Category: College News & Updates

Survey on how ECRs use generative AI

The Early Career Researcher Institute (ECRI) is carrying out a survey to find out how Early Career Researchers (ranging from doctoral students to early career lecturers) use generative AI as part of their research process.

Our goal is to understand what practices are currently common in the community with a view to disseminating best practice, informing the teaching provision we provide to the community, and advocating on the behalf of ECRs in the Imperial community at large.

The link can be found here, and should take around 10 minutes to complete

Short Video Competition on GTA Teaching Practices (deadline: 03 June)

Calling Imperial College GTAs – This call is open to all current Imperial doctoral students who are, or have previously been, GTAs.

We are inviting you to submit an approx. 1‑minute video describing your GTA teaching practice. These videos will form a resource bank to support current and future GTAs by showcasing real examples of what GTAs do and how these practices enhance student learning.

The videos that best demonstrate effective GTA practice will each receive a £50 voucher.

Why take part?

  • Contribute to a growing bank of effective teaching practices to support fellow GTAs
  • Help highlight the value of GTA teaching for student learning across Imperial
  • Be in with a chance to win one of three £50 vouchers

What should the video include?

Your video should be approx. 1 minute. It must include you speaking – this can be a talking‑head video or a voiceover with images or clips. The video does not need to be polished or professionally edited; we will be evaluating the teaching you describe, not the production quality.

Include:

  • A brief introduction to who you are and your GTA role (e.g. discipline, type of teaching you do)
  • One teaching strategy or approach you use that has supported student learning
  • Why you think this strategy has been effective for student learning

See here an example video from GTA Angelina Amengu from the Dyson School of Design Engineering department.

How to submit?

  • Upload your video here: Video submission GTAP
    Please name your file following format “Title_Firstname_Lastname”
  • The deadline to submit your video is midnight on Wed 3 June 2026
  • If you have any questions, please email ecri@imperial.ac.uk.

Video criteria

  • Clearly explains/shows the teaching context or setting (e.g. lab, tutorial, etc)
  • Describes the practical teaching activity or strategy
  • Explains how students benefitted from the activity / strategy
  • Explains how you came up with the idea or why you decided to do it (e.g. drawing on the training you had, or previous experiences, etc)
  • Briefly says what worked well and what needs to be improved from this experience, – this may include strengths and limitations (as we are looking for honest, learnable insights rather than only positive stories)

Sticky

Applications open for Early Career Researcher Showcase 2026

Early Career Researcher Showcase 2026
Wednesday 01 July 2026 | South Kensington

This event is a celebration of the research being carried out by the Early Career Researcher community at Imperial College London.

It is ECRI’s mission to empower ECRs to raise their impact both within research and beyond. We aim to foster cross-disciplinary connections and would like to invite you to showcase your research to the wider research community at Imperial. It will be an opportunity to talk to researchers in other faculties and departments and potentially find and forge collaborations.

This is a great opportunity to present your research, compete for prizes and meet students & staff from across the College community!

Applications close on Monday 01 June 2026.

Find out more & Apply

Student Awards for Outstanding Achievement (nominate by 14 June)

Do you know a student with an outstanding achievement?

Nominations are now open for the Student Awards for Outstanding Achievement.

Whether it is exceptional charity work, a sporting success, outstanding leadership roles, creative arts endeavours or contributions to societal causes, we want to spotlight the work of our incredible students!

You are invited to nominate students for consideration for this award. Undergraduate and postgraduate students are eligible for nomination, and you are welcome to nominate as many students as you wish for consideration. Nominees must be enrolled as students on the deadline date to be eligible.

These awards are to recognise and commend outstanding achievement beyond the academic subject area. Academic achievement is not relevant and will not be considered. The aim of the award is to recognise students who have made a singular substantial contribution to an activity outside of their studies/ research. Examples of past winners can be found on the awards’ webpage.

To nominate a student, complete the form by no later than 23.59 on Sunday 14 June 2026.

