From ground-breaking medics to space scientists and entrepreneurs – the Imperial Alumni Awards celebrate outstanding members of the alumni community.

Following the launch of the Alumni Awards programme last year and the inaugural awards ceremony in February 2020, nominations are now open for the Imperial Alumni Awards 2021. Alumni from all backgrounds and industries can be nominated in three award categories.

The Imperial Alumni Awards present an opportunity for the College to acknowledge role models and thought-leaders within the alumni community. Nicola Pogson, Director of Alumni Relations at Imperial, said: "We launched the Alumni Awards to recognise those alumni who are game-changers, disruptors and problem solvers. Those people who have the courage to take risks, who lead change, who collaborate to make things better."

Recognising rising stars, entrepreneurs and leaders

The 2021 award categories have been expanded to reflect the diversity of achievements and contributions within the College's alumni community and celebrate role models from different fields and disciplines.

New for 2021, the Alumni Entrepreneur Award recognises innovative and creative alumni entrepreneurs who can demonstrate commercial success, growth and impact.

The Distinguished Alumni Award honours alumni who have demonstrated sustained excellence in their personal and professional achievements, are leaders in their field or have made a substantial impact on society. 2021 award winners will follow in the footsteps of Harris Bokhari (Mathematics 1999), whose charity has helped over 40,000 young people from underrepresented communities actively participate in democracy and wider civil society, and Professor Angela Vincent (Medicine 1966), whose work on autoimmune diseases, and the identification of specific auto-antibodies that cause several previously unexplained neurological diseases, has made her a major figure in the field of neurology and neuroimmunology.

The Emerging Alumni Leader Award celebrates the next generation of game-changers and leaders who have graduated from Imperial in the last 15 years. Last year’s winners included Dr Veronica Bray Durfey (PhD Earth Science & Engineering 2009), whose work in the field of planetary science has been integral to the development of future missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond, and Arjun Panesar (MEng Computing 2006), founder of one of the world’s leading digital healthcare companies, Diabetes Digital Media. Discover the stories of all our 2020 Emerging Alumni Leaders.

Commenting on Imperial’s commitment to celebrate the stories and achievements of the College’s alumni community, President Alice Gast said: “To find out what our alumni have done with their Imperial education and to watch their successes is truly inspiring, and it makes us remember why we’re all here and what it’s all about. As an institution that is dedicated to excellence, it is an honour to recognise that excellence amongst our alumni with an award.”

For more information on the Awards, who can apply and how to make your nomination stand out, visit the Alumni Awards website. Nominations close at midnight on 2 August 2020.