Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London. Imperial grew out of Prince Albert's vision for a cultural centre in South Kensington, including the Royal Albert Hall, Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, and Royal Colleges. In 1907, Imperial College was established by Royal charter, unifying the Royal College of Science, Royal School of Mines, and City and Guilds of London Institute. In 1988, the Imperial College School of Medicine was formed by merging with St Mary's Hospital Medical School. In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Imperial College Business School.The college focuses exclusively on science, technology, medicine, and business. The main campus is located in South Kensington, and there is an innovation campus in White City. Facilities also include a research field station at Silwood Park and teaching hospitals throughout London. The college was a member of the University of London from 1908, becoming independent on its centenary. Imperial has an international community, with more than 59% of students from outside the UK, and 140 countries represented on campus. Student, staff, and researcher affiliations include 14 Nobel laureates, 3 Fields Medallists, 2 Breakthrough Prize winners, 1 Turing Award winner, 74 Fellows of the Royal Society, 87 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and 85 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences.Imperial College London is a world top ten university with an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial is committed to developing the next generation of researchers, scientists and academics through collaboration across disciplines. Located in the heart of London, Imperial is a multidisciplinary space for education, research, translation and commercialisation, harnessing science and innovation to tackle global challenges.The earliest college that led to the formation of Imperial was the Royal College of Chemistry, founded in 1845, with the support of Prince Albert and parliament. This was merged in 1853 into what became known as the Royal School of Mines. The medical school has roots in many different schools across London, the oldest of which being Charing Cross Hospital Medical School which can be traced back to 1823, followed by teaching starting at Westminster Hospital in 1834, and St Mary's Hospital in 1851. In 1851, the Great Exhibition was organised as an exhibition of culture and industry by Henry Cole and by Prince Albert, husband of the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria. An enormously popular and financial success, proceeds from the Great Exhibition were designated to develop an area for cultural and scientific advancement in South Kensington. Within the next six years the Victoria and Albert Museum and Science Museum had opened, joined by new facilities in 1871 for the Royal College of Chemistry, and in 1881 the opening of the Royal School of Mines and Natural History Museum.The History Group was commissioned by Imperial’s President’s Board to examine the history of the College through its links to the British Empire, and to report on the present understanding and reception of the College’s legacy and heritage in the context of its present-day mission, which is ‘to achieve enduring excellence in research and education in science, engineering, medicine and business for the benefit of society’. In October the History Group completed their review and published a report, which includes a number of proposed recommendations. You can read the History Group’s Full Report. In the months since, Imperial held a dialogue with the community to hear their views on how best to respond to the issues raised in the report before President’s Board decide on actions to take forward. This History Group were not involved in the community conversation. Staff, students and alumni have had an opportunity to share their views in small group discussions led by independent facilitators, which have now concluded, via the History dialogue Forum on 26 January 2022 and via an email inbox which closed on Monday 13 December 2021.
Watch the videos to learn about the student life-cycle and the teaching environment at the University.