Imperial launches consultation on education and student strategy

Imperial is seeking the views of students, staff and alumni, to help shape the College's education and student strategy in the future.

Pro Rector (Education) Professor Debra Humphris is leading the consultation, which begins today and is open until 19 February. Members of the community can share their views in a variety of ways, from attending one of two open meetings, to responding online or tweeting using the hashtag #ImpColEd.

The College’s President and Rector Sir Keith O’Nions said:

 “In an era in which we compete with many other world-class institutions to recruit the brightest and the best, we need to consider what distinguishes Imperial’s offer to students. Over the next few months, in compiling an Education and Student Strategy for the College, we hope to set ourselves a route map. The views of the Imperial community will be critical in setting the future direction.”

Imperial College Union President Paul Beaumont added, “The Union, sabbaticals and student representatives are actively feeding into this process through the Union’s representation structure; but nothing is more powerful in effecting change than a huge mandate. This mandate can only be achieved by all fifteen thousand students collectively voicing ideas, opinions and suggestions.”

The process will also include input from headteachers and employers, sharing their own opinions from the perspectives of preparing future Imperial students and working with them after graduation.

Once views are collated they will inform a green paper on a future education and student strategy, to be produced by the Education Office. The paper will be shared back with the community for further discussion before informing a white paper, proposing a strategy together with an implementation plan, which will be submitted to the June Management Board.

Taking part

As part of the consultation an Education and Student Strategy website has been launched. Alongside background on the process the website has areas for staff, students and alumni taking them, via their respective links, through to a series of questions and provocations grouped around strategic objectives. Participants can then engage with as many of these as they feel able to, with all feedback being anonymous unless respondents choose to identify themselves. 

There will also be two open meetings chaired by Professor Humphris, in which staff and students can  find out more about the process and share their own ideas and opinions. No registration is required, and the meetings will take place in the Pippard Lecture Theatre, Level 5, Sherfield Building, South Kensington Campus on Wednesday 6 February from 13.00 – 14.00 and Thursday 14 February from 17.00 – 18.00.

Visit the Education and Student Strategy website for more information, and to access the consultation questions.