Current projects

Summary

What makes this project unique?

We are inviting you to take part in a unique collaboration where you will be directly involved in shaping the future of assessment and feedback for students across Imperial. This opportunity is not to be missed and the scale of this project will see you operate in a network which stretches the breadth of the whole institution.

Background

Assessment and feedback are critical components of the learning experience at Imperial and we recognise that it is an area where improvements are needed to support the student experience. The University has made a commitment to improve assessment and feedback experiences by setting up a 2 year project to review and refine assessments across all faculties. The University has set up an Assessment and Feedback Monitoring and Advisory group to spearhead a comprehensive university-wide improvement in these areas. As part of the initial phase of this initiative, staff Faculty Review Coordinators have been recruited to work within faculties and departments to progress this work and ensure collaboration between students and staff on this project. The next phase of this initiative is to facilitate a partnership between yourselves, as students, and staff in faculties, in making meaningful changes to how assessment and feedback are received by staff and students alike.

This project is coordinated by the Education Office however, you will be working with your peers, elected student representatives and the staff Faculty Review Coordinators in your own faculty.

What activities can you get involved with?

This project is up to you and your respective Faculty Review Coordinator to shape as you are the experts in your own departments. The project has an overall ambition to reduce the assessment burden and improve feedback processes across all programmes. You will do this by working with student representatives who capture the student voice and the Faculty Review Coordinators who will support you in the implementation of a process for realising these ambitions and improving the student experience of assessment and feedback.

This will be a collaborative process between you and the Faculty Review Coordinators, some areas that you may wish to consider are:

• Data gathering of current assessments
• Creation of assessment calendars and templates
• Creation of a checklist for developing new assessments and practices
• Capturing and including the student voice through working with student representatives

What will you gain?

By taking part in this project, you will have the opportunity to gain a range of skills and knowledge such as:

• Gaining insights into the assessment and feedback processes at the university
• Opportunities to engage with the wider student body to facilitate change
• Collaboration with the student representative network
• Skills in a range of project management areas such as data capture and change processes
• Access to staff networks

The long-term impact will be sustained through the ongoing support of the Assessment and Feedback Monitoring and Advisory Group until 2026, with the intention of integrating successful strategies into Business As Usual (BAU) activities beyond this timeframe and ultimately changing disciplinary assessment culture. Embedding these changes into standard practices will ensure that the benefits are lasting and continue to evolve with student needs.

As part of the project, you will also take place in a workshop with some of the staff partners involved and this will be communicated to you upon confirmation of recruitment.

Project Lead

Amandip Bisel (amandip.bisel@imperial.ac.uk), Head of Education and Student Experience Strategy Projects, Education Office

Pippa Greenwood (p.greenwood@imperial.ac.uk), Education Projects Manager, Education Office

Further Details/Experience Required

Undergraduate students in Year 2 and above across all faculties. We welcome applications from students of other levels of study if you have a particular interest in helping to shape assessment and feedback changes in your departments.

10 weeks part-time, between November and March inclusive of a Christmas break.  

Assessment recruitment ad

Summary

This project will involve engaging across Imperial’s diverse student body to bring representative voices into CfAE’s (Centre for Academic English) curriculum design. CfAE will partner with you to gather invaluable qualitative data through a series of student-led focus groups on how Imperial can:

• meet the communication demands of the ‘Science for humanity’ mission of Imperial’s Learning and Teaching Strategy;
• support all students in developing the lifelong communication skills that are essential to their career;
• expand and improve how Imperial addresses the crucial communication aspect of student assessment and feedback in a scalable and sustainable way.

In collaboration with student partners, you will develop and engage in three focus group discussions, with incentives and refreshments for participants. The aim of these discussions is to provide us with a clearer understanding of students’ perspectives on Imperial’s emerging communication context following the pandemic and the emergence of generative AI. You will then have 2 half-days to produce an evidence-based set of recommendations on how CfAE’s existing expertise can contribute to improving communication at Imperial and how to market this to ensure student buy-in.

Your recommendations will give us input on how to build an accessible, collaborative and supportive space/environment that fully responds to Imperial students’ expectations – a space where students can improve their communication in an environment they have helped shape.

Through this partnership, you will learn how to run effective focus groups, analyse the qualitative data from these groups and present your findings to the CfAE team in a supportive environment.

Project Lead

June Hammond (june.hammond@imperial.ac.uk) Teacher of English for Academic Purposes, Institute for Extended Learning

Robin Mowat (r.mowat@imperial.ac.uk) Senior Teacher of English for Academic Purposes, Institute for Extended Learning

Andrew Northern (a.northern@imperial.ac.uk) Teacher of English for Academic Purposes, Institute for Extended Learning

Further Details/Experience Required

Four undergraduate student partners from the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and/or the Faculty of Medicine. We are ideally hoping for at least one student to represent each Faculty.   

Six half-days of engagement between January and March.  

CfAE recruitment ad

Summary

Educators routinely use role models and historical figures to introduce concepts and relationships. In science and engineering, these characters are typically white, Western men, which impacts students’ self-identity and sense of belonging. Contextualizing the Curriculum (CtC) will expand curricula to include modern-day diverse figures, cultures, and perspectives. This initiative is not solely concerned with knowledge but also place, power, purpose and identity. In this StudentShapers project, we will explore and analyse curriculum gap and barriers to equality, diversity and inclusivity in Higher Education. This important and challenging project will be conducted in partnership with students and staff across multiple job families in Materials and Earth Sciences.

The ongoing and active involvement of StudentShapers, which includes undergraduate (UG) and doctoral (PhD) candidates, will catalyse the success of CtC. This project will build on a collaborative effort between staff and students who will develop an authentic partnership. Imperial students are the best-placed people to determine how and why modern-day relevant figures and diverse cultures impact their studies, sense of belonging and university experience. Students will be involved in gathering, analysing and disseminating data.

