The guidelines Creating a new industry-funded research centre (Imperial login required) have been designed to allow flexibility for different types of industry-funded centres. For example, research centres can be established as a result of a large corporate research award across departments or across faculties.

An Industry-funded Research Centre is a grouping of researchers focused on a significant common research area, with critical mass of both permanent academic staff and funding, whose existence brings identifiable benefits to: the College regarding, for example, growth, breadth, and internal and external visibility and the sponsor: developing fundamental and applied research in a number of engineering disciplines to support the development and application of the sponsor’s products and technologies.

Although centres are often cross-departmental in terms of their activities and the nature of research supported, all of the existing centres are based in a single department or institute for administrative and financial purposes.

This is a distinguishing characteristic of research centres compared to College Institutes which are organisationally separate from departments.

The following criteria are to be the minimum requirements to qualify for recognition as an industry funded research centre. The Faculty has established over 20 new industry funded centres in the last 5 years hence consistency is important.

Examples of industry-funded Centres in the Faculty of Engineering:

• Examples of our collaborations
• Departments, institutes and centres in the Faculty of Engineering

For guidance and support on setting up an industry funded centre within the Faculty of Engineering:

• Contact us, via our short form
• or visit the Faculty of Engineering Research support pages.