London Luton Airport signs MoU with Cranfield University to collaborate on innovation and education

Credit: London Luton Airport

Cranfield University, a UK specialist business university in Bedfordshire, has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with London Luton Airport (LLA) on 13 September 2024. This agreement will allow aerospace students to collaborate on operational, environmental, and educational factors along with research opportunities.

“The MoU provides the platform to combine operational experience and expertise with world class academic research and thinking, applied to a live airport environment, and underlines our shared commitment in the three hugely important areas of sustainable aviation, operational innovation and the development of future skills,” said Alberto Martin, Chief Executive Officer at London Luton Airport.

The signing of the MoU coincides with the 60th anniversary of Air Transport teaching and research at Cranfield University.

 What will be the key features of this pact?

Under the terms of the partnership, LLA and Cranfield will work together to identify opportunities in three key areas:

•  Net Zero collaboration – identifying opportunities for environmental innovation and efficiency in support of LLA’s journey to net zero, exploring new ground in areas such as energy efficiency, future fuel and power sources, smart local energy solutions and collaboration on net zero strategies and policies
•  Operational Innovation – collaborating on operations and the passenger experience including digitalisation and emerging aviation technology
•  Education – collaboration on a range of education and skills development initiatives. LLA will also work alongside Cranfield’s National Flying Laboratory Centre (NFLC), a facility virtually unique in the European academic sector and used to support teaching, research and consultancy. 

Professor Dame Karen Holford, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Cranfield University stated: “We are delighted to formalise our partnership with London Luton Airport and continue to build our connections. The collaboration gives us the opportunity to further address the industry’s skills gap and provide individuals with promising career prospects, and it builds on our crucial research into decarbonising aviation.”