Around 50 alumni and friends of Imperial met President Gast in Dublin last Wednesday evening, at the first College event in Ireland.

Alumni, friends, offer holders, students and their families learnt about   recent developments at the College direct from President Gast, and alumni discussed how an Irish network could be developed.

President Gast said, “It has been great to be able to bring a little bit of Imperial here to Dublin, and to meet with so many alumni and friends. We pride ourselves on our foundational research; that depth is important to the collaborative work we do so well.  And we value the relationships we have with our Irish collaborators and partners. Imperial is and will remain a global and European university and I am pleased to be here in Ireland to reinforce that message and to strengthen ties."

President Gast’s presentation covered the College’s growing entrepreneurial community, including the Althea-Imperial Programme for female student entrepreneurs, and the latest news regarding the new White City Campus. She also touched on diverse areas of the College’s research, including the new Data Sciences Institute, the 96-pond experiment at Silwood Park used to study ecosystems at different temperatures, and a study on the effects of diet on risk factors for colon cancer.

Questions put to President Gast  included Imperial’s presence in Ireland and how it could be strengthened, the impact of the EU Referendum on fees for European students, Imperial’s ambitions for gender equality in academia in light of the Athena Swan Programme, and specific questions on research areas including carbon capture and FinTech.

Ireland doesn’t currently have an established alumni group, but a number of alumni at the event stepped forward to assist with efforts to launch a network. Those wishing to help out should get in touch by email.

Meet some of the alumni who attended the event below, or see a full set of images from the evening here