Research & Skills

Researchers working in lab

Investing in a strong and sustainable research base and STEM skills pipeline.

Key facts

  • Imperial has a greater proportion of world-leading research than any other UK university and is ranked as the most innovative university in the UK and second in Europe (REF 2021, Reuters 2019).
  • 97% of our graduates are in employment or further study fifteen months after graduation, with 90% employed in highly-skilled roles or in further study (HESA Graduate Outcomes 20/21). 
  • The Imperial College London Mathematics School, scheduled to open in Autumn 2023, will accept sixth form students taking maths and further maths, with a focus on attracting more female, BAME and other underrepresented students in STEM. 

 

We strongly welcome the Government’s recognition that science, innovation and skills have a central role to play in the future economic prosperity of the UK.  The commitment to increase R&D spend to increase public investment in R&D to £20bn per year by 2024/25 will lay the groundwork for the UK’s future global competitiveness through creating the new ideas, innovations and transformative technologies that deliver economic growth.

The UK is a global science powerhouse but we need to grow and sustainably fund the STEM skills pipeline - the government estimates the UK will need 150,000 more researchers and technicians by 2030. We provide a rigorous, evidence-based, inclusive educational experience in a world-leading research environment that provides highly-skilled graduates and lifelong learning opportunities for the UK labour force. 

  • The new Imperial College London Mathematics School will accept sixth form students with a focus on attracting more female, BAME and other underrepresented students in STEMM.

International staff and students are vital to the UK’s science and innovation talent pipeline and culturally enrich our campus. Almost 40% of Imperial’s staff and 60% of our students are from outside the UK – our scientific strength is built on the creativity, collaboration and innovation of our international community. Nearly half of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing start-ups have at least one immigrant co-founder.

  • Imperial graduates Henrik Hagemann (Denmark) and Gabi Santosa (Indonesia) founded Puraffinity. A green technology company designing smart materials for environmental applications, it has been part of Imperial’s innovation ecosystem since 2014 and has rapidly expanded to a bigger research facility in our White City Innovation District. The company is now establishing a new manufacturing centre near Middlesbrough which will deliver new jobs in the North East.

  • Imperial graduates Paul Mendieta (Ecuador) and Beren Kayali (Turkey), founded DEPLOY which has developed an air-deployed, ready-to-use water tank capable of holding 14,000 litres of water that has a 70% lower carbon footprint than conventional water tanks. Now based in South Wales, Deploy Tech are developing their product to deliver long-term sustainable growth and create and safeguard highly skilled jobs in the region.

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Discover Imperial-X

A new collaborative environment for research, education, and entrepreneurship across artificial intelligence, data science and digital technologies.
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Transition to Zero Pollution

Transition to Zero Pollution is our pioneering programme in research, education and innovation to help society ‘transition to zero pollution’. It will inspire fundamental changes in areas such as the way materials are used in manufacturing, how we produce food and energy, and will help mitigate the impact of air pollution on people's health.

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Institute of Infection

Facing the challenges of global infectious disease together.

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Female sudent and mentor in the Enterprise Lab

Enterprise Lab

Imperial’s enterprising culture is integral to our education and research community. Learn more about our Enterprise Lab, home to our flagship student entrepreneurship support programmes, which help students develop business ideas through masterclasses and coaching, culminating in showcases in which finalists are invited to bid for a share of a prize fund.
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Learning and Teaching Strategy

Find out more about our innovative Learning and Teaching Strategy which redesigned 102 undergraduate programmes to become more interactive, aided by digital technology. Since the start of the pandemic, we have made further innovations to continue to deliver world-class, interactive teaching to equip students with the skills employers need.
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Advanced Hackspace

Our students can join Imperial's Advanced Hackspace based in the Invention Rooms at the White City campus to get support and equipment to develop their ideas into real-world solutions. Learn more about the community bringing together inventive minds from all backgrounds, disciplines and levels of expertise to collaborate, experiment and innovate.