What you will do: You will conduct Educational research by assessing current curriculum gaps in the curriculum (e.g. non-Western/ non-white contributions to science and engineering) and exploring how elements of the curriculum can be barriers to diversity and impacts sense of belonging. You will gather feedback from academics and students through focus groups and interviews. You will also contact key stakeholder communities (e.g. RAEng, IOM3, GeolSoc) and help establish an external Advisory Board for the CtC project.

Project Lead

Valentin Laurent (v.laurent@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow in Pedagogic Transformation, Earth Science and Engineering

Eleonora D'Elia (eleonora.delia10@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Materials

Jessica Wade (jessica.wade@imperial.ac.uk), Lecturer in Functional Materials, Materials

Amina Riamah, Undergraduate, Materials

Sophia Quazi (s.quazi@imperial.ac.uk), Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Coordinator, Mechanical Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

Two UG students from Yr1, 2 or non-graduating Yr 3 ESE or Materials, and 1 PhD from 1st or 2nd year of ESE or Materials .  

Part-time (half-day a week) for 67.5 weeks spread across 18 months.  Commencing January-July 2026.  

Contextualising the Curriculum recruitment ad

Summary

The Simulation and Modelling in Medicine and Surgery (SiMMS) Lab is seeking a talented Engineering or Computer Science student to join our ongoing project aimed at revolutionizing medical education with AI.

This project focuses on addressing the gap in clinical communication skills training within Imperial’s undergraduate medical curriculum. By developing an interactive mobile chatbot to behave like a patient, we aim to provide medical students with a low-stakes environment to practice patient interactions and receive tailored feedback.

As a key member of our team, you will play a crucial role in:

• Technical Development: Engineering a user-friendly, cross-platform mobile and web app based on an existing prototype
• Feature Design: Designing and implementing engaging features like gamification and progress tracking to enhance the learning experience
• Collaboration: Partnering with a diverse team of medical students, researchers and medical educators
• Deployment: Preparing the app for limited-scale release to Imperial staff and students, and potentially supporting a wider launch later

Through your involvement, you will gain invaluable experience in:

• Applying your technical skills to a real-world healthcare application
• Designing educational technology solutions
• Collaborating with healthcare professionals to understand clinical needs
• Developing essential soft skills like communication and teamwork

This unique opportunity will allow you to contribute to a project that has the potential to significantly and directly impact medical education and ultimately patient care. If you are passionate about technology and eager to make a difference, we encourage you to apply.

Project Lead

Fernando Bello (f.bello@imperial.ac.uk), Professor of Surgical Computing and Simulation Science, Department of Surgery and Cancer

Further Details/Experience Required

1 position available.  

Any Engineering or Computing students with an interest and experience in web and app development, as well as how AI can be used in education.  Students interested in medical technology are particularly encouraged to apply.  

24 weeks part-time with 1 week full-time during Winter vacation, and 2 weeks full-time during Spring vacation.  

PatientSim recruitment ad

Summary

As part of Imperial’s Race Equality Charter (REC) Action Plan, the Graduate School (to be known as the Early Career Researcher Institute from 01 October), has, for the last 3 years, delivered an event (online and in-person) for Minority Ethnic undergraduate students interested in postgraduate education at Imperial.  The event comprises short talks, Q&A and networking. 

The short talks are delivered by a panel comprising students, who talk about their lived experiences at Imperial, and staff who talk about the admissions process, applying to Imperial, top tips, and funding opportunities, as well as the broader support available to Minority Ethnic students at Imperial.

Despite concerted marketing efforts which have resulted in a good number of registrations to attend the event (87, 63 and 156 respectively for the events delivered in 2021, 2022 and 2023), this has not translated into actual attendees (45, 25 and 15 respectively for the event delivered in 2021, 2022 and 2023). 

To help us move forward and deliver an event which is meaningful and helpful to undergraduate students, we are looking for student shapers to lead the design and development of a fully costed revised event which will be delivered by the Early Career Researcher Institute in autumn 2025. 

It is expected that good practice and input from the Faculties will be sought in developing the event, as well as research into what other institutions offer in this regard.

The outline objectives for the event are listed below, but we expect that student shapers will refine these as the project develops:

• Give a sense of what it is like to undertake a Master’s degree and research at Imperial
• Demystify the application/admissions process
• Provide information on funding/scholarships
• Showcase support available to Minority Ethnic students at Imperial
• Contribute towards an increase in the number of Minority Ethnic students studying postgraduate education (Masters and Research degrees) at Imperial.

The project will start in November 2024 and will complete in February 2025.  In November, student shapers will meet with the project team for a briefing session.  During the latter part of November and throughout December and early January, student shapers will be expected to carry out the following tasks:

1. A desk-based review of what other institutions provide in relation to supporting minority ethnic undergraduates thinking about postgraduate education
2. A survey of individuals who registered to attend one of the previous iterations of the event but did not attend on the day. The purpose of this is to explore why they did not attend and to find out what would have made the event more attractive.
3. Discuss good practice initiatives being carried out by the Faculties to support minority ethnic undergraduates thinking about postgraduate education.
4. Host one focus group per Faculty with up to 6 students (Master’s and PhD) and one online alumni focus group. The purpose of the focus groups is to explore further what would be most helpful for students and to explore ideas which came through as a result of the discussions with the Faculty and the desk-based review.
5. During mid-late January, being the design work for the event, which will also include a method to assess its impact.
6. By 14 February 2025, submit the costed proposal to the project team.

Student shapers will be supported throughout the project by a dedicated member of staff from the Early Career Researcher Institute. 

Project Lead

Laura Lane (l.lane@imperial.ac.uk), Head of Strategy and Operations, Graduate School

Further Details/Experience Required

Research degree students across any Faculty or department.  5 positions available.  

We are looking for students across all stages of the research degree, who have insight and understanding of the educational experience of minority ethnic students, the challenges they face within education and navigating Imperial life. 

We would also especially like to hear from research degree students who have previously studied a Master’s degree at Imperial.

