Imperial News

A new community for White City deep tech innovators

by Gavin Reed

The Deep Tech Network hosts its second event for researchers and technology-led businesses on 26 September

Innovative, technology-led businesses and researchers in White City have a new opportunity to interact and collaborate as part of the new Deep Tech Network, which has its second event on 26 September.

At White City, Imperial College London has created a new campus for research, innovation and entrepreneurship and the local area is emerging as a hub for businesses driven by advanced, hard-to-replicate technological innovations known as ‘deep tech’. Alongside new infrastructure and new equipment housed, for example, in the Molecular Sciences Research Hub (MSRH), developments in the West London neighbourhood are providing new opportunities for interaction and collaboration among the science and deep tech community. This is being facilitated by the recently launched Deep Tech Network.

Dr Becky Wilson, Imperial’s Director of Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation for the Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: “There was a real sense of excitement at the first Deep Tech Network event as like-minded innovators met and discussed new ways of working together. The Network is helping us to build a new sense of community among the innovators in White City as well as drawing in deep tech businesses from further afield. We launched it to help stimulate interactions between industry sectors, offering deep tech businesses opportunities to find new applications for their technologies, while facilitating recruitment and collaboration by introducing businesses to our researchers and students.”

Richard Jarvis, Head of Corporate Affairs from Novartis UK speaking at the last Deep Tech Network event

The network offers an opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs in a range of sectors, including health, pharma, defence, cleantech, biotech, to meet each other and connect with academics and students from Imperial, especially the Department of Chemistry, now largely based at White City.

The Network is supported by Imperial’s Department of Chemistry, its Enterprise Division, and Upstream, a collaboration between Imperial and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which is designed to support the development of a world-class innovation ecosystem  in White City.

The next Deep Tech Network event takes place on 26 September from 15.30 – 19.30, beginning with short talks from academics, industry professionals and founders at the Molecular Sciences Research Hub, followed (from 17:45) by networking over free drinks and pizza next door in the I-HUB. Please  register in advance via Eventbrite to avoid disappointment.