IGHI showcases innovative research at the Great Exhibition Road Festival

Visitors at the Great Exhibition Road Festival

Our researchers and staff exhibited their groundbreaking work at the Great Exhibition Road Festival.

On 15 and 16 June, researchers and staff from the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) participated in the Great Exhibition Road Festival and shared their impactful work through activities for all ages across the weekend.

This annual event, held on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, offered free hands-on activities, workshops, talks, and performances celebrating science and arts for thousands of visitors.

This year’s festival theme was ‘Flourish!’, celebrating how science and arts help people, communities and nature to flourish.

Climate Cares Centre: Connecting Climate Minds

The climate crisis is a mental health crisis, but there is evidence of the co-benefits of climate action. To help communities flourish - in terms of mental health and climate - it is important to identify and address the mental health impacts of climate change, and to equip people with hope and resilience to tackle the climate crisis. 

The Climate Cares team raised awareness of the mental health impacts of climate change and the benefits of climate action through the Connecting Climate Minds project. 

Visitors engaged with thought-provoking cartoons and participated in the ‘’Climate Emotions Wheel’’ activity, where they pinned their feelings about climate change.

Festival participants also discussed strategies to cope with those emotions and shared their ideas on a ‘string of thoughts’. Notably, a 7-year-old said that he ‘’shouts into his pillow’’ as a way of coping with his feelings about changing climate…Others said they do small climate actions to feel better, such as recycling, minimising plastic use, or spending more time in nature sustainably.

Helix Centre: Designing a healthy future for all

The Helix Centre led the "Designing a healthy future for all" stand, which focused on their Healthy Ageing work. As part of this project they use technology, such as passive sensors in the home, to understand people's behaviour and maintain health in older adults.

Visitors interacted with a dolls house equipped with three real sensors and discussed how the data gathered can indicate any changes in health. People were then invited to answer thought-provoking questions on postcards and display them anonymously on the feedback wall:

• What would you most like technology to tell you about your health?                    

• Why does staying healthy matter to you?
• What are your thoughts about monitoring health at home and privacy?

Over 400 feedback cards were completed over the weekend, and the insights learned from them will impact Helix's work.

Another popular activity was the Squegg competition, where participants tested their grip strength. What is a Squegg you might ask? It is an egg-shaped device that you squeeze and it measures your grip strength. Grip strength naturally decreases with age and is a marker of lower overall muscle mass, which is linked to a greater risk of injury and illness. A healthy grip strength depends on height and weight. The average for an older man is from 23kg to 39kg, and for an older women is from 15kg to 22kg.

Over the weekend, there were approximately 2500 squeezes of the Squegg, and a wall full of a post-it notes made up the leader board. The winning score was 49kg!

Inspired by conversations with Dr Tricia Tay, who is carrying out her PhD as part of the Healthy Ageing project, artist SHIO created a mural painting during the festival. The mural included depictions of smart devices and letters addressed to older people, encouraging visitors to connect more with their grandparents.

Hamlyn Centre: Robotics Forum and LIVE Podcast

The Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery is part of the Robotics Forum, a cross-faculty network and one of the largest European networks, which showcased ongoing work in robotics from across Imperial College London during the festival.

Dr Rob Merrifield led an activity called ‘Create your own surgical robot’. Each participant was asked to draw a robot on a piece of paper, then had their drawings photographed using a computer webcam. They were then shown how to turn their 2D drawing into 3D models using a software package. 

Attendees learned about the benefits of surgeons using surgical robots compared to traditional surgery methods, emphasising how they enhance precision during procedures.

Another highlight was the live recording of the Robot Talk podcast’s 90th episode at the V&A Museum, featuring discussions on robotic prosthetics and human augmentation. Robot Talk is a podcast series funded by the Hamlyn Centre and hosted by Dr Claire Asher. It covers all aspects of robotics research and innovation.

For this special episode, guests Dr Milia Helena Hasbani discussed the control of active prosthetic arms, Dr Benjamin Metcalfe focused on neural interfaces and implanted devices, and Dani Clode explored the future architecture of our bodies. They answered audience questions, sparking engaging conversations on technological breakthroughs and their social impacts.

The full episode was then made available on all major podcast providers the following week.

Fleming Initiative: Infectious Arcade

The Fleming Initiative, in partnership with Imperial's NIHR HPRU for AMR, presented an interactive art display situated within the "Infectious Arcade", a series of games and activities designed to promote awareness and increase understanding around antimicrobial resistance.

The team asked visitors to think about how antibiotics have impacted their lives and what they mean to them. People were invited to write ‘thank you’ messages to antibiotics, contributing to the creation of impressive and moving stories on string cards.

Over the course of the weekend, they were able to demonstrate how important and precious antibiotics are, and why we need to strive to keep them working for another 100 years.