12 weeks part-time, commencing 11 November - 14th February

Designing an event for Minority Ethnic UG students recruitment ad

Summary

Feedback from PhD students in the Faculty of Medicine has identified a need for increased provision of bioinformatics training and support. In particular, students whose research is primarily wet lab focused, but who need to exceptionally use a specific tool or method to analyse complex experimental data, would like to be able to access high-quality training on-demand. A local network of peer learners, who could provide quick answers to simple questions, would also be beneficial. This project aims to establish a framework that can be used to provide this via the following objectives:

1. Identify the most useful way for ad-hoc bioinformatics learning and support to be structured and delivered.
2. Build an exemplar training unit whose structure can be readily applied to additional topics.

Throughout this project, students will partner with a Senior Teaching Fellow, a Research Associate, and an eLearning Technologist, who together have relevant education and subject-specific expertise.

As a student partner, you will first be asked to review existing introductory bioinformatics training from the MRes Cancer Informatics programme at Imperial. In doing this, you will gain an increased understanding of the topics covered and engage with analytical tools and approaches which you may be able to apply to your current or future research projects. Training related to the R programming language as well as quality control and data visualisation is suggested as a starting point due to its relevance across disciplines. However, there is flexibility to change this based on the interests of all the student partners.

Project Lead

Elaina Maginn (e.maginn@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Medicine Centre

Further Details/Experience Required

Research degree students across any Medicine department, in any year.  3 positions available.  

Part-time (half a day a week) for six months, commencing October 2024.  

• focused on wet lab research.
• have limited (or no!) knowledge or experience in bioinformatics skills but wish to learn them.
• interested in developing skills related to learning design and evaluation, particularly those relevant to digital education.

Bioinformatics training resource recruitment ad

Summary

The Clinical Communication team would like to recruit student shapers to assist in designing and developing a guided online learning package for history taking for Ys 2 and 3. This will be based on existing learning materials produced by the Clinical Communication Team. The purpose of the online learning is to avoid any repetition in the classroom and make better use of students’ time, to develop a resource that they can go back to throughout the entirety of the curriculum as they develop different aspects of history taking alongside their clinical learning.

More importantly, this would allow teaching staff to use existing teaching time more effectively by covering other issues connected with patient contact which may not typically be covered on the existing schedule but are often observed or experienced by students on their clinical placements. Several aspects of challenging communication related to patient interactions have been experienced by students in 1C.  These aspects such as de-escalation and managing inappropriate comments are currently covered in 3a teaching but we would like to introduce them earlier to spiral learning and prepare students better for the challenges of clinical placement. The online learning package for history taking would allow us to free up time to advance the students’ learning experience on these more specialised topics to reinforce students’ preparation for practice. It is key that this change is made by fully incorporating the perspectives of students (student shapers) who are on the receiving end of our teaching. For this project we would like to recruit student shapers from Year 4 or 5 as they will have had exposure to the early years learning, will have a good understanding of maximising their learning time both in the classroom and for independent study and will already have familiarity with our teaching on history taking. 

The project aligns closely with the vision of Imperial’s Learning and Teaching Strategy to better apply interactive teaching techniques and to enhance a sense of collaboration and community between students in the classroom and studying online. More specifically, the project will capitalise on the mix of digital vs on campus delivery ensuring this works to best effect to effectively balance learning workload.

Involving students in the design and development of this package alongside the input from the CC team would maximise the opportunity for improved student learning experience. This innovation would afford the mutual expertise (from staff and students) to inform the online materials and also the additional teaching topics within the existing timetabled slots allocated. All of this will have a longer-term impact, building staff student partnerships and ensuring that the responsiveness of teaching and learning is fully optimised. The eventual GOL will be revised and sustained by the CC team in their annual evaluation and revision of teaching materials based on student feedback.

Specific benefits to student partners:

• The Digital team will train students in how to design guided online learning.
• The students will have very close dialogue with staff and understand the collaborative process of educational resource development.
• The students will develop skills in the development of digital educational resource.
• The students will develop team working skills.
• The project will provide the basis for an application as an associate fellow of the HEA.
• The students will develop an understanding and gain insight into developing & designing teaching materials.
• The students will become extremely familiar with the content of the medical history which is likely to greatly enhance their clinical learning and clinical practice.

Project Lead

Ged Murtagh, (g.murtagh@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Lecturer in Clinical Communication, Surgery and Cancer

Further Details/Experience Required

Year 5 ICSM students, two positions available.  

20 half-days a week, between October and March (with a break for Christmas) 

History taking for Medical students recruitment ad

Summary

The UG labs in chemical engineering have a long history of incorporating participatory design as a way to allow students to help design lab projects, as we believe that the student view brings a valuable insight into curriculum design. In this project you will take the lead in the continual development of the 2^nd year lab projects by testing the rigs, collect data on their performance. Using this data you will then help shape the project by getting involved with updating the handouts, modifying the equipment and updating standard operating procedures.

Overall, we have 12 projects in the 2^nd year labs ranging from separation to reaction engineering, from process control to carbon capture. You will be collecting data on all these projects, gaining experience using all the equipment, working alongside the UG lab team.

This project is ideal for those interested at exploring the intersection of education and engineering research, combining hands on engineering with curriculum design.

Project Lead

James Campbell (j.campbell10@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Chemical Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

One position available.  Chemical Engineering UG students.  

Six weeks full-time engagement during Summer break.  

Chem Eng Lab projects and handouts ad

Summary

You will take the lead on exciting research to develop new membrane technologies that we hope to use in the Chemical Engineering 3^rd year Membrane Separation Advanced Process Engineering Project. We have new membrane casting machinery but are looking for environmentally and economically sustainable materials to make the membranes with.

Your role will involve research suitable materials, creating and testing membranes and assessing the process suitability for the UG labs, helping to develop the standard operating procedures. Working closely with academics and technicians in the UG labs you will be given initial training in using the membrane casting machine, but alongside staff partners in the lab you will be empowered to take the lead on the project, gaining valuable experience in the development of practical teaching modules, and research skills.

