King’s College and Cranfield hope to be stronger together in surprise merger

Cranfield, a smaller, highly focused postgraduate technology and management college, has suffered financially in recent years, like many other universities. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

The announcement that King’s College London is to absorb Cranfield University came as a surprise but not a shock to England’s higher education leaders, who have been braced for sudden announcements about job cuts and course closures.

But for staff and students at both institutions the news will have come as a shock, particularly at Cranfield, the smaller, highly focused postgraduate technology and management college that has its own airport.