THE SCIENCE O F CO L L A B O R AT I O N WHITE CIT Y C A MPUS
IN VENTING THE F UTURE
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Imperial College London is a world-leading university that has long championed the power of collaboration. It’s an approach which dates back to our founding in 1907 and before that to the vision of Prince Albert who brought together science, art and music to create a thriving education and cultural quarter in South Kensington. We’re now writing the next chapter in this story at White City.
We are building a new campus in White City where scientists, engineers, medics and researchers will come together to work, debate and share ideas. They will be joined by institutions, major corporations, start-up companies, venture funders and policymakers to create a vibrant new neighbourhood rooted in innovation and discovery. It’s this partnership approach that will help us to achieve our mission: to reach the highest levels of research and education in science, engineering, medicine and business, and in doing so bring real benefits to society. At White City, we will work on solutions to problems such as how to feed a growing world population; how to develop sustainable sources of energy; how to use data more intelligently to predict and avoid financial crises; and how to eliminate the threat of infection caused by antimicrobial resistance. We’re investing in White City for the long term. The campus will be part of the local community, making a positive impact in local education, enterprise, employment and healthcare. “...the different industrial pursuits of mankind, arts, and science should not again relapse into a state of comparative isolation from each other” Prince Albert setting out his vision for the 1851 Great Exhibition
At the same time, the campus is creating new ways for our supporters – philanthropists, alumni, donors and friends – to connect with Imperial. In White City, they are helping to shape a story of transformation and inspiration. There are moments in history when new places are created that change the way things are done. One of these happened in 1851 when Prince Albert and Queen Victoria held the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. I passionately believe that the transformation of White City can have a similar positive legacy and I look forward to working with our friends and partners to take this next step in the history of Imperial College London.
Professor Alice P. Gast President, Imperial College London
It will be a lively and inclusive place, where our partners, neighbours and visitors can come and share in the wonder and practical applications of science. We want to open it up to people who have never entered a university campus before.
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A BOUT THE C A MPUS
Imagine a world where robots help stroke patients move again, where biomaterials detect the early signs of diseases and help the body to repair itself. Imperial’s research has led to some of the most important discoveries and technological advances of the past century, from penicillin to fibre optics. 4
At White City, we’re leading a £2 billion investment in a new 23-acre campus to continue pioneering ways of seeing and shaping the world.
We’re also developing proposals for the southern part, which will include more academic hubs and facilities for commercial and research partners.
Multidisciplinary research facilities are opening at the northern section of the site, alongside space for businesses, accommodation for postgraduate students and a residential building.
The campus will be a vibrant and inviting place, with a network of green spaces, common areas, cafés and exhibition venues.
At White City, our goal is to create a place where a culture of discovery can flourish; where data scientists discuss ideas over coffee with medical researchers; where a tech start-up shares its workspace with biomedical engineers; where a local school or doctor’s surgery hosts a workshop with a professor of public health.
A global research and innovation district White City is a dynamic and rapidly changing part of London – itself one of the most exciting cities in the world and a global leader in science, technology and innovation.
Imperial is playing a key role in the development and regeneration of White City, which is seeing more than 5,000 new homes and 10,000 jobs created, alongside quarters for culture, shopping and creativity. Our new campus is less than three miles from South Kensington and just 500m from our campus at Hammersmith Hospital.
With three underground stations, White City has excellent transport links to the rest of London and beyond. It is: Around 13 minutes from the West End by tube Around 22 minutes from the City of London by tube Two miles from Old Oak Common and potential future connections to HS2 and Heathrow Airport
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BRE A KING DOWN BA RRIERS: MULTIDISCIPLIN A RY RE SE A RCH Challenges around energy or healthcare are global issues that cut across disciplines and we need a multidisciplinary approach to solve them.
