In this section

International collaboration

     Key facts
    61% of Imperial's students come from outside the UK.

20% of Imperial staff come from European countries (1,788) and 17% from the rest of the world (1,517).

Imperial is the 8th highest HE recipient of research funding in Europe (European Commission H2020 Dashboard).

International collaboration underpins our global scientific strength: 66% of Imperial's publications include an international co-author, spanning 192 countries.

International policy positions should utilise the UK’s leadership and competitive advantage in science, convening power and research excellence. An international science partnerships framework should be based on three key components:

A commitment to UK participation in Horizon Europe for the duration of the programme. Collaborations in Europe form the essential building block to wider global engagement and maintain research excellence - see our interactive map showing the impact of our Imperial’s European collaborations.

Investment in bilateral partnerships and challenge funds with major science and technology powers.
Fund mechanisms that support research collaborations with LMICs in support of ODA objectives. ODA R&D funding programmes, such as the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) have created a framework for sustained UK research and innovation engagement targeting some of the most vulnerable and marginalised in societies where multiple global challenges are acutely concentrated. The GCRF has been hugely successful in generating new research activity and partnerships with real impact on local communities, the UK research and innovation ecosystem and international science partnerships.

Image of the report Collaborating with the best. The value of the European research Council to UK science

Imperial and the ERC

The European Research Council (ERC) was created in 2007 to fund the best scientists for cutting-edge research at the frontiers of knowledge in the top of their field. Find out more about some of the ERC projects at Imperial in our report 'Collaborating with the best - The value of the European research Council to UK science'.

Imperial's impact across Europe

European collaboration is essential to the success of UK science – it is the building block to wider global engagement and maintains research excellence. Imperial researchers work with partners all over Europe to develop the latest technologies and ground-breaking discoveries – sharing expertise, infrastructure and advancing knowledge for the benefit of all. Discover some of these projects and the partners involved on our interactive Europe map.