the high quality and standard of its apprenticeship provision by City and Guilds / Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) end-point assessment (EPA) award.

**Please note that there is no budget defined to each competition round. Projects deemed fundable will be funded and, if the budget is used up in a given competition round, there will be no further competitions. Therefore, if you are considering applying for this funding, it is advisable to apply as soon as possible

The government are giving companies up to £35,000 grant funding with a minimum 10% contribution (£3,500) to work with a partner, such as Cranfield University, to evaluate an innovative business idea. This is with a view to stimulating the demand for further innovation, collaboration and accelerating delivery by partnering with a knowledge bases such as Cranfield University.

Warden Plastics Ltd. have over 60 years of experience in plastic injection moulding and extrusion. With the in-house capabilities to manufacture a vast array of recycled plastic components to customer specifications, Warden Plastics serves customers in diverse industrial sectors, from automotive, medical, DIY, furniture and wastewater.

A new forensic science ‘centre of excellence’ has been officially opened at Cranfield University. The facilities at Cranfield Forensic Institute (CFI) are among some of the very best in the world and investment has been targeted in the fields of crime scene investigation, digital forensic investigation and forensic materials analysis, amongst others.

A business that has found a way to detect corrosion and prevent leaks in assets such as pipelines through a network of remote sensors has secured a £1m funding round. 

Businesses who are ready to scale-up are being offered support to attend a new programme launched by Cranfield University. The new programme 'Growth through green: ready to scale’ is aimed at entrepreneurs, micro/SME or freelancers who want to take their business forward and 

There are only a handful of grants left for SMEs to benefit from support with the design, prototyping and testing of a new product, service or process or technical validation of a technology. 

Airbus in the UK has put its backing behind a new space research group at Cranfield University covering Advanced Space Mission Concepts (ASMiC).

Looking at concepts and technologies likely to become feasible in 5-10 years,

• Cranfield offers new aviation scholarship for women, funded by the International Aviation Women’s Association (IAWA)
• Cranfield is the first UK university to have been granted the $5,000 scholarship
• IAWA recently celebrated its 30-year anniversary 

Cranfield University marked the official start of construction of the new £67m Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC) to be built at the Cranfield campus, with a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday 15 March.

The Chairman of Barclays, John Mcfarlane, has officially opened the new aviation technology hub at Cranfield University.

The hub is a partnership between Cranfield University and Barclays, establishing the first Eagle Labdedicated to aviation technology,

Cranfield School of Management has partnered with Metro Bank to launch an MSc in Retail and Digital Banking.

Cranfield University has been chosen by the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) to be the education provider for the Defence Enterprise Export Programme (DEEP) launched yesterday at the Farnborough International Airshow.

Cranfield School of Management’s MBA has been named as one of the top 20 programmes in the world for entrepreneurship by the Financial Times.

A visit from the senior management team of Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited to Cranfield University showcased the growing collaboration between the two organisations.

Cranfield University and Johnson Matthey have launched a nationwide five-week search for agritech innovation, looking for companies and individuals wanting to take their high-impact innovative technology to the next level.

Students from Cranfield School of Management are preparing to compete against their peers from around the world in a global financial management contest.

Cranfield University has been chosen by the Education and Skills Funding Agency to receive Government funding to deliver postgraduate apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers. Non-levy paying employers are businesses with an annual pay bill of under £3 million.

Small and medium-sized businesses across the SEMLEP (South-East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership) area are being invited to a showcase event at Cranfield University, being held on 4 December 2017.

Cranfield University is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Helen Atkinson CBE, FREng as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of School of Aerospace, Transport Systems and Manufacturing. She will join Cranfield on 1 September.