Entrepreneurship at Imperial

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A World Leading Ecosystem

Great ideas start with great people, and here at Imperial we have them in abundance. Our community of innovative staff and students are passionate about turning ideas into impact and taking their research and education out into the world for the benefit of society.

In February 2022, Imperial was named the best university in Europe, and fifth best worldwide, for prospective entrepreneurs, and that is because of our unique mix of STEM expertise and a world-class entrepreneurial ecosystem. From idea exploration to competitions, workspaces to funding and expert support to incubation, we have everything you need to start and scale your venture, as well as a thriving community of innovators and entrepreneurs from all corners of the College.

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Humanising Autonomy

Humanising Autonomy builds software optimised for immediate market applications and for long-term autonomous systems development. Since winning Imperial’s Venture Catalyst Challenge, Humanising Autonomy have gone on to raise over $11M in series A funding.

Puraffinity

Formed during 2014’s Venture Catalyst Challenge, Puraffinity have developed a novel bio-based adsorbent material that can selectively capture micropollutants including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and high-performance chemicals from wastewater.

Polymetrix

Based on existing research from co-founder Shiya Li at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, PolyMetrix’s system uses data analytics from 3D scans to carry out an autonomous fitting process that produces either a model of a fully customised wearable product or an analytical model to help inform clients as to the wearables they should be using.

Imperial Enterprise Lab

Whether you want to test an idea, tackle a global challenge, develop new skills, start a business, or just meet interesting people, we are here to help. With competitions, skills seminars, hackathons, and expert mentors, we offer all the support you need to take your idea to the next level.

Find out more about the Enterprise Lab

Imperial College Advanced Hackspace

The Advanced Hackspace in White City is Imperial’s world-class prototyping hub. Alongside our state-of-the-art facilities, we are home to a lively community, offering advice, workshops, training programmes and grants to encourage innovation and experimentation.

Find out more about the Advanced Hackspace

Imperial White City Incubator

The White City Incubator helps science and technology businesses to survive and thrive. We are a community of talented and innovative entrepreneurs offering support, training and laboratory and office space to early-stage deep science startups.

Find out more about the White City Incubator

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Centre for Climate Change Innovation

A new centre for climate change innovation is an initiative of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and the Royal Institution to catalyse innovation of all forms that address the causes and effects of climate change.

Find out more about the CCCI

Institute for Deep Tech Entrepreneurship

We seek to understand and address the key barriers to the successful commercialisation of deep tech ventures. Building on Imperial’s strong research foundation, we strive to collaborate and support a thriving Deep Tech ecosystem across the UK and beyond.

Find out more about the IDTE

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Institute of Global Health Innovation

The IGHI is a multidisciplinary team of pioneering people who break traditional research silos to tackle some of the greatest global health challenges facing the world today. Their approach is to identify, develop and implement evidence-based innovations, leading to sustainable improvements in health and care.

Find out more about IGHI

Scale Space

A scale-up community based at White City, bringing together the UK’s leading venture builders and universities to help innovative businesses scale.

Find out more about Scale Space

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The Institute for Digital Molecular Design and Fabrication

DigiFAB is a unique institute dedicated to digital molecular design and fabrication. The Institute capitalises on expertise and infrastructure already existing in College, spanning molecular synthesis through to artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, sensor technologies, and big data.

Find out more about DigiFAB

Imperial Enterprise Division

The Enterprise team helps businesses access the College's resources, talent, and expertise to address business and societal challenges, supports and encourages student entrepreneurship as well as helps academics find new ways to turn their expertise and research into benefits for society.

Find out more about the Enterprise Division

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Ghandi Centre for Inclusive Innovation

The Gandhi Centre seeks to act as a principal catalyst for linking innovation and entrepreneurship within, and between, companies and institutions globally. The integrated and multidisciplinary approach of the Centre, together with Imperial’s world class expertise in applied research, provides a unique vehicle for corporate sector engagement – for undertaking research projects, executive education, corporate venturing, and the dissemination of next generation innovation practices.

Find out more about the Ghandi Centre

Imperial-X

I-X provides a new co-located collaborative environment for research, education, and entrepreneurship across artificial intelligence, data science and digital technologies based at our White City Campus. It serves as a blueprint for the university of the future that is unencumbered by institutional and thematic silos, seeks impactful collaborations with industry and government, and delivers cross-cutting teaching programmes about and with digital technologies.

Find out more about Imperial-X

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Wicked Acceleration Labs

Imperial College Business School, in partnership with the Royal College of Art and leading industry players, has established Wicked Labs. It aims to address the world's wicked problems by igniting and sustaining economic renewal through circular economy innovation, moonshot design and orchestration, corporate - new venture engagement and deep tech acceleration.

Find out more about Wicked Acceleration Labs