A new publication from Upstream – a partnership between Hammersmith & Fulham Council and Imperial – highlights leaders in innovation and impact.

The Impact and Innovation publication 'II100', which launched earlier this week, celebrates 110 organisations across the region that are leading the way in science, tech, creative and charitable sectors – including many Imperial departments at White City.

The evening was hosted by Upstream, a unique partnership between Imperial College London and Hammersmith and Fulham Council that aims to support collaboration, enterprise and innovation in the borough. The publication showcases the positive impact of these  organisations, and aims to inspire further collaboration by fostering strong, local networks. 

Prema Gurunathan, Managing Director at Upstream said, “We are delighted to bring together so many pioneering organisations doing impressive work across H&F. We hope II110 is a useful platform for them and that it helps us to to build a strong local network of innovators, with inclusive growth at its heart.”   

Guests heard from Dr. Samin Saeed (Chief Scientific Officer and Medical Director, Novartis UK); Professor Maggie Dallman (Vice-President and Associate Provost, Imperial College London); Richard Haynes (CCO, Avado Learning); Tsewang Wangkang (CEO, Embargo); Bethany McDonald Shepherd (Head of Social & Charitable Innovation, LAMDA) and the Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham, Councillor Stephen Cowan.

White City Campus recognition

The White City Innovation District is home to a thriving innovative community, from start-ups to global multinationals. Imperial’s White City Campus sits in the heart of the district, bringing together businesses, academia and the local community on an unprecedented scale. Imperial has created a unique entrepreneurial ecosystem at White City and the 'II110' report highlights some of the College’s most innovative spaces and departments on Campus, including the Advanced Hackspace, Sir Michael Uren Hub and the I-HUB. It also highlights the work taking place at the Molecular Sciences Research Hub and the Imperial College Business School - view the entire publication here.

In the report, Professor Oscar Ces, Head of Chemistry, discusses the transformative work happening at White City and his future hopes for the innovation district. Professor Ramana Nanda, Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance and Academic Lead at the Institute for Deep Tech Entrepreneurship (DTE), outlines the vision for DTE and how the UK government can support this.

The 'II110' publication also features several businesses that have been through Imperial’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and have benefitted from the support, resources and facilities that it provides. One of those companies is Multus, a biotech start-up seeking to lower the cost of producing cultivated meat to enable a more sustainable future for food supply. Co-founded by two Imperial graduates, they began their journey at the Advanced Hackspace before successfully graduating and joining the White City Incubator to grow and expand their operations. 

"Imperial has supported us through ideation to raising our first round of investment and getting product on the market." Cai Linton CEO, Multus

Cai Linton, CEO of Multus, said, "It is a great pleasure to be included in the II100 amongst other impactful and inspiring companies.  We began as students, working on a project in the Advanced Hackspace and used competitions such as the Venture Catalyst Challenge and the Faculty of Natural Sciences ‘Make a Difference’ competition to hone our business idea and focus our research and development. It was with the guidance of our mentors gained through the Imperial Venture Mentoring Scheme that we took on our first external investment, and we are now based in the Translation & Innovation Hub with a team of 11 having just launched our first product Proliferum® M."

Community impact

The 'II110' launch celebrated not only those industry innovators, but also organisations making a positive impact in the Hammersmith and Fulham community and beyond. Professor Maggie Dallman, Vice-President (International) and Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships) spoke about the incredible work taking place at The Invention Rooms.

Professor Dallman and her team lead on supporting and empowering local residents through science, innovation and collaboration. She explained that programmes at The Invention Rooms are co-created with the community,  and are already having a long-lasting impact on all ages. Throughout the pandemic, the team stayed connected with residents by switching to online engagement activities to continue providing vital support to the community. 

Accelerating growth

The launch event was held at Scale Space, a workplace dedicated to helping scaleups innovate and grow. Born out of a joint venture between the UK’s leading digital venture builder Blenheim Chalcot and Imperial College London, they offer over 200,000 sq. ft of tailor-made space for high-growth businesses plus a series of services aimed at solving their members’ challenges.  

In early 2021 Imperial College Business School opened a 12,000 ft2 purpose-built space dedicated to teaching and research, which is used by Business School students and academics.  

Professor Ian Mackenzie, Professor of Practice, briefly spoke at the event and highlighted that the Business School has a presence at Scale Space - for not only teaching, but to provide students with the opportunity to experience Imperial's White City Campus and forge connections with the scale up companies based within Scale Space as well as the wider entrepreneurship community of White City. 

Read Upstream’s II110 publication here.