Professor Alice Gast welcomed Imperial alum Karen Bradley MP back to the College to hear about the latest advances in data science.

Professor Gast and the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport discussed the links between Imperial’s research and innovation priorities and the government’s Industrial Strategy and Digital Strategy during the visit on Thursday 16 November.

Professor Yi-Ke Guo, Director of the Data Science Institute, welcomed Ms Bradley to the DSI and showcased the cutting-edge big data research taking place at the heart of Imperial’s South Kensington Campus.

Dr. Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye, Head of Imperial’s Computational Privacy Group, presented to the Secretary of State on his research into data privacy and the shortcomings of existing data anonymization techniques.

Ms Bradley said: “It has been wonderful to return to Imperial today and see how the Data Science Institute is putting the UK at the forefront of the big data revolution. Cyber security and data privacy are critical to the UK’s future success in the global digital economy."

Ms Bradley graduated with a BSc in Mathematics from the College in 1991 and went on to work as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser before embarking on a career in politics. She was appointed as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport by Theresa May when she became Prime Minister in July 2016.

The government’s Digital Strategy, for which Ms Bradley’s department is responsible, was launched in March this year. It aims to build a world-class digital infrastructure, provide everyone with the digital skills they need, help businesses become digital and unlock the power of data in the UK economy.

President Alice Gast and Karen Bradley MP in the Data Observatory

Researchers at Imperial were awarded £6m as part of this funding boost to make major advances in the field of surgical micro-robotics. Professor Guang-Zhong Yang, Director and Co-Founder of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, will look to establish platform technologies to assist in the development of sophisticated micro-instruments integrated with imaging, sensing and robotic assistance for use in minimally invasive surgery.

Minister of State for Digital, Matt Hancock MP, previously visited the White City Campus’ Translation and Innovation Hub (I-HUB) in October, hosted by Imperial’s Vice-President (Innovation) Professor David Gann.

Image credit: Andrew Czyzewski