This project is ideal for those interested at exploring the intersection of education and engineering research, combining hands on engineering with curriculum design.

Project Lead

James Campbell (j.campbell10@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Chemical Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

One position available.  Chemical Engineering UG students.  

Four weeks full-time engagement during Summer break.  

Developing Off the Shelf Membranes recruitment ad

Summary

The presence of a large number of East Asian students in UK universities has ignited conversations about their academic and social experiences. One common observation is their relative silence in classroom settings, which can sometimes be misinterpreted as disengagement or lack of understanding. This proposal outlines a research project to investigate the nature and underlying reasons for this perceived silence among East Asian students within chemical engineering. A recent magazine article from an academic in the US has triggered this discussion among the academic community in the department.

This research project aims to: • Provide a nuanced understanding of the phenomenon of silence among students from an East Asian educational background in the department/ • Identify both individual and systemic factors contributing to their silence. • Offer valuable insights for other departments/HEIs to develop targeted support mechanisms and inclusive learning environments that cater to the specific needs of students from an East Asian educational background • Promote intercultural understanding and communication between these students and their peers and faculty members.

Project Lead

Deesha Chadha, (d.chadha@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Strategic Teaching Fellow, Chemical Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

Two positions available.  UG Chem Eng students in their 2nd or 3rd year of study.  

Two half-days for three weeks during term-time, followed by six weeks full-time during Summer break.  

Understanding silence among East Asian students in Chem End ad

Summary

Driven by the University’s mission to prioritise students’ wellbeing in relation to their learning, and by insights from our educational research projects, we aim to take a proactive approach by creating opportunities for Imperial undergraduate students to explore different study strategies and to discuss wellbeing-related issues, and to reflect on their experiences. Essentially, we would like to develop a flexible student ‘Learning Well Programme’ that synergises new and existing resources and engages students with evidence-based learning and wellbeing strategies. The Programme aims to support students to consider their study approaches and scaffold them to recognise learning behaviours linked to improved wellbeing. This programme will also build upon the rich student focus group data collected in the project’s research phase, which has just been concluded. Your involvement as student partners in this project is essential, and your insights and experiences will play a key role in co-creating a programme that is both engaging and pertinent to the wider Imperial community.

This project will involve three undergraduate students working closely with staff and researchers at the Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship (CHERS) from 1^st July 2024. As a student shaper on this project, you will have the opportunity to:

• engage with and experience how the findings and pedagogical implications from educational research can be devised for practice in meaningful and useful ways
• identify gaps in current study support and wellbeing resources and develop evidence-based examples and resources
• develop your teamwork, creativity and critical thinking skills through developing pedagogical materials such as designing infographics to showcase effective learning strategies, producing podcast episodes for promoting effective learning strategies and behaviours and many more for the Learning Well Programme!
• enhance your communication skills, especially communicating the research findings to different stakeholders in higher education and via your social and academic networks
• contribute to a large, cross-College project, evidencing your ability to collaborate with multiple stakeholders

We look forward to receiving applications from a diverse range of students. Priority will be given to applicants who demonstrate a commitment to the project goals and are excited to collaborate with staff and students to co-develop practical and accessible pedagogical resources to support academic success and enhance student wellbeing. We would also be keen to hear from you if you can liaise and communicate effectively and confidently with other team members. Please highlight any other skills and knowledge you have that will contribute to the success of this project.

Project Lead

Tiffany Chiu (t.chiu@imperial.ac.uk), Principal Teaching Fellow in Educational Development, Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship (CHERS)

Richard Bale (r.bale@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow in Educational Development, CHERS

Sue Sing (s.sing@imperial.ac.uk), Research Assistant, CHERS

Further Details/Experience Required

This is a reopened recruitment specifically looking for representation from the Faculty of Engineering, Undergraduates from Year 2 or higher.  

Nine weeks full-time during Summer break.  

Learning Well recruitment ad

Summary

At Imperial College, we offer a range of courses on programming, from basic to advanced levels. While coding skills are crucial for software development, there are other essential skills that are not typically taught with the same intensity at the undergraduate level. These include mastering version control systems, Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), and other vital software development tools.

This project aims to bridge that gap. As a participant, you will contribute to creating tutorials that cover the fundamentals of software development. These tutorials will become part of a larger centralized library focusing on computational and mathematical thinking. Additionally, you will have the chance to work with generative AI to customize these tutorials to meet specific user needs.

Key Benefits:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of essential software development tools.
• Gain hands-on experience in creating educational content.
• Work with cutting-edge generative AI technology.

Project Lead

Matthew Piggott (m.d.piggott@imperial.ac.uk) Professor of Computational Geosciences, Earth Science and Engineering

Rhodri Nelson (rhodri.nelson@imperial.ac.uk) Senior Teaching Fellow in Computational Data Science, Earth Science and Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

One position available.  UG students from any department eligible.  

Six weeks full-time during Summer break.  

Essential Skills for Software Development recruitment ad

Summary

This project, called “Developing of a VR micropipette controller to teach pipetting skills” is funded by the Imperial College Digital Innovation Fund (total funding ~£100,000). Learning how to operate a micropipette is an essential skill for every life science scientist. Micropipettes are the most important tool used in almost all research labs. However, mastery of correct pipetting is a challenging task for most students. We have secured grants to develop and produce 20 unique VR controllers that resemble the shape and function of a micropipette to train students how to correctly operate this essential tool.  

To enable students to learn this essential practical skill in a safe, low-cost environment, we have designed a VR controller add-on that can mimic the physical properties of a real micropipette with a small simulation built in Unreal Engine. The add-on consists of a micropipette model equipped with a position sensor, momentary switch, and springs. The pipette add-on can be attached to any VR controller model (i.e. PICO or Oculus), which provides the precise position of the pipette within the virtual reality laboratory simulation. Meanwhile, the add-on measures the correct operation of the micropipette and provides physical feedback.  With this controller it is possible to train motor skills (specifically finger muscles) to allow correct operation (e.g., slow and controlled release of the plunger) while providing students with real-time feedback about their performance.  