Applications open for EDI Seed Fund 2026-27 (deadline: 08 June)

We’re excited to share that the EDI Seed Fund 2026-27 is now officially open — and applications are welcome from all Imperial staff and students.

The fund’s purpose is to support Imperial staff and students, who have ideas for projects that can make a positive impact on equality, diversity and inclusion at Imperial.

If you’ve been thinking about an initiative that could strengthen belonging, improve accessibility, or drive culture change, we’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to share this opportunity across your networks.

You can find full details, guidance, and the application form here:
🔗 https://www.imperial.ac.uk/equality/resources/seed-fund/

The deadline is Monday 8 June 2026 at 7pm.

Postgraduate Sustainable Travel Fund 2025-26

Travel funding available for postgraduate students! The Postgraduate Sustainable Travel Fund 2025-26 is accepting applications to support PG students taking more sustainable modes of travel.

Applications are assessed on a rolling basis, and funds must be utilised by 30 June 2026.

Please read the guidance document before applying via this form.

Parents and Carers network and The Benefits Corner Teams Channels

Two brand‑new Teams channels, The Benefits Corner and the Parents and Carers Network, are officially live!

These spaces have been created to help the network stay more connected and to make it easier for you to find and share the information that matters. Their purpose is to:

  • Strengthen two‑way communication with colleagues
  • Centralise access to all the benefits, resources, and events available to you
  • Build a supportive community, where we can help each other and stay up to date with what’s on offer

Whether you’re looking to explore our full range of benefits or hoping to connect with fellow parents and carers, these channels are here to make that simpler and more engaging.

To join the channels, please complete the short forms below:

Estranged Students Support Group (25 Feb, 25 Mar, 29 Apr, 20 May)

Estranged Students Support Group (co-led by Underrepresented Student Support Team and Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice Service)

When? 25 February, 25 March, 29 April, 20 May, 1-2pm

Where? South Ken Campus, Chemistry Building, Level 8

What? A confidential space for students who are estranged from both parents to meet others in similar situations to share their experiences of studying without parental support.

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/200486/estranged-students-support-group/

Access to Food Banks – Advice Service & Working-Class Network

Our Advice Service and Working-Class Network are working collaboratively to ensure all students at Imperial College experiencing short term financial hardship have access to food banks across the UK.

If you’re struggling to afford food, especially given the current cost of living crisis, you can now reach out to our Advice Service who will be able to issue an e-voucher for your local  The Trussell Trust food bank.

A typical food parcel may contain long life milk, pasta, tinned vegetables and fruit, tea or coffee, biscuits, and soup. If you cannot access your nearest food bank, delivery may be available although not guaranteed.

The Advice Service and Working-Class Network will also be able to signpost you to the relevant long term financial support services at Imperial College to help you get back on your feet. All requests are strictly confidential.

Please remember you are not alone and it’s okay to reach out for a bit of extra support – rising living costs are affecting students across the UK. We are here to ensure that you always have access to food and that you are not disadvantaged in your studies because of a lack of essentials.

How it works

  1. Fill out this form from the Advice Service
  2. The Advice service will send you an e-voucher
  3. You can pick up your parcel at your local Trussell Trust Food bank. You can find the locations here
  4. For further financial assistance, please reach out to Student Finance Support Team

New Doctoral Theses: access and alerts

Looking for Imperial theses? Explore and download theses via the Library’s guide:

Stay updated with Spiral

  • Imperial users can subscribe to collections (e.g., departmental PhD theses) and receive daily, weekly, or monthly digests of newly added items.
  • Log in with College credentials to subscribe.
  • External users can follow updates via RSS for the same collections.

How to subscribe (Imperial users)

  1. Go to Spiral: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk
  2. Open the collection you want to follow (e.g., “Physics PhD theses”).
  3. Click “Subscribe” and choose your preferred frequency.
  4. Manage your preferences here: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/subscriptions