Scientific change is accelerating. We can’t predict where discoveries over the next 10, 20 or 30 years will take us. A generation ago, pioneering fields like synthetic biology and data science, which have unravelled the human genome and made micro-payments part of everyday life, seemed like science fiction. These advances require a truly joined-up approach. This is what the White City Campus offers. We’re creating dedicated facilities for collaborative research which underpins our four strategic priorities: discovery and the natural world; engineering novel solutions; health and wellbeing (including Imperial’s School of Public Health); and leading the data revolution. The undeveloped southern part of the campus offers the potential for even more, whether multidisciplinary hubs or departments, institutes and centres focused on global challenges. Chemistry transformed: The Molecular Sciences Research Hub Providing a new research home for the Department of Chemistry, the Molecular Sciences Research Hub will bring together up to 800 scientists, clinicians, engineers and commercial partners. They will collaborate under one roof in a way that they have never been able to before, advancing research in areas such as clean energy, chemical biology and healthcare. 6
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Pioneering medical breakthroughs: The Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub Work at the Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub will combine the latest medical research and engineering to improve the treatment and diagnosis of diverse medical conditions, from developing new ways to detect cancer, to musculoskeletal technology and even bionic limbs. Made possible thanks to an unprecedented £40 million gift from Sir Michael Uren OBE and his foundation, over 500 engineers, clinicians and scientists will together develop new and affordable medical technologies. The facility builds on the momentum of Imperial’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and the Francis Crick Institute, in which we are a partner. Both of these pioneering research hubs at the White City Campus support our work with MedCity – an initiative championed by the Mayor of London aimed at promoting a world-leading life sciences cluster in London and the South East of England.
What if we could use data to make humans better decision makers? What if we could grow new bone to help people heal after surgery or injury? What if we could use clean power to fuel all of our energy needs?
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The White City Campus is already home to exciting young businesses. One company is creating a 100 per cent biodegradable plastic, a new fund is investing in emission reduction technology, and a healthcare start-up is developing new treatments for respiratory illnesses.
Imperial has a long and successful history of partnership and collaboration with industry and commerce. Through our new campus at White City, we are building stronger links with the business community than ever before. 8
INDUS TRY, We work with more than 500 corporate partners to translate research into practical commercial applications. At White City, we’re now bringing academia and business together on an unprecedented scale. We’re creating spaces for businesses of all sizes – major corporations, high-tech and high-growth companies, SMEs, start-ups, spinouts and entrepreneurs – to work alongside Imperial at every stage of their development and growth.
Already, our £150m Translation & Innovation Hub (I-HUB) provides a home for businesses looking to turn cutting-edge research into new products and services. Led by Imperial College ThinkSpace, these facilities will often be linked to specific research and development partnerships so that collaboration with Imperial is embedded from the start.
ENTERPRISE A ND INNOVATION Among the first businesses to locate at the White City Campus are: DNAe – a next-generation medical diagnostics company developing breakthrough DNA analysis technology Central Working – an awardwinning shared workspace provider, whose first tenant is OGCI Climate Investments, a $1bn low emissions energy tech fund
Autolus – a leader in cuttingedge T-cell therapies for the treatment of cancer Spaces to innovate As well as partnering with established industry leaders, Imperial is home to a range of startup and spin-out companies which started life in our labs, hackspaces, incubator and even our coffee shops.
At White City, extensions to the Imperial Advanced Hackspace network, which gives access to cuttingedge prototyping technologies and workshops, will help staff, students, alumni and commercial partners rapidly convert research ideas into breakthrough products. Successful prototypes will feed projects and businesses into the Imperial White City Incubator, which offers flexible workspace and support for young businesses and spin-out companies. 9
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IMPERI A L A ND THE WHITE CIT Y COMMUNIT Y
The Invention Rooms helps local people and the Imperial community turn their ideas into working models and products: REACH OUT MAKERSPACE – A specially designed space where local children and young people can get hands-on experience of prototype development. IMPERIAL COLLEGE ADVANCED HACKSPACE – Cutting-edge workshop facilities where staff, students, alumni and partners can collaborate using advanced prototyping equipment, from robotics and digital technology, to synthetic biology and molecular fabrication. INTERACTION ZONE – A warm and welcoming venue for public events, where local people and College partners can connect with science and Imperial’s research. The Invention Rooms is one of the first projects of its kind in the UK and we’ll be working with the community to shape it every step of the way.
We’re committed to making a positive impact in White City by working in partnership with the local community to create new opportunities, unleash local talent and make a difference in areas such as education, employment, enterprise and health. Our vision is to combine the skills, talent and insights of local residents, businesses and organisations with the expertise of our students, staff, partners and friends. We plan to be a long-term partner in the community that brings people together to find solutions to both local and global challenges. We’re building an open campus that is inclusive and engaging. A programme of local events, activities and initiatives is being developed, including pop-up science events, a digital literacy programme for the elderly and a drone-building challenge programme for young people from local youth clubs.
