Alumni and friends gather to meet President Gast in Europe

President Gast visited France and Germany last month to provide an update on College news and meet with members of Imperial's global community.

In October 2016 President Alice Gast hosted events in Paris and Frankfurt for alumni and friends of Imperial. The events gave alumni a chance to hear an update from the College and meet other members of the Imperial community. The Frankfurt Presidential event signalled the start of the German alumni group’s annual conference, which also included a weekend of talks, tours and celebrations.

President Gast said, “I am so pleased to visit such supportive alumni who understand what an incredible place Imperial is. We are a global institution and the support we get from all of you makes a very big difference. Imperial has an important role to play in the world, and we need your help to make it happen.”

Whilst in Paris, President Gast was interviewed by Le Figaro [interview in French]. She shared her thoughts on the consequences of Brexit and encouraged French students to continue to come to the UK for their studies. Read the interview in English.

In Frankfurt, British Consul-General Susan Speller welcomed guests to the event. She said, “I really value the connection I have to the alumni networks and in many ways I see you all as cultural translators between our two countries. As people who have lived, worked and studied in both countries, you understand more than most what makes us tick. That is particularly important at the moment, and we will remain close partners and friends.”
 
President Gast presented some of the exciting research coming out of Imperial, including the College’s ongoing relationship with the European Space Agency. She also highlighted an Imperial study where a CT scanner was repurposed to analyse pieces of sandstone. This enabled scientists to 'treat the rocks as patients', examine their porous structues, and ultimately test their ability to sequest carbon.

She fielded a number of questions from both groups, including one on how alumni could support the College. President Gast said, “You are the best example of how great Imperial is, so let people know where you studied. We need your support and your encouragement, and for you to help us spread the word about the importance of what we do. Philanthropy is also important - every gift counts and financial support from our alumni and friends shows others that you believe that what we are doing is important.  It means a lot to us and to the students who benefit from it.”

Alexandre Tedeschi (Physics 1988) leads the French alumni network. In his closing remarks he said, “It is important to have international connections, especially to universities, and I would encourage you all to stay in touch with fellow alumni and friends here in France."

Alumni impressions

At both receptions, the room was abuzz with alumni telling stories of their time at Imperial. Ruslan Galimov (Sustainable Energy Futures 2010), pictured left, who now works for General Electric, said, “Imperial changed my life - not only mine, but the life of my family. In 2009 I was working in Russia, and then I won a Chevening scholarship. I had several choices but I’m so happy I went to Imperial even though my wife was pregnant at the time and my second baby was born while I was studying. I was offered a job at GE whilst I was still at Imperial and we decided to move to France to take it up. It was a very valuable course and now I’m so passionate about sustainability that I have bought an electric car, and we have three bins at home for recycling, food waste and rubbish!”

David Hobman (Materials 1973), pictured right, said, “When I was at Imperial I did get into a bit of trouble - I was once hauled up to the Lord Penny’s office, the then-Rector of Imperial, for a telling off because of some RAG week antics. I am more than six feet tall and we were fundraising, so I was dressed up as a gorilla and we were going around on the Circle line asking for donations. We decided to go into a NatWest bank to fundraise, and when I went up to the cashier they fainted! I had to make a pretty abject apology to the Rector. We did manage to raise about £4,000 over the year for a charity for unmarried mothers, which was a considerable sum of money considering how unfashionable a cause it was at the time.” 

Phil (Electrical Engineering 1974) and Ann Dunbar met while they were studying at Imperial and Battersea College respectively. “Imperial is just such a big part of our lives", they said. The pair learnt ballroom dancing together through the programmes at the Halls of Residence and they are still brushing up on their ballroom skills in Paris. In 2015 they attended the Alumni Weekend, and Phil said, “It was just terrific to go and see those passageways last year - we used to do it illicitly when I was at Imperial so it was great to be on an officially sanctioned visit!"

Antonia Mills (Biology 2000), said, “It was a compelling event to hear about Imperial's latest multiple achievements and engagements. The evening was also a great opportunity to network with fellow alumni, share our experiences at Imperial and share how the College continues to shape our careers."

Tomas Cwik (MSc Aeronautics 2009, PhD 2013), pictured right, was at the reception in Frankfurt. He said, “I studied and now work in composite materials. While I use what I studied in my role at BASF, I also think that being at Imperial gave me a completely different, often more abstract perspective, on the world – something that helps you tackle certain problems. I was also grateful for the travel opportunities during my PhD; I went to a lot of conferences.”

Lifelong learning

In Germany, President Gast said that the alumni group’s conference epitomised her view of Imperial’s alumni community because of the commitment to lifelong learning. An excellent speaker line-up included Professor Tom Welton, Imperial College’s Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences on “Chemistry for a cleaner future”, Professor Dr Michael Schulz, Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences University of Bremen (MARUM) on “Our changing climate - history, human influence and future development", Silvia Kreibiehl, Head of the Frankfurt School UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance on "Trends in climate finance and outlook for the post-Paris environment", and Professor Guy Woodward, Professor of Ecology, on "Networking our way towards healthier ecosystems".

See the new drone footage of the mesocosm experiments, which Professor Guy Woodward outlined in his presentation at the German groups conference.

Following the well-received conference, the group went on a traditional Ebbelwei Express journey through Frankfurt in a 1950s tram and had dinner at Restaurant Druckwasserwerk.