This way students can experience the full procedure without the risk of damaging the micropipette or wasting material. The combination of VR with this unique controller allows students to practice this essential skill in any classroom without any prior safety training. Therefore, reducing cost, plastic waste as well as anxieties within students that might be associated with the foreign laboratory environment. As the use of micropipettes is one of the most essential skills for researchers that is widely taught among various courses and faculties (Medicine, Chemistry & Life Sciences), this project has the potential to be widely beneficial to many students. Its implementation could also be beneficiary for MOOCs and online courses offered by the College to enable students access to some practical training. 

We are looking for a student to help us evaluate the experience and learning effect of this new VR tools. Students will be involved in the educational research process which will require them to perform literature research into the current literature, designing the research question and methodology as well as applying for ethics. Then once ethics are approved students will conduct the interviews/focus group with a small number of students to capture their experience with the new tool. This will entail conducting the VR training and data recording as well as data analysis. Finally, students will collaborate with staff to disseminate the research via a published article within a peer-reviewed educational journal.

We are hoping to recruit students that are passionate about science and education that act as a connection between staff and student and can enrich this research with their perspective and experience. As this project requires knowledge of educational practice a large amount of self-study of current literature is required that might lie without the area of their usual expertise.

Project Lead

Silke Donahue (s.donahue@imperial.ac.uk) Senior Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Medicine centre

Richard Palermo (r.palermo@imperial.ac.uk) Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Medicine centre

Further Details/Experience Required

Two positions available. Life Sciences, Biochemistry or Biomedical Science students.  

Two weeks over Summer break full-time, with 16 weeks part-time during terms 1 and 2 of Academic year 24-25.  

VR DIF Evaluating a new VR micropipette teaching tool ad

N.B. Please note this latest deadline extension is specifically for EEE students.  

Summary

Lambda Feedback is a web platform for self-study, developed at Imperial. It hosts course content (such as tutorial sheets) that can be viewed in the browser or by PDF. Students can receive automated feedback on their answers, including hand-writing mathematical expressions. The platform also hosts step-by-step worked solutions and comment threads.

Lambda Feedback was first deployed in 2021-22, and in the 2023-24 academic year was used in 25+ modules across 3 faculties. For the year 2024-25 we are expanding the platform across College.

We are looking for students to partner with academic staff to adapt and improve content when moving modules onto Lambda Feedback. We are also looking for students to contribute to the broader project, for example software development, algorithm development, feature design, data analytics, user documentation, marketing content.

Essential skills:

• Passion and knowledge for your own subject
• Deep appreciation for the student experience and the key needs of students
• A keen interest in content management and typesetting (md, LaTeX, images – you can learn as you go)

Project Lead

Daniel Nucinkis (d.nucinkis@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow,  Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

8 positions available, for Undergraduate students from any department or faculty (priority given to non-completing students).

8 weeks full-time during Summer break 

Lambda feedback 23-24 recruitment ad

Summary

Computational thinking (CT) can be described as the ability to problem solve in methodical, logically rigorous, modular, and abstract ways. The term “computational” is often used as these skills map onto coding. “Mathematical thinking” is a useful synonym to keep in mind in relation to this project where the broader underpinning skills themselves are the priority, rather than the narrow end goal of writing code. Rapidly evolving developments in AI-assisted coding have only emphasises the value of strong CT skills, empowering wider groups to be the overall architects of substantial and advanced software projects. 

All departments across Imperial teach CT skills to some degree, with the level and content tailored to the target audience. Many of the core concepts are however ubiquitous. 

The goal of these projects will be to build a central library of learning material based around CT and work with generative AI tools for targeted rapid content creation – which will include tailoring material (from the central library) for a specific module, or for an individual student. An absolutely vital step will be to “fact check” material present in the library and that outputted from the generative AI – leading eventually to trustworthy AI based “assistants” and “study-partners”. 

Project Lead

Matthew Piggott (m.d.piggott@imperial.ac.uk), Professor of Computational Geosciences, Earth Science and Engineering

Rhodri Nelson (rhodri.nelson@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow in Computational Data Science, Earth Science and Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

Up to 10 positions available.  Undergraduate students from any department or Faculty.  

Six weeks full-time engagement during Summer break.  

Trustworthy AI for Computational Thinking ad

Summary

These projects are part of the ViRSE (Virtual Reality Student Experience) project, which is developing a virtual reality platform to ease the development and deployment of ‘multi-player’ virtual reality into Imperial’s teaching across a range of departments and subjects. ViRSE is built on the Unity game engine, and all ViRSE applications (including these projects) are also built within Unity; code is written in the C# programming language. Students will not need to build a VR interface, write rendering code, or concern themselves with networking or administrative issues; these are handled by the ViRSE framework and the Unity engine. The development in this engagement will concentrate on the creation of a three-dimensional ‘environment’ specific to the project, and creating and testing the code necessary to make it function, and to interface with the ViRSE system. 

All ViRSE studentshaper engagements will commence with a two-week full time training course, which will provide the necessary grounding in the C# language, object-oriented programming, the Unity engine, the ViRSE platform, and 3D modelling tools. This course will take place on-campus July 1st-12th 2024. In subsequent six project weeks the ViRSE student partners will lead on the development of the particular applications within Unity, in collaboration with the academic lead, and with the ViRSE team providing technical support and advice. These six project-development weeks are flexible in precise timing, but should take place over summer 2024, before the start of Autumn term of the 24/25 academic year.  

The student undertaking this engagement will gain technical skills and experience in coding (in C#/Unity), and in three-dimensional visualisation. They will also gain experience in collaborative software-development as part of a professional team. 

