Imperial launches new-look interactive news service

Imperial News can be viewed on a tablet or smartphone

Imperial College London has launched a brand new interactive news website.

Imperial News is modelled closely on established news websites such as the BBC but will be unique in the UK university sector.

The site will feature expert opinion pieces alongside news of Imperial’s research and education activities, and users will be able to engage with Imperial by commenting on stories.

Imperial News has an adaptable layout, with a variety of column designs and lead story layouts that gives it the flexibility to respond to daily news. It replaces a chronological list of stories – standard for the sector – with a front page and series of themed sections on science, engineering, health, business, and college and campus, letting readers browse the subjects that interest them the most.

It has been tailored to make it easy to access content from a variety of platforms including touchscreen smartphones and tablets. Audio, video images and the written word will all be used to bring news and feature stories to life.

Caroline Davis, Head of Communications at Imperial, said: “As one of the world’s top universities, Imperial is a source of fascinating stories about new discoveries, student achievements and day to day life on our campuses.  In developing Imperial News we wanted to do justice to those stories, capturing their vibrancy through a window on the world of the College.”

 “We hope people will enjoy exploring Imperial News and look forward to receiving their comments.”

The site will combine specially commissioned material with news and features from the College’s existing news channels such as press releases, the staff newspaper Reporter and the Imperial podcast.

Karsten Seipp, Senior Digital Designer and Developer at Imperial said: “We have designed the site to make it easy for anyone who is interested in science news and news about Imperial to be able to access it freely. A front page and a series of theme pages will help users to browse through content and once they have clicked through to a story, they will be offered a variety of other stories and links that may be of interest.”

Content for the site is produced and edited by staff from Imperial’s award-winning Communications and Public Affairs Division with contributions from the College’s Faculties of Medicine, Natural Sciences and Engineering, the Business School and support services.

The site will be edited by Kerry Noble, Research Editor and News Manager, and graduate of Imperial’s Science Communication MSc. She said: “I look forward to reading comments from colleagues and students across the College. I also want to encourage staff and students to contribute to the pages by suggesting story ideas and by writing their own stories.”

Imperial News is aimed at broad audience including the 22,000 current staff and students, 168,000 alumni and the general public.

“We hope Imperial News will inform and entertain anyone with an interest in the College’s work. The breadth of news and features could help school students researching course work, patients hoping to learn about the latest medical advances, and academics from other institutions seeking new collaborations,” Caroline Davis added.