Imperial tops research rich list

Imperial College London received more money for engineering research during the 2015-16 academic year than any other UK university, according to new figures.

The data, released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, shows that Imperial collected just over £95.1 million from all engineering income, including government grants and private investments. Imperial was slightly ahead of the University of Sheffield (£93.3 million) and the University of Cambridge (£89.6 million).

Sheffield brought in £62.4 million from mechanical, aero and production engineering – more than double the amount of any other UK institution within that category. Its success has been attributed to the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), which works with the likes of Boeing, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.

“The growth of the AMRC has not only contributed to the increase in research income of the university, but directly to Sheffield city region by attracting inward investment and creating jobs,” said AMRC executive dean Keith Ridgway.

Across the UK, higher education institutions received £913 million for overall engineering research. Mechanical, aero and production engineering accounted for £281 million of that, with most of the funds coming from government and grants from associated bodies such as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Around 16% of funding for mechanical engineering research came from the EU.

(Lead image credit: iStock)