• Seeing what lies beneath II: Seismic reflection imaging and VR with Rebecca Bell (ad here: ViRSE Seismic reflection imaging Bell ad) 1 position available
• Dynamic (modal) analysis of structures using Virtual Reality with Demetrios Venetsanos (ad here: ViRSE Dynamic Analysis of Structures Venetsanos ad) 2 positions available
• Virtual Impact Crater Table-top Laboratory and Excursion (VITAL-VICE) with Gareth Collins (ad here: ViRSE VITAL-VICE Collins ad) 2 positions available
• A virtual supersonic wind tunnel laboratory for supporting learning in Aeronautics with Maria Ribera Vicent (ad here: ViRSE SWT Ribera Vicent ad) 2 positions available.  

Project lead

Mark Sutton (m.sutton@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Lecturer, Earth Science and Engineering

Rebecca Bell (rebecca.bell@imperial.ac.uk) Senior Lecturer, Earth Science and Engineering

Demetrios Venetsanos (d.venetsanos@imperial.ac.uk), Principle Teaching Fellow (Student Experience), Aeronautics

Gareth Collins, (g.collins@imperial.ac.uk), Acting Head of Department and Professor of Planetary Science, Earth Science and Engineering

Maria Ribera Vicent (m.ribera-vicent@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Strategic Teaching Fellow, Aeronautics

Further Details/Experience Required

Two weeks full-time during Summer break, followed by six weeks full-time (specific dates to be determined upon partner selection). 

Background/skill specifications are specific to each project; please see the recruitment ads above.

Summary

Across Imperial, in collaboration with staff from respective departments, wiki pages containing core content from the degree programmes within each department have been developed and written by students.

The aim of such is to provide the content in an alternative flavour (for example with more focus on worked examples or on breaking down a problem into additional steps) or in a different style to that of the material provided by teaching staff. Many students have found these alternative resources to be beneficial to their learning.

These projects call upon its recruited student partners to use their skills and passion for content creation and development.  

Project Lead

Sam Brzezicki, (samuel.brzezicki10@imperial.ac.uk), Teaching Fellow in Applied Mathematics,  Imperial Wiki Initiative Lead

Ioanna Papatsouma (i.papatsouma@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow in Statistics, MathWiki project

Max Cattafi (m.cattafi@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Electrical and Electronic Engineering,  EEEWiki project

Further Details/Experience Required

Please refer to the ads linked below for the specific requirements of each project in their respective department.  

EEEWiki project recruitment ad

MathWiki project recruitment ad

Summary

Group projects are a common feature in many problem and challenge based learning (PBL/CBL) and active learning contexts. Yet preparation and guidance for group projects and the teams undertaking work is often lacking and team members left to ‘just get on with it’. Nevertheless, there is a substantive body of knowledge available. This project will use an evidence-based approach to provide best practice guidance for educators planning or running group projects as well as group members undertaking a project.

An initial survey of project work has been undertaken and a draft Group Project Best Practice guide produced. This will be used as a basis for more in depth consideration by the student shaper(s) with support from Prof Peter Childs (interests include creativity, design, innovation, collaboration, sustainability). A key part of the project will be updating of the initial literature survey and gathering of case studies of examples of best practice projects at Imperial across all domains with support from IExplore module leads and project leads in various departments who have already offered for their modules to be featured.

Output from this project will include a Group Project Best Practice guide that can be used by educators, project managers and project team members. New exemplars of project management are expected to regularly emerge and these can be added to the documentation and portal. As the information will be available in both pdf and web formats the documentation can be updated with, for example, additional case studies readily. The studentshaper will contribute substantively by providing invaluable guidance and the student-based perspective.

Project Lead

Peter Childs (p.childs@imperial.ac.uk) Co-Director of the Energy Futures Lab, Dyson School of Design Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

Two positions available.  Students from any department or Faculty, or degree course.  

Eight weeks full-time engagement during Summer break.  

Enabling best practice in Group Projects recruitment ad

Summary

The Faculty of Natural Sciences EdTech Lab is leading a DIF-funded project, in collaboration with the Mathematics and Life Sciences departments, to enhance existing assessment data analytics tools and capabilities – to benefit students, personal tutors, and module leads. Some of the aims of the project are: to enable students to view and track their academic progress, to help them with module selection, and to allow them to use analytics to aid study time management.

For this project, we are seeking to recruit 2 Student Shapers (1 from the Mathematics department, 1 from the Life Sciences department) to co-develop and test the Assessment & Learning Activity Workload and Schedule Visualisation Tool for students. Student partners, engaged in these positions, can expect to:

• Help develop a visualisation tool that will benefit students and faculty, that can integrate within current College data infrastructure and supported software
• Collaborate with, and be supported by, project staff with data analytics, reporting, and evaluation expertise
• Share insights on which data students would want to see, and how we can improve their overall learning experience
• Co-design the evaluation process for the tool, and partner in the implementation process

At the end of the project, you will have developed a tool that will greatly improve the student learning experience and will lead to more personalized student-tutee/student-instructor conversations. You will benefit by developing professional skills such as teamwork and networking—as you will collaborate with, and be supported by, project staff who have expertise in data analytics, reporting, and evaluation processes.

Project Lead

Kiran Gawali (k.gawali@imperial.ac.uk), Education Insight and Evaluation Analyst, Life Sciences

Mishaal Husain, (mishaal.husain@imperial.ac.uk), Project Manager Assessment Data Analysis, Faculty of Natural Sciences  

Further Details/Experience Required

Two positions available - one student for the Mathematics departments, and one from the Life Sciences departments.  

Sixteen weeks part-time between September and December (two weeks full-time in September, fourteen full-time during term).  

ADA recruitment ad

Summary

The Imperial Success Guide offers advice and resources to support all students to transition to Imperial life and succeed academically. We would like to use GenAI to create a chatbot that can deliver relevant parts of its content in response to prompts from students. The aim of the project is to make the Success Guide more accessible and interactive. It is hoped that this will increase the number of students engaging with the Success Guide and therefore improve students’ overall academic experience. As a student partner on this project, you will primarily work with staff in the central Education Office and the Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship (CHERS). You will also work with staff in ICT and other staff as appropriate.

