A powerful force for good

Looking to the future at the Great Exhibition Road Festival

At the heart of the celebrations were the Great Exhibition Road Festival and the Annual Alumni Celebration in London, which took place within days of each other, marking the centre point of our month of celebrations.

South Kensington’s annual celebration of science and the arts is led by Imperial, in partnership with the world-renowned cultural and research institutions that make up Albertopolis. Hundreds of alumni, with their friends and families, flocked to Exhibition Road to be inspired by bold ideas and creative thinking.

Alumni were given early-bird access to talks, as well as a preview of the Tech Zone before the Festival opened to the public. During the first day of the Festival, more than 50 alumni, donors and guests made their way to a Supporter Drop-In at the Alumni Visitor Centre, where they had a chance to meet some of the students who benefit from their support.

Among those students was PhD Scholar, Elsy Milan, who was eager to meet the alumni who made her Imperial journey possible.

Did you know?

Around 3,000 alumni give every year to support our student assistance fund, which helps lift the barriers to university education and give students the freedom to grasp every opportunity to develop as individuals, academics, and leaders.

Reconnecting in London

Among the guests was Philip Jeanes (Aeronautics 1973), who was reunited with an old friend. After graduating, Philip worked for SIA Ltd, a computer bureau in London, between 1975 and 1989, where he carried out engineering calculations using the largest commercially available supercomputer in the UK - a CDC 6600… the same CDC 6600 which was donated to the Science Museum in 1989 and displayed in the Information Age gallery where the event took place.

Celebrating success

The event also served as a platform to recognise the winners of the 2024 Alumni Awards with a ceremony led by Professor Walmsley and Professor Faith Osier, Co-Director of the Institute of Infection and Chair of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology, and member of this year’s judging panel.

The Alumni Awards programme celebrates the outstanding achievements of Imperial graduates and shines a light on their contributions to science, engineering, medicine, business and society across three award categories. They recognise alumni who are game-changers, disruptors and problem solvers. Global citizens with the courage to take risks, lead and collaborate to make things better.

Flying in to attend the ceremony was energy equaliser, Alexandre Tourre (MSc Computing 2009), winner of the Emerging Alumni Leader Award.

Alex is the founder of Easy Solar, who provide power to 200,000 homes across Sierra Leone to transform the lives of millions.

Agent of change, Lola Aworanti-Ekugo (MBA 2019) also travelled to London to receive her award. A digital expert, Lola steers organisations towards an innovative and sustainable future using technology, and works to boost diversity in tech and to support the next generation of female leaders.

Distinguished Alumni Award winner, Professor Monique Frize (MPhil Electrical Engineering 1970) wasn’t able to join the event in person so shared this video message about her inspiration and motivation.

A pioneering electrical engineer and visionary, Monique has pushed the boundaries of the seemingly impossible for over five decades, making a tangible difference to the safety of hospital medical equipment around the world while paving the way for countless female engineers.

The 2025 Alumni Awards are open for nominations until 5 August. We encourage everyone to nominate exceptional former students, colleagues and friends who are Imperial graduates - or nominate yourself if you are an alumnus.

Reunions and celebrations

From five-year-on catch-ups to 50 year milestone celebrations, in June alone the Alumni Engagement team supported ten reunions and counted at least 175 attendees. And of course, that doesn’t include the get-togethers, phone calls, emails and messages flying back and forth between alumni who are still an active part of each other’s lives.

Reunion highlights this month include the BEng Mechanical Engineering Class of 1974, who returned to our South Kensington Campus to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation. Initiated by graduate Kam Cheng, who came all the way from Australia, and organised with support from the Alumni Engagement team, the alumni enjoyed a tour of their old department and chats with Professor Michael Lowe, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and lecturer Dr Jang Ah Kim.

The Department of Chemical Engineering hosted two reunion groups during a reception at the Great Exhibition Road Festival – for the classes of 1994 (celebrating 30 years) and 1989 (celebrating 35 years).

Alumni, are you celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2024? If you finished your Imperial studies in a year ending in 4 or 9, we'd like to help you celebrate by sending you a free pack containing a commemorative pin and souvenir postcards, to be posted to you wherever you are in the world. Just complete the form on our website to request your milestone pack.

Musical mates

Imperial College Sinfonietta, a full student-run symphony orchestra, celebrated their 25th anniversary in style with a weekend of activities.

The highlight was a Reunion Concert, where 60 current members of Sinfonietta were joined by 50 alumni to form a huge orchestra, who performed for a packed auditorium including many more alumni and their families.

They were led by distinguished conductor Daniel Capps (Physics 1996), founder of the society, as they performed a piece written by Bill Carslake.

The piece was commissioned by the Harry Woolhouse Charitable Trust, named after alumnus Harry Woolhouse. The trust supports the current membership, and the long-term future of the orchestra.

Former members of Imperial College Sinfonietta are invited to join the orchestra's LinkedIn group for alumni.

Imperial Male Voice Choir also held a reunion concert in June for lovers of choral and folk music. The choir was formed by alumni who graduated from 1974 onwards. To their knowledge, there are no other alumni male voice choirs formed at British universities – at least none that have clocked up 50 years of singing so far!

Thank you to our amazing alumni volunteers

At the beginning of June, we celebrated Volunteers’ Week, a chance for us to recognise the contributions of alumni who step up to support our students and fellow alumni.

Just a few of the roles alumni have taken on in the past month include:

• Joining Plexus Alumni Mentoring, a peer-to-peer online mentoring programme where alumni can connect for either a one-off conversation or fixed-term mentoring.
• Volunteering to lead or support an alumni group. International networks are pivotal when it comes to keeping our community connected. We have around 40 groups around the world who dedicate their time to organising events (like Global Celebrations) and representing Imperial in their city.
• Sharing their knowledge with students. Whether its delivering a careers talk or signing up to ‘Ask an Alum’, an online programme where alumni can respond to one-off career-related questions from students, the insight that our graduates can provide is invaluable.
• Representing Imperial at student recruitment events internationally, talking to prospective students about the impact Imperial has had on their lives and careers.