Blog posts

President & Rector’s Away Day for senior staff

On 19 October senior staff from Imperial gathered for an Away Day  in Westminster  to discuss a number of the College’s current priorities and considerations for its future development.

Through presentations and break-out groups across the day delegates considered the College’s international strategy, opportunities for the Academic Health Science Centre, the launch of a space masterplan and the development of the Imperial West Campus.

A team from the Communications and Development Division captured reports of the day which are posted to this blog site. Staff are invited to submit comments or questions via the comment facility under each report.

International Strategy Review

The Global Context

There are a number of major challenges to Imperial’s continued success on the global stage over the decades to come, including:

(i)    The domestic and international funding, regulatory and competitive environment in which we are operating is both becoming more challenging and changing rapidly, with potentially major implications for the College and the university sector more widely.

Imperial West

Context

The Imperial West Campus in the White City regeneration area, which at seven acres is about a third of the size of the main portion of the South Kensington Campus, will be at the centre of the College’s strategy to develop its translation activities.

At the heart of the new campus will be a Research and Translation Hub, which will  support innovation from research ideas through to the development of spin-out companies.  It will offer a shared environment for corporate and university partners to work together.

Medical campuses and the AHSC

Context

  • The Imperial Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) was established in 2007 as a partnership between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust with a vision to translate discoveries achieved through research into medical advances to benefit patients.
  • Imperial College Health Partners has been formed by healthcare providers in partnership with the College as a company to roll out innovation into the community of North West London, with the aim to influence clinical practice. An application has been submitted by the partnership for formal designated as an Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) which would lead to funding to facilitate the roll-out of research programmes.

Space masterplanning

Context

Space is an increasingly pressing problem as the College develops and grows. The South Kensington Campus has become congested and opportunities for expansion are limited.  Currently 37 per cent of the existing space on campus is not useable, with development complicated by some buildings being listed and leasehold restrictions on the College estate.

Chief Operations Officer Simon Harding-Roots said a new masterplan would be developed this year, to shape Imperial’s campuses for future generations, ensuring they have the flexibility and facilities to meet the community’s needs. Over the next six months an audit will be carried out to determine departments’ requirements which will inform the masterplan proposal.