The College has confirmed its decision to withdraw from the IDEA League, a network of universities in Europe with a focus on science and technology, with effect from December 2012. The decision follows a review and refocusing of Imperial’s top-level multi-institutional partnerships in line with the College’s current mission and its future development.
The IDEA League was founded in 1999 to establish joint activities in education, research and quality assurance and participate jointly in EU programmes. Current members are TU Delft, ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen, ParisTech and Imperial. Joint activities for students have included summer school programmes and an annual sports event. Other achievements of the IDEA League include the development of the EIT Climate Change Knowledge Innovation Community (Climate KIC), and a collaborative Doctoral pilot programme focused on research relating to ageing, both of which will continue to involve the College.
The College has advised IDEA League partners that it remains committed to fostering strong collaborations with them and other leading European universities.