In this section

College Shared Space

Review & Consultation

These policies have been developed with input from staff and student stakeholders from across College. Further detail can be found on the Review & Consultation page, along with any policies which are currently open for comment.

Overview

The College Space Sharing Programme, under the authority of the Assistant Provost (Space), is working to ensure that the College maximises its use of space to help support the best possible teaching and learning experience for students and staff. Key to this has been the development of a Space Policy Framework and set of subsidiary policies, designed to bring transparency to the use and management of College space. Please find below links to each of the policies, as well as guidance for staff and students on the types of events and activities that can take place in the College's shared spaces.

What is Shared Space?

Shared space includes all core College spaces which have a primary purpose of Teaching (e.g. lecture theatres, seminar rooms, teaching labs), Meetings (including departmental meeting rooms), or Events (e.g. Queen's Tower Rooms). Communal spaces (e.g. libraries, cafeterias, lawns) are also considered shared. Further details can be found in the Space Sharing Policy.

Space Policy Framework

The Framework is a single, clear point of reference for navigating specific policy areas

Space Sharing Policy

This policy aims to articulate and clarify College policy regarding the use of shared space.

Academic Timetabling Policy

This policy articulates and clarifies College policy regarding Academic Timetabling

Room Booking Policy

This Policy describes the College policy and norms for efficiently finding and booking College shared spaces.

Acceptable Uses of a Shared Space

A categorised set of events has been developed, below, to help staff and students decide if their activity is suitable to take place in College shared space. These will also help inform the prioritisation of activities in different types of shared space (teaching, meeting, or event space), as described in the College's Space Sharing policy.

College Calendar (anchor events)

Anchor events	Definition
Alumni event - Alumni Weekend	A series of tours, receptions and reunion events hosted over one weekend, usually in May, and in tandem with Imperial Festival or the Great Exhibition Road Festival. .
Graduation - Commemoration Day	Annual Undergraduate graduation ceremonies followed by departmental celebrations, held in October.
Graduation - Postgraduate Awards ceremony	Annual Postgraduate graduation ceremonies and post-ceremony celebrations, held in May.
ICU Freshers' Fair	ICU organised fresher's fair, promoting clubs and societies and other student focused services, held during Welcome Week.
ICU Summer Ball	ICU organised annual ball celebrating the end of the academic year, usually held on the third Saturday in June.
Imperial Festival	Annual celebration of Imperial STEMB subject expertise, usually held in May, in tandem with the Alumni Weekend.
Open Day - undergraduate	Three, annual, one-day events showcasing the College offer for potential undergraduate students, usually in June and September.
President's Annual Address	The annual address by the President of Imperial College London to College staff, students and special VIP invited guests of College, followed by a large reception.
Welcome to Imperial 2024	A week long series of talks, special events and receptions to introduce new students to College.
Welcome Week - College talks	College level talks given to a intake of students, scheduled during Welcome Week in October.

Learning and Teaching

All teaching and examination activities[1], including all lectures, seminars, tutorials and assessments that are published in academic timetables; including designated study periods that may occur during the core teaching year.

Summary of the table's contents
Activity Type	Definition
Alumni event - Department	A learning activity, organised by a Department for its current students, allowing alumni to share their knowledge and experience.
Class	A staff-led group teaching event that may relate to one or more academic modules, and is flexible in nature.
Clinical Skills	A practical learning activity relating to medical skills and aspects of patient care through explanatory and practical sessions.
Computer session	A timetabled teaching event that requires a room with multiple computer workstations or laptops with specialist software to deliver a component(s) of an academic course or module.
Departmental inductions	A department level introduction to a course or programme for students, usually as part of their induction programme.
Drop-in	A non-mandatory, timetabled, session where attendance is flexible within the length of the session.
Engineering workshop session	Supervised student operation of production equipment in the manufacture of engineered components.
Examination	A formal, time-constrained assessment under invigilation, i.e. examination conditions.
Executive education - programme level	A programme of learning and teaching events delivered for fee paying external attendees.
Feedback session	A group session normally associated with a specific activity to provide general feedback on non-individual students’ work or assessments.
Field trip	A timetabled, off-campus event attended by students and staff.
Filming	Live filming for distance learning, promotional activity or project work.
Filming - academic purpose	Filming organised by a Department for the purpose of teaching and learning, occurring in any environment across College.
Group Teaching	Small or medium sized groups involving co-teaching.
Guided independent study	A time and/or space set aside for students, individually or in groups, to work independently on a specific topic, or task as directed by the tutor.
Horizons teaching	An elective undergraduate programme available to students. Timetabled events occur between 16.00 - 18.00 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In-class assessment	A module-related assessment or test, typically outside of the formal examination period, which may be formative or summative in nature.
Independent study	A time and/or space required for students, individually or in groups, to work independently on their own initiative.
Induction	An event to introduce a course or module or a start of session or a project.
Laboratory Session (Includes: Practical/Workshop)	A supervised practical learning activity undertaken in a specialist laboratory environment.
Lecture	A presentation given before a large audience, usually students, to teach them about a particular subject.
Meeting - Examination Board	An academic staff meeting with the purpose of agreeing formal student assessment.
Peer to peer teaching/learning	A student led, often un-timetabled, teaching and learning activity driven by peer to peer collaboration.
Placement	Placement is learning that is a planned and structured part of an academic course which takes place outside the institution.
Presentation	A timetabled event where students present their academic work to peers and tutors.
Problem based learning	Interactive group activity that is module-specific and generally staffed, and which focuses on a specific problem or set of problems.
Project work	An activity that is module-specific, normally time-limited, with specific and defined resources, specifically the physical resources and directed towards an assessment with staffed guidance.
Revision	Summation of previously taught material/course content usually prior to an examination or an in-class assessment.
Student presentation	The presentation of a paper or poster to an academic peer group, either staff, students or both.
Student Training	Non-credit bearing that is essential or recommended learning.
Study Group	A staffed interactive group activity attended by students that is non-module-specific.
Support class	Scheduled meetings between supervisors and groups of students to support progress through a course or module.
Team based learning	An interactive team based activity, which is staffed, where students work in teams to solve a set of problems.
Tutorial - Academic	A staffed and module-specific interactive group activity.
Tutorial - Pastoral	A non-module specific staffed interactive group activity, or individual session as needed, aimed at developing and supporting students with their learning, and personal matters when appropriate.
Viva	Presentation by student to lecturer as part of a course. Usually booked by student.
Workshop	A meeting at which a group of students / staff engage in intensive discussion and activity on a particular subject or project.

