Calling for help – at the touch of a button

More than 1,000 people have downloaded the College’s new SafeZone App designed to help them alert security staff in an emergency.

SafeZone can be downloaded by all College students and staff and allows them to alert and directly speak to security staff if they need help either for themselves or someone else.

Anyone who is lone working can also use the check-in function so that the security team are alerted if they do not check in after a set period of time.

Staff and students can also choose to upload relevant medical information, such as allergies or epilepsy to ensure they get the right help as quickly as possible.

Each campus, hall of residence and hospital site is geofenced and if users have activated an alert or checked-in through the app then the College’s security team will know their location and be able to respond.

SafeZone is simple and clear way of getting help wherever you need it Nigel Ward Deputy head of security

Even off campus staff and students can also be put through to local emergency services in any country and additional geofenced areas can be added anywhere in the world for those taking part in foreign travel or study.

Nigel Ward, deputy head of security at the College said: “SafeZone is simple and clear way of getting help wherever you need it – whether that’s first aid or some other incident. We don’t track people’s movements unless they call for help but if you do need help it’s an easy way to let us know.

“We’re really pleased so many people have downloaded it since we rolled it out in October - we have already been able to help several people.”

Huawei help

In an added boost the security team have now been given 30 smart phones from global telecoms firm Huawei which will be used by reception staff and counsellors to give them access to the system and increase coverage.

Nigel added: “We are really grateful to Huawei as these handsets will allow us to increase the capacity of the system and mean we will have more people who are able to respond quickly to emergencies.”

Michael Hill-King, Collaboration Director, UK R&D Centre, Huawei, said: “We are delighted to be able to support Imperial students and staff and enhance their personal security and safety. Imperial is an open, collaborative, international and world-class technical university.

"The university is a strong research partner of Huawei on a range of computing and engineering topics, so it’s good to have this opportunity to strengthen our relationship in this way.”

Huawei, who were one of the sponsors of last year’s Great Exhibition Road Festival, are one of the College’s long term corporate partners.

Last year Festival goers queued to experience their popular 5G truck which featured 3D TV screens, 360 degree live-streaming, 5G enabled gaming, VR and PC cloud services. 

Find out more about SafeZone and download the app.

Registering for SafeZone is optional and all existing phone numbers for the Security team are still operational. In the event of an emergency, you can still call 4444 from any internal College phone. In the event of a wider incident in London, you can now also call 0300 131 4444, Imperial’s Emergency Recorded Message Line, which will point you in the direction of up-to-date information and advice.