The Invention Rooms nominated for award for improving the lives of Londoners

The Maker Challenge in action

Leading business membership organisation London First has recognised the impact of The Invention Rooms in White City in their annual awards.

The College was nominated for the ‘Improvement to Londoners’ Quality of Life’ category, which rewards initiatives or services that are making life better for the Capital’s inhabitants.

The Invention Rooms, which opened in autumn last year, is a pioneering community innovation space at the College’s White City campus.

The first facility of its kind in the UK, it has cutting-edge workshops, design studios and interactive spaces which allow local young people to get free hands-on experience of designing and prototyping, alongside Imperial’s staff and students.

The Invention Rooms has three different zones including the Reach Out Makerspace where visitors have access to state-of-the art equipment, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and wood and metalworking machinery.

One example of a project, the Maker Challenge, has seen local school students create trainers that can play music while exercising, a lamp that switches itself off when you fall asleep, and a device that can generate electricity from the water running down drainpipes.  

We are honoured to have been recognised by London First for this important project with this nomination and thank all of our colleagues and friends for their support of our work Maggie Dallman

Professor Maggie Dallman, Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships) said: “When we established our campus in White City, we wanted it to be something truly inspirational - far more than just a place our neighbours passed on the way to work. We want to build an open, welcoming place that enriches the local area.

“It is with that vision that we launched The Invention Rooms - a unique facility to inspire, raise aspirations, and enable people of whatever age or background to realise their ideas and ambitions.

“We are proud to be joining the vibrant White City and surrounding communities, and will continue to work with them to boost opportunity and innovation in the area and beyond. We are honoured to have been recognised by London First for this important project with this nomination and thank all of our colleagues and friends for their support of our work.”

London First is a business membership organisation with the mission to make London the best city in the world for business. Its annual awards reward individuals, activities and projects that contribute towards this goal.

The Improvement to Londoners Quality of Life Category was Barts and the Royal London Hospital for providing London with a leading paediatric service within a dedicated Women and Children’s unit, as well as a new district general hospital with specialist tertiary care services.