[1] Teaching activities includes cross-college, service and outreach teaching delivered by the Graduate School, Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication and Outreach team.

Research

Summary of the table's contents
Activity Type	Description
Conference - third party via Imperial contact	An externally organised conference, which received personal sponsorship or recommendation by a College academic based on its subject content.
Conference - STEMB learning/research focus	An internally or externally organised event, which has outputs directly related to STEMB activity at Imperial and may be attended by College staff and students e.g. conference, symposium, exhibition, meeting, training.
Laboratory/workshop/specialist area	Ongoing, recurrent, or untimetabled research activity in a specialist space e.g. laboratory.
Medicine partner event	A learning, teaching or research activity organised by a named Imperial Partner organisation, e.g. IC Academic Health Science Centre.
Seminar	An event mainly attended and led by academics, offering the opportunity for greater interaction and in-depth discussion of academic topics between its participants. It may be attended and/or led by guest speakers.

College Student Community

Booked events and activities for ICU (and constituent unions) Clubs and Societies as named on the ICU website or College organised events that are specifically designed primarily for the benefit of students.

Summary of the table's contents
Activity Type	Description
Careers event - invited ICU	A careers fair organised and managed by Imperial College Student Union.
Careers event - invited Imperial	A careers fair, specifically organised by College Careers or academic department, for the benefit of Imperial students.
Enterprise Week	A week of events celebrating Enterprise at Imperial, which takes place in March, including various lectures, receptions and exhibitions across campus.
ICU club events/conferences	An irregular, or one-off, event hosted by an ICU club or society, open to all Imperial students, and occasionally attendees from other higher education institutions.
ICU club meeting	Regular or irregular meetings for all ICU club or society members, including ICU club, society or Management Group Committees and AGMs.
ICU educational event in labs	A talk or presentation by an ICU club or society offered to a College audience in a specialist space - e.g. laboratory.
ICU rehearsal	Regular or irregular meetings of the members of an ICU club or society that require a specific performance space e.g. Great Hall, JCR. There are occasionally attendees from other higher education institutions.
ICU society talk/networking events	A talk or presentation by an ICU club or society, offered to a College audience.
ICU sports	ICU sporting activities, usually hosted in a sporting venue or facility.
ICU theatre/orchestra/dance	A performance by an ICU performing group that may be free or ticketed for an internal / external audience.
ICU prayer bookings	A fixed booking every Friday for IC Islamic Society, 12pm - 2pm.
Sports events e.g. varsity	A ticketed or unticketed sports event, organised by ICU, to which a College or wider supporter group is invited.