As a student shaper on this project, you will have the opportunity to:

• Conduct desktop research on the use of AI chatbots in education
• Identify and work with other groups across Imperial working on similar projects
• Facilitate consultation sessions with your peers (e.g., student focus groups)
• Generate and configure prompts and test the chatbot
• Present work to key internal stakeholders
• Develop AI literacy guidance that supports others to navigate the use of GenAI tools ethically and effectively
• Support the development of a promotional and dissemination plan for the chatbot rollout

We look forward to receiving applications from a diverse group of students. Priority will be given to applicants who demonstrate a commitment to the project goals and to working effectively with other students and staff. Please also make clear any skills and knowledge that you have that will help make this project a success.

Project Lead

Ayo Oluyemi (Education Projects Coordinator), a.oluyemi@imperial.ac.uk

Kieron Creagh (Education Projects Manager), kieron.creagh@imperial.ac.uk

Tiffany Chiu (Principal Teaching Fellow in Educational Development), t.chiu@imperial.ac.uk

Further Details/Experience Required

2 UG students from any department (Eight weeks full-time during Summer break)

1 PGT student from any department (Part-time during Summer break, full hours TBC)

1 PGR student from any department (Part-time, full hours TBC)

Success Guide Chatbot recruitment ad

Summary

In this StudentShapers Project, we aim at determining how the developed virtual field and lab activities created in the ESE department during and since the COVID19 pandemic have been implemented in the curriculum after the return of taught outdoor fieldwork and in-lab activities. Following this review, we will propose a plan to further implement the virtual activities in the curriculum in the aim to enhance the curriculum.

Authentic staff-student partnership will allow to combine student and staff perspectives on how already developed virtual field and lab activities can be better implemented within the curriculum. The student partner will develop ideas and strategies, following their own experience, on how the virtual activities can be further implemented to improve the curriculum (academically and from an EDI perspective). The staff partners will be able to bring their field (Valentin) and lab-teaching (Dominik) experience as well as knowledge of what can and can't be done from a financial and staff workload perspective.

Benefits for the student partner:

• Insight into curriculum design
• Transferable skills in digital & innovative teaching practice
• Improved teamwork and collaboration skills.

Project Lead

Valentin Laurent (v.laurent@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow in Pedagogic Transformation, Earth Science and Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

One position available.  UG students within Earth Science and Engineering.  

Six weeks full-time during Summer break.  

Virtual Field activities in the curriculum ad

Summary

You will collaborate with the RCDS staff on a project funded by the Imperial Excellence Fund for Learning and Teaching Innovation. ReCoDE (Research Computing and Data Science Exemplars) aims to develop exemplars of high-quality entry-level research computing and data science projects from various disciplines that demonstrate the use of research software best practices. The exemplars are created by GTAs in collaboration with RCDS and research software engineers. The exemplars contain programming code and creative annotation to support independent learning. The project aims to bridge the gap between classroom instruction that provides basic-to-intermediate programming skills and the development of a fully-fledged PhD project with significant computing aspects.

You will join at a point when ReCoDE contains nearly half of the planned exemplars. Your contribution will consist of reviewing the resource, suggesting and implementing improvement and designing an advertising campaign for students, supervisors and staff.

This will be an excellent opportunity for you to further your communication and research computing skills. The RCDS staff is looking forward to hearing students’ perspectives and ideas for ReCoDE.

Project Lead

Katerina Michalickova (k.michalickova@imperial.ac.uk) Principal Teaching Fellow, Graduate School 

Further Details/Experience Required

Two positions are available.  Doctoral students with knowledge of programming.

Four weeks during September (working two days a week)

ReCoDE extension ad

Summary

Imperial has close relationships with a large number of industrial partners, and one of the key benefits of this is the opportunities it gives students in terms of internships and graduate employment. However, it can be hard for students to find a list of all current opportunities, or for companies to find and contact students that might be of interest to them.

The aim of this project is to design and build a web portal that would allow companies to advertise student opportunities, and for students to post their CVs, interests, contact details etc - perhaps something like a specialised LinkedIn just for Imperial and its partners. We already have some mock-ups that could serve as a starting point, but we are looking for student partners to develop this, bringing the student point of view to make something as useful as possible for the student body.

This project is being run by the Department of Computing, with a view to replacing the old and outdated “CPP Connect” site.  But, if the project goes well then the tool could be adopted by other departments across Imperial.

Another parallel goal of this project is to test out deploying student-developed applications on Imperial’s new cloud platform.

Project Lead

Robert Chatley (r.chatley@imperial.ac.uk), Director of Software Engineering Practise, Computing

Ivan Procaccini (i.procaccini14@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Learning Technologist, Computing

Jason Bailey (jason.bailey@imperial.ac.uk), EdTech Software Engineer, Computing

Further Details/Experience Required

One position available.  Students from any degree or department with experience in web development, preferably Python or React.  

Ten weeks full-time during Summer break.  

Corporate Partnership portal recruitment ad

Summary

 Throughout their studies, most Imperial students will undertake a number of group and individual projects, working with a supervisor. Finding a project that is interesting and a good fit for the students, and making sure that projects are allocated fairly, while also spreading supervisor workload and meeting other constraints, is a difficult problem.

The aim of this project is to design and build a web application that would allow supervisors to advertise student projects, and for students to browse, search, shortlist and rank them. Staff may also have preferences about which students best suit the project.

Importantly, we want to provide various algorithms for allocating students fairly to projects according to the expressed preferences and constraints. We already have some prototype implementations that could serve as a starting point, but we are looking for student partners to develop this, bringing the student point of view to make something as useful as possible for the student body, and the staff.

This project is being run by the Department of Computing, but, the aim is to produce a tool that could be customised and adopted by different departments across Imperial. With this aim in mind, allowing for easy configurability of options will be key to success.

Another parallel goal of this project is to test out deploying student-developed applications on Imperial’s new cloud platform.

