Imperial showcases innovation, collaboration and community links to local MP

Andy Slaughter MP visits the Advanced Hackspace

Imperial welcomed Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith, to see some of the newest and most innovative spaces at the College's new White City Campus.

Professor Alice Gast welcomes Andy Slaughter MP

Hosted by Imperial’s President, Professor Alice Gast, Mr Slaughter saw first hand how Imperial is supporting early-stage start-ups, encouraging innovation, and forging links with the local community.

During the tour he visited Imperial’s new Incubator, which provides state-of-the-art laboratories, office spaces and conferencing facilities, as well as an incubation programme, to help start-up and spin-out companies grow and develop.

It forms part of the Translation and Innovation Hub (I-HUB) – a flagship building which aims to drive forward commercialisation and translation of research and innovation for the benefit of society.

The I-HUB

Representatives from Polymateria, one of the new Incubator’s first tenants, explained to Mr Slaughter how they are developing additives for plastic products and packaging that cause them to biodegrade over time. Their lead scientist, Dr Graham Chapman, received his PhD from Imperial.

Hacking the future

The MP was also given a tour of the Invention Rooms, which are due to open later this year. Providing workshops and interactive spaces, it will allow members of the community to come together with our staff, students, alumni and partners to test out their creative ideas, and share in the excitement of research and innovation.

David Miller, Hackspace Fellow, and Andy Slaughter MP

The Advanced Hackspace, based within the Invention Rooms, will provide access to specialist prototyping and manufacturing equipment for inventors and entrepreneurs from the College’s student and staff body. These facilities will include workshop technologies, such as robotics and 3D printing, and a bio-lab, which enables synthetic biology and molecular fabrication.

David Miller, a Hackspace Fellow from the Dyson School of Design Engineering, demonstrated how he is using specialised 3D printers to build accurate models from medical imaging scans. This assists surgeons, turning patient data from computer images back into a tactile 3D model.

The Invention Rooms will also house the Reach Out Makerspace – a workshop and design studio for young people from the local community – as well as a public events space where the community can connect with Imperial’s research through a wide-ranging programme of events and activities.