From tackling cancer to summiting Everest: Imperial celebrates inspiring women

Imperial will mark International Women’s Day with a free public event celebrating the achievements of women across research, innovation and the arts.

Imperial Lates: Wonder Woman will showcase Imperial women who are pushing boundaries and challenging what it means to be a woman in the modern world - from pioneering ground-breaking advances in brain surgery to reaching the top of the highest mountain on earth

Held during Women@Imperial week, the event will involve the public through a programme of talks, creative workshops and performances, highlighting the amazing work done by women at the College.

What’s on?

• Take part in a workshop exploring what personal intelligent assistants like Alexa might sound like in a feminist future with the Feminist Internet and reimagine technologies that often reinforce stereotypes about women.
• See live editing of Wikipedia pages to make the internet a more inclusive place for women with a Diversithon led by Dr Jess Wade from the Department of Physics. Also, hear Jess in conversation with Charlotte Webb from the Feminist Internet, talking about whether the internet is biased and how this affects our lives.
• Hear Dr Melanie Windridge, Imperial alumnus and visiting researcher, talk about how she has built a career around her two passions of science and adventure, and her experiences climbing Mount Everest.
• Meet the entrepreneurs hoping to shake up our world, from remoldable bioplastic fracture casts to eco-friendly fertilisers. See five new female-founded startups battle it out in the final stage of the College’s WE Innovate Programme. At the final, held during the Lates event, the finalists will pitch in front of a live audience for a chance to win a share of a £30,000 prize fund, sponsored by BP.
• My life in science and art: Scientists who are also artists will take to the stage to tell their stories and explain what they do. This includes a doctor and concert pianist, a poet and ecowarrior, and an environmental scientist and artist.
• Explore groundbreaking research taking place at the College, from robotic brain surgery inspired by nature, the psychology of technology attachment and wearable technology.
• Step into a world that uses the language of mathematics, logic and science to explore what it means to be a black-British woman in the modern world, with a talk from Keisha Thompson, writer, poet, music producer and activist.

About Women@Imperial Week

Women@Imperial week is a chance to celebrate female staff and students at Imperial, past and present, to reflect on what more we can do to promote gender equality, and to raise awareness of the support available at the College for women.

This year’s events include lectures, workshops and networking sessions, covering topics ranging from what academia could learn from the military to how to make science more accessible. For more information, see the full list of events.