Project Lead

Robert Chatley (r.chatley@imperial.ac.uk), Director of Software Engineering Practise, Computing

Ivan Procaccini (ivan.procaccini14@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Learning Technologist, Computing

Jason Bailey (jason.bailey@imperial.ac.uk), EdTech Software Engineer, Computing

Further Details/Experience Required

One position available.  Students from any degree or department with web development experience, preferably Python or React

Ten weeks full-time during Summer break.  

Project Portal recruitment ad

Summary

The project will use four Student Shapers over eight weeks engaging in partnership with staff in identifying key difficulties students of underrepresented groups at Imperial face. They will then review pedagogical approaches and develop resources for pastoral environments that will stimulate conversations and reflections on key topics, such as stereotype threat, code switching and microaggression. The student shapers will decide on the best outputs of these resources, such as videos, interviews, cue cards etc. They will develop resources for students and guidance for staff that will be made available to pastoral leads such as Senior Tutors in the Faculty for them to use in the delivery of their pastoral curriculum.

The output of this project will be part of the pastoral curriculum that is delivered to students during their personal tutorials and townhall meetings. These will scaffold and provide reflective opportunities for students and staff to have open discussions about inclusivity and culture. The resource will encourage students, and by-proxy staff, to bring their whole selves to the College.

You will develop your critical thinking skills, ability to communicate and engage with others on sensitive/difficult topics and ability to use evidence to produce resources. This is an opportunity to make a positive impact on the student experience for underrepresented groups by increasing awareness and allyship in the community.

Project Lead

Amelia Barron (amelia.barron@imperial.ac.uk), Undergraduate Liaison Officer, Life Sciences 

Further Details/Experience Required

Four positions are available.

Full-time during Summer break for eight weeks.  

Bringing your whole self to uni ad

Summary

You will take the lead on enhancing and expanding the Faculty of Natural Sciences current provision of support to students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, delivered through the Changing the Face of Science Programme (CFoS). You will ultimately create and develop resources, events or initiatives, identifying which groups of historically underrepresented students would most benefit; where and by whom the initiatives should be best delivered; how to best promote them; and when in a student's academic journey they should take place (term and/ or academic year). 

This project is ideal for those interested in EDI (equality, diversity and inclusivity) and advocating for those from underrepresented groups. You will have the opportunity to create and see real change for the student experience at Imperial. Depending on your interests, you can either focus on a particular underrepresented group or a different aspect of the student journey (e.g. careers, belonging, academic skills etc.)

This is an excellent opportunity to create meaningful change within the Faculty, and to develop your teamworking, problem solving, communication and marketing skills, and to enhance your CV.

Project Lead

Emma Mattin, (e.mattin@imperial.ac.uk), Education and EDI Coordinator, Natural Sciences

Further Details/Experience Required

Four positions available for any Faculty of Natural Sciences undergraduate student, who self-identifies as being from a historically underrepresented group in STEM. 

8 weeks full-time during Summer break.

CFoS recruitment ad

Summary

This project is within the Immunology and Inflammation module of BMB.  The main aims of this student-led project are to reduce and simplify the eModules content, thus making the IMI module more accessible for future cohorts.  Being part of this project will likely also benefit you in many ways: 
·      An opportunity to engage more deeply in an area of your education;
·      Time and space to improve the student experience for you and your peers;
·      Increased confidence and awareness of your own learning;
·      A chance to be a part of the implementation of the College's Learning and Teaching Strategy;
·      To receive financial support for the activities you undertake (£390/week)

We're looking for 3 more students, who have taken the IMI module, to join the project’s founding team to undertake this project The project will require a substantial time commitment (full-time (~35h/week)) and run online via Teams:

• Week 1: Group review of IMI online material: all students will review the modules at a high-level on the 1st week and discuss first impressions with each other to identify common themes and priorities;

• Week 2: Individual review of assigned eModules: each student will be given 2 eModules to focus their attention on - this approach will allow each student a week per eModule to map their 2 eModules onto the excel file, more specifically:

1. Review IMI eModules on Rise Articulate (https://rise.articulate.com/)
2. Use PDF versions to highlight examples of good practice and highlight confusing, repeated, too complex parts using different colour 'flags'
3. Enter this information into an excel file for further follow up

• Week 3 & 4: Source/develop new learning assets and edit the eModules; advise for face-to-face sessions (1 week/eModule)

Project Lead

Ana Costa-Pereira (a.costa-pereira@imperial.ac.uk), Director of Centre of Languages Culture and Communication

Further Details/Experience Required

Co-created with students, students selected. 

Four weeks full-time during Summer break.  

Summary

Our Stories will be a collaborative project between faculty and students, building a series of facilitated conversations between a member of faculty and a member of the student body. Conversations between faculty members and students who have volunteered to share their stories will be conducted and recorded. 

The conversations will focus on experiences of identity and inclusion. The aim is to foster a greater sense of community and minimise isolation and harassment experienced by minoritized groups. These are not medicine specific issues. This project is interested in hearing from anyone who might have felt unrepresented by mainstream culture, including for example members of the LGBTQIA community, neuro-diverse members of the community, those with disability and those who are racially minoritized.  

In addition, the purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of the series of dialogues/conversations on students' and faculty's sense of belonging in the medical school, their understanding of diversity concerns, and their comfort level in discussing diversity issues.

Project Activities

You will work closely with an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Education Fellow, as well as the wider ICSM EDI team. You will be involved in co-designing of the audio-visual recordings, how the full interviews should operate, the content of the conversation and the preparation of briefing sessions prior to participant recordings. You will also be involved in the development of questionnaires and focus group questions for students.

You will develop skills in creativity, content creation and interpersonal communication. You will also gain experience in EDI, a deeper knowledge of sense of belonging and understanding the diversity of the student body and faculty.

Project Lead

Christopher Harvey (c.harvey@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Strategic Fellow, School of Public Health

Aneesa Fazal (a.fazal@imperial.ac.uk), Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Education Fellow, Faculty of Medicine Centre

Further Details/Experience Required

MBBS students in Phase 1.  Two positions available.  

Thirty three weeks part-time during term-time, from May onwards to the following May. 

Our Stories recruitment ad