Outlook Magazine 2022-23

It was an honour to begin my term as Imperial’s President in August 2022. Imperial is one of the world's leading universities and attracts the brightest minds from across the globe. I have been inspired during my first months by the dedication of our community to generate and harness new knowledge and technologies to make our world healthier, smarter, safer, more prosperous and more sustainable.

In my inaugural President’s Address, I highlighted several key strategic challenges for the College, including implementing solutions to the climate crisis and the sustainability of our organisation.

Steps are underway to drive forward discovery, convert innovations into applications, train future leaders and communicate academic knowledge to businesses, industry and policymakers to help shape their decisions. As part of this, we will need to be more radical in our approach to equity, diversity and inclusion and widening participation in meeting these global challenges.

Delivering on our own commitment to transition to net-zero by 2040 will require visionary direction from industry experts. We have recruited our own Professor Tim Green, as the new Academic Leader in Sustainability, and Harriet Wallace, who joins us from the Civil Service as Sustainability Strategy Director, to inform our approach to this goal.

In the coming year we will develop our new institutional strategy to capture our vision for the next 10–20 years and create a roadmap to guide our decision-making and investments and inspire others to join us. We will seek views from our entire community and from external stakeholders, and I hope you will help us shape our ambition.

Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London

This year, Imperial has taken major leaps forward in identifying and supporting bold solutions for the climate and environmental crises, and capitalising delivering them from our unique position in London.

Our innovation activity welcomes a new Director, Alyssa Gilbert, and has evolved with a new name –Undaunted – and bold branding to match. At the same time, we say thanks to Professor Richard Templer, who stepped down as Director of Innovation. His visionary contribution has set us on this path undaunted by the challenges.

In the pages of this magazine, you will read about the successes of Imperial’s cross-cutting researchers who are advancing the knowledge needed to address the impacts of climate change, restore biological diversity and protect human rights and basic needs. The publication isn’t long enough to list all their achievements, so we encourage you to sign up to our newsletter for the latest news, events and updates.

In the education space, impact generated by our students continues to reach new heights and we report on the student-led Climate Investment Challenge, which won a prestigious Business School award. Imperial has grown its offering of training programmes online and for adult learners looking to expand their climate leadership options, and as we go to press, the Grantham Institute is delighted to appoint its first Director of Training, Anne Houston.

With much of the key science settled, it is now essential to tackle the climate and ecological crises with verifiable plans put firmly into effect. The Grantham Institute and Imperial stand for excellence, and we are glad to meet the strengthening demand for solutions from decision-makers across government and in all sectors.

“It is now essential to tackle the climate and ecological crises with verifiable plans put firmly into effect”

It is vital that through our national and global networks, we keep a watchful eye on progress and stay alert for new threats and opportunities. We invite you to connect and collaborate with us as we advance in our mission. Finally, a personal thanks to Professor Martin Siegert, who has stepped down as my co-Director. His legacy propels us towards a cleaner, greener, fairer future for all, and for that we are immensely grateful.

Ralf Toumi, Professor of Physics and Co-Director of the Institute