President & Rector Sir Keith O'Nions and Vice President Professor David Gann CBE hosted an event for alumni in Hong Kong on 18 May.

Guest of honour Robert Ness, Director of the British Council Hong Kong, opened proceedings at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. He highlighted Imperial’s recent league table success – third in Europe and eighth in the world – while congratulating the Imperial College Alumni Association of Hong Kong (ICAAHK) on its work over 31 years to build a strong network in the city, contributing to successful partnerships between Hong Kong and the UK.

Sir Keith updated alumni on Imperial’s vision for a new campus in West London, Imperial West.

He said, "To solve big problems, we need to bring brilliant people from different fields together and give them time and space. At Imperial West we will enable global business and academia to co-locate and form long-term relationships with our researchers.”

Professor Gann delivered a special lecture explaining how Imperial academics are “innovating the innovation process” in science, engineering, medicine and business.

He said: “Imperial West will be a place where ideas collide: where colleagues can come together and challenge preconceived ideas and solve big problems.”

Guests spanned the generations, with 1940s graduates rubbing shoulders with their 2012 counterparts.

Among them were six former Chairmen of the ICAAHK, including Dr Leonard Chow (Mechanical Engineering 1984), who was wearing an Imperial Festival t-shirt he had bought just two weeks earlier in South Kensington.

Ken Ho (Civil Engineering 1984, MSc 1985), current Chair of ICAAHK, spoke of his pride in being part of the Imperial family, noting that his own department, Civil Engineering, has just been ranked number one in the world. Describing why he gives his time to lead the work of the alumni association, he said, “I fell in love with Imperial when a student. Through the association we bring together like-minded people, all holding a passion to pursue excellence.”

Mr Ho also announced that ICAAHK are establishing the first ever Hong Kong based mentorship programme for current Imperial students.