Month: June 2012

Advice on the Olympic Route Network and Paralympic Route Network (ORN/PRN)

Transport for London (TfL) is creating the Olympic Route Network and Paralympic Route Network, to link venues and accommodation being used by athletes, officials, media and sponsors for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Stretches of the A4 and the A40 constitute significant parts of the ORN, so there will be an impact on transport to and from Imperial’s central London campuses.

The Network will be created over a four day period beginning on 20 July, and will be operating from 25 July to 14 August for the Olympic Games. The Network will be rebuilt on 27 August to be operational from 29 August to 11 September for the Paralympic Games.

Roads that form part of the ORN will have a reduced number of pedestrian crossings, restrictions for vehicles wishing to make right turns and, in some cases, lanes that will be used by Olympic vehicles only.

The Guidance the College has received from TfL is available on Imperial’s 2012 website . Alternatively, staff can visit TfL’s Get Ahead of the Games website to plan their journeys.

Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa

The Management Board approved a pilot scheme for selecting students to receive College endorsement of their applications for a new post-study work visa, The Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa.

This new visa follows the withdrawal of the Post Study Work visa, which many of Imperial’s international students have applied for in the past.  There will be 1,000 Graduate Entrepreneur visas granted each year, and Imperial is one of 89 institutions able to endorse applications. The College has been granted an allocation of up to 10 endorsements, to be used by 5 April 2013.

In order to select students for visa endorsement, the College will incorporate existing formal forms of academic assessment into the process, for example performance in Entrepreneurship modules that feature in some Business School courses, and the results of business-focused challenges organised by other departments. A College panel, including academic staff with expertise in innovation, will review applications and make the final selection. The scheme, which will be managed by the International Office, will be piloted over 2012-13.

Applications will open to students this Friday 29 June, and more information can be found on the International Office’s website.

Change to number of ceremonies on graduation days

The Management Board approved recommendations that the College increase the number of ceremonies held at the Royal Albert Hall on Imperial’s graduation days from two to three in order to maintain the quality of the graduation experience. The changes will affect both the annual undergraduate Commemoration Day in October and the annual Postgraduate Graduation in May.

The driver for the change is that the number of graduates has continued to rise in recent years, as has the number of graduates choosing to attend the official ceremonies. This has put increased pressure on venue space on the South Kensington Campus, which in turn has impacted on the College’s ability to create an enjoyable experience for graduates. For example, waiting times for official photography have in some cases exceeded an hour, and reception venues have felt cramped due to the numbers being accommodated.

The new timetable (ceremonies at 11.00, 14.30, and 18.00) will be used for the first time on Commemoration Day on Wednesday 24 October.

New Corporate Telephone Preference Service for unsolicited sales and marketing calls

Following consultation across the College, the Information Systems Security Group within ICT has recently registered all staff telephone extensions for the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (TPS), the UK’s central opt-out registration service for unsolicited sales and marketing calls.

This service will be fully activated on 9 July, at which point it will be a legal requirement that companies do not make unsolicited sales and marketing calls to College extensions. Members of staff who experience such phone calls can make a complaint to TPS via this website.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Corporate TPS can be found here.

Questions should be directed to Stuart Kerr, Telephone Services Manager, by email.

Central listing of research seminars

Staff are invited to advertise research seminars in a new events listing, hosted by the Graduate School. The resource has been introduced in response to students’ comments that it is difficult to find information about the full range of seminars on offer at Imperial, and covers research seminars open to all students and staff from across the College.

The listing can be found on the Graduate Schools website.

Advice for staff on listing their seminar using the College’s central events system can be found in the Website Owners’ guide.

Chief Operations Officer

Mr Simon Harding-Roots has accepted appointment as Chief Operations Officer with effect from 1 July 2012. As a member of the Management Board, and reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, Muir Sanderson, he will have overall responsibility for the following Divisions: Capital Projects, Commercial Services, Facilities Management and ICT.

Mr Harding-Roots will join the College from Treasury Holdings Group (THG) where he has worked since 2007, serving first as Chief Operating Officer in Shanghai, specialising in the building and operation of commercial real estate projects in China. He returned to the UK in 2011 to work on THG’s regeneration of Battersea Power Station as Head of Real Estate UK.

Mr Harding-Roots began his career in property management as a Development Surveyor at Drivers Jonas. He went on to join the chartered surveyors and property consultants, Fuller Peiser, as Associate Partner, in 1994. Between 1997 and 2005 he worked in Dubai for Majid Al Futtaim Investments LLC, a leading property development and investment company. From 2005-2007 he was Principal and Director of Projects for Arcapita Bank based in Bahrain, taking responsibility for a wide range of property investments globally.

Mr Harding-Roots holds a BA in Geography, an MSc in Land Development and Management and is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.