European universities at the forefront of cooperation with industry

Our global database lists over 37,000 industrial projects in 130 countries, and by scanning these projects for collaborations with universities, we have been able to highlight the research centers most frequently mentioned in industrial investment projects.

A total of 161 institutions were identified for 319 mentions, all associated with concrete projects.

It's a subject for in-depth work, but a few rankings are already interesting.

First, the 5 most cited institutions:

🥇 Cambridge (UK) - 29 mentions
🥈 Tsinghua (China) - 24 mentions
🥉 Oxford (UK) - 21 mentions
🏅 CEA (France) - 15 mentions
🎖 Princeton (USA) - 10 mentionsPretty good place for CEA!

The 5 countries most represented through their research institutions:

🇬🇧 United Kingdom - 75 mentions
🇺🇸 United States - 69 mentions
🇨🇳 China - 42 mentions🇨🇦 Canada - 28 mentions
🇫🇷 France - 25 mentions🇩🇪 Germany - 12 mentions.

The 5 main research themes :

🤖 1. Artificial Intelligence & Data Science (254 projects) Research into digital transformation, AI-driven manufacturing optimization, training programs in emerging technologies
🔋 2. Energy & Batteries (193 projects) Battery technology development, renewable energy systems, grid integration and energy storage
🏗️ 3. Construction & Infrastructure (140 projects) Innovation in building materials, sustainable construction methods, partnerships for infrastructure development🏭 4. Manufacturing & Automation (135 projects) Research into industrial automation, intelligent manufacturing systems, robotics development and Industry 4.0
🚗 5. Automotive & Transportation (88 projects) Electric vehicle technologies, autonomous systems, automotive manufacturing optimization, transportation infrastructure.

The specific contribution of research organizations :

🔬 R&D partners: cutting-edge technology research, long-term innovation projects, technology transfer to industry
🎓 Workforce development: emerging technology training programs, student placement programs, professional skills development
🚀 Market access: startup incubation, joint ventures with industry, proof-of-concept development.

We therefore have around 1% of projects announcing cooperation with a research organization. This is a fairly low rate, but it should be borne in mind that these are industrial projects costing over $30 million. When we include startups and fund-raisers at global level, as we do for France, this rate will rise.