College Staff Community

Summary of the table's contents
Activity Type	Description
Conference - Professional	A conference hosted by a support department relevant to that area of professional activity - e.g. human resources, librarianship, facilites management.
Diversity Week	A week of events, held in February, celebrating diversity at Imperial. This includes lectures, receptions and exhibitions across campus.
Drop-in	A non-mandatory, booked session, where attendance is flexible within the length of the session.
Event - Departmental celebration	A department level celebration such as an away day, or retirement party.
Internal Achievement Awards	An event held in June, during which the President gives out awards to staff members across College, along with a reception.
Interview	A formal consultation usually to evaluate qualifications and/or suitability for a role (typically attended by staff and prospective students/employees).
Staff/student wellbeing event	A College level event arranged for the benefit of Imperial Staff e.g. Pensions presentation, strategy town hall meeting.
Training	A learning activity aimed at imparting new knowledge and/or developing new skills to enable staff to perform certain tasks or activities.
Women @ Imperial Week	A week of events in March, celebrating Women at Imperial, including lectures, receptions and exhibitions across campus.
Workshop	A meeting at which a group of staff engage in intensive discussion and activity on a particular subject or project.

Advancement, Student Recruitment and Outreach

Booked events and activities focused on promoting the College (and its unique STEMB offering), through engagement with external parties including prospective students, alumni, schools, current and potential benefactors.

Summary of the table's contents
Activity Type	Definition
Alumni event - College	College, faculty or department led activity such as Alumni weekend or bespoke alumni event with a focus on celebration and engagement.
Alumni event - Donor	College, faculty or department led activity such as a dinner or reception with the intent to engage with alumni as sponsors, donors, prospects, external stakeholders etc.
Annual lectures	Named special lectures with speakers including Nobel Laureates, senior figures in the STEMB community and other prominent people from related fields. Includes the Schrodinger Lecture, the Ernst Chain Lecture, the Peter Lindsay Memorial Lecture, the Vincent Briscoe Lecture, the EDF Lecture, the Athena Lecture, etc.
Campus tours	Hosted tours of campus that are offered to the public with a view to showcasing College prior to or during student recruitment.
Donor event - Invited external guests	College, faculty or department led activity such as a dinner or reception with the intent to engage with external individuals or organisations as donors, prospects and external stakeholders.
Festival Fringe events	Regular events hosted in the Main Entrance, with exhibits based on a certain STEMB theme, which are open to the public.
Filming - College promotional	College commissioned filming to support student recruitment or promote College communications (home or international).
Lecture - Christmas	An annual public lecture attracting over 650 11-16 year old school children.
Lecture - Inaugural	High profile lectures by Imperial academics with a registered and / or invited audience showcasing STEMB expertise.
Outreach teaching	STEMB teaching, targeting UK schools as part of the College's widening participation agenda, and driven by the College's obligations under the terms of its Access Agreement.
Presidential event	Events hosted by the President, with invited staff or external stakeholders (i.e. not alumni or donors).
School visit	Regular hosted visits to College that introduces school pupils to STEMB subjects and the wider university experience.
Summer school - Department hosted	Academic department hosted summer schools, usually a week or longer, arranged to showcase or engage with visiting students on a specific STEMB subject.
Summer School - Imperial Global	Flagship (income generating) summer school, consisting of two identical, two-week, residential programmes delivered in July and August. These are aimed at UK and overseas 16 / 17 year old students, focussing on STEMB subjects, with a strong student recruitment and conversion aim.
Summer school - Outreach hosted	Outreach organised summer schools run in accordance with the College’s Access Agreement and commitments to the Office of Fair Access (OFFA).
VIP visit - Invited by College	Imperial hosts VVIP high profile guests, specifically sought out by College to engage with a range of internal / external audiences.

College Governance and Business

Summary of the table's contents
Activitiy Type	Definition
Interviews and recruitment	Meetings and interview activities that relate specifically to the recruitment of new staff to College.
Meeting - Board / Faculty	Board, faculty and operational activities at a College level, usually presented in the published College calendar.
Meeting - Departmental, management, or operational	Departmental activities around the operational management of a team or department in College.
Meeting - Teaching committee	Activities relating to the academic organisation of a course or progamme, specifically teaching.

Facilities Management

Summary of the table's contents
Activity Type	Definition
Building maintenance and facilities management	Any activity (planned or reactive) that is conducted to create, update or maintain a physical College space and related equipment.
Set up/take down	Room set-up and takedown activity involving furniture or other equipment and signage.

Other Income

Activity Type	Definition
Careers event - Requested	A career fair that is requested via an external company or organisation.
Event - 3rd party non STEMB subject	An externally organised event, e.g. conference, symposium, exhibition, meeting or training, which has coverage NOT directly related to STEMB activity at Imperial.
Event - External business or social event	An external individual(s) or company's private event e.g. Social - party, birthday, wedding, wake or Business - breakfast, day meeting, dinner etc.
Event - Imperial employee private event	An Imperial employee(s) private event eg party, social event, birthday, wedding, wake etc.
Filming - Commercial	Agreed filming on College premises or involving College staff, generating income for College.
Product launch / showcase	A requested event which has a primary purpose of launching a new product or service, generating income for College.
Summer school - External	Externally organised summer schools using a range of College spaces to deliver their own content.
VIP visit - Requested	A requested event which has a primary focus of a VIP e.g. book launch, policy statement.