Nurturing creativity: The Invention Rooms The Invention Rooms is our dedicated innovation space for local people and the Imperial community in White City. Under one roof, the College’s inventors and entrepreneurs will make use of specialist prototyping equipment, while local people of all ages and backgrounds can build things, learn coding, develop digital skills and turn their ideas into working prototypes using workshops, design studios and interaction spaces. ‘Making’ programmes held at the building will challenge young people to channel their creativity into ambitious projects, and encourage the next generation of scientists and inventors in White City. 11
HIS TORY OF WHITE CIT Y
WHITE CITY TIMELINE
1912 Hammersmith Hospital opens and construction begins on the Wormholt and Cleverly Estate
1908 The Franco-British Exhibition and Olympic Games, the longest games in history
1917 Queens Park Rangers Football Club moves to Loftus Road Stadium
1930s-50s Construction begins on the White City Estate
1947 White City Station opens on the Central line
The history of White City is a story of change. Over the past 150 years, it has evolved from quiet countryside to the site of great international exhibitions, a place for forward-thinking social housing, the location of a global broadcasting powerhouse and the home of a world-famous football club. Today White City is becoming a centre for research, innovation, culture, commerce, retail and new homes for a diverse community.
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2008 Westfield London opens
1960 BBC Television Centre opens
White City and Imperial College London are rooted in the great international exhibitions of the 19th and 20th centuries. The development of Imperial’s South Kensington campus goes back to the Great Exhibition in 1851, while a major milestone in the history of White City is the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908.
2009 Imperial first purchases land in White City
2013 Imperial purchases additional land for the White City Campus south of the Westway (A40)
2016 The Translation & Innovation Hub (I-HUB) opens at the White City Campus
2012 Imperial opens the first building at the White City Campus – accommodation for postgraduate students
2015 Transformation of Television Centre begins
The exhibition brought thousands of visitors to the ‘Great White City’ of striking domes and palaces. It also established Imperial’s first links to the area, when a team of physicists showcased their equipment among the displays. Later that year, White City hosted the longest summer Olympic Games in history.
Over the next thirty years, the area witnessed more international, institutional and industrial events. It would go on to become a cultural and artistic hub with the arrival of the BBC’s iconic Television Centre in 1960, the centre of modernist social housing in the White City Estate, and the ground for Queens Park Rangers football club.
2018 The Molecular Sciences Research Hub opens at the White City Campus
2017 Groundbreaking for the Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub Opening of the Invention Rooms
Today, White City is undergoing its latest transformation, becoming a home for cutting-edge research, business and culture.
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OUR LOC ATION
Cambridge
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Located in west London, the White City Campus is less than three miles from South Kensington and just 500m from our campus at Hammersmith Hospital.
M40
A1M
Oxford
M1 M11
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White City has excellent transport links to the rest of London and beyond. With three underground stations nearby (White City, Wood Lane and Shepherd’s Bush), it’s located just 13 minutes from the West End and 22 minutes from the City of London.
M25 M40
WHITE CITY CAMPUS A40
M25
LON DON
M4
Heathrow Airport M3
M25 M25
M20
M23
A4 06
Stansted Airport
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A40
Luton Airport
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A503
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A5
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British Museum
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A4 A3 12
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Buckingham Palace
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CANARY WHARF
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SOUTHWARK
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LAMBETH A2
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Wimbledon Common
O2 Arena
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A205
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Richmond Park
City Hall
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A3
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A3
Tower of London
Palace of Westminster
A205
Twickenham Stadium
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2
A40
Heathrow Airport
A13 A13
Trafalgar Square
V&A Museum
Natural History & Science Museums
St Paul’s
CITY OF LON DON
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Hyde Park
HAMMERSMITH
A4
STRATFO R D A11
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SOUTH KENSINGTON CAMPUS
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WIMBLEDON Gatwick Airport
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2
A40
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WHITE CITY CAMPUS
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Francis Crick Institute A10
06 A4
A1
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WEMBLEY
EALING
A
A1 2
Hampstead Heath
Wembley Stadium
A40
A10(T)
A1
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Imperial hospital campuses
Major National Rail stations
Get in touch Business and co-location opportunities: Imperial College ThinkSpace T: +44 (0)20 7594 5155 E: thinkspace@imperial.ac.uk Community engagement: White City Community Engagement Team T: +44 (0)20 7594 1103 E: whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk Supporting White City: Advancement Division T: +44 (0)20 7594 9813 E: g.wicks@imperial.ac.uk