Chair of House of Commons Science Committee visits White City

Greg Clark MP, Chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, visited our White City Campus.

Mr Clark was hosted by Imperial's Provost Professor Ian Walmsley at White City to see the innovation ecosystem and community programmes that Imperial builds across the Campus.

During his time as Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Mr Clark published the Industrial Strategy which set the trajectory of increases to UK research intensity. In his role as Chair of the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee, Mr Clark has been a strong advocate for research and innovation. 

Mr Clark heard about the College’s STEM education outreach at The Invention Rooms and Dangoor Reach Out Makerspace.  Mr Clark also visited the Advanced Hackspace, where he saw first-hand how the innovative ideas of Imperial staff and students were being realised with the mentorship of our HackFellows.

It was fantastic to see how the College supports entrepreneurship at every stage, from inspiration and ideation through to incubation. Mr Greg Clark Chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee

In the Sir Michael Uren Hub, Mr Clark was able to discuss research and developments in air pollution science with  Professor Frank Kelly, Battock Chair in Community and Health Policy. Mr Clark was responsible for setting ‘clean growth’ as a Grand Challenge of the 2017 Industrial Strategy, and Professor Kelly explained how air pollution monitoring has developed in recent years, including the studies of indoor air pollution. 

At the White City Incubator, Mr Clark spoke to some of Imperial’s most exciting startup companies. Mr Clark met with FreshCheck who have created the world’s first affordable test for contamination with a simple colour changing spray. Mr Clark also visited Addionics, a company that has developed next-generation rechargeable batteries for use in electric vehicles and beyond. 

Mr Clark also had the opportunity to hear about Scale Space - a joint venture between the College and digital venture builder Blenheim Chalcot. Scale Space plays a key role in Imperial’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and is dedicated to helping scaleups innovate and grow.  

Mr Clark said, “From outreach programmes for young people in the community to world-leading scientific research, it was a pleasure to learn about all aspects of Imperial’s footprint in White City and to see how the College is leading innovation locally and beyond. It was also fantastic to see how the College supports entrepreneurship at every stage, from inspiration and ideation through to incubation.”