Our Vision

The Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication (CLCC) plays a unique role within Imperial, bringing the humanities, social sciences, arts and languages into conversation with science, technology, engineering, medicine and business (STEMB) disciplines and empowering students, staff, and the wider community to explore new perspectives. This strategy sets out our direction for 2025–2030, structured around five key themes: Students, Staff, Impact, Opportunity, and Organisation.

Imperial is in a privileged position to educate students for our fast-changing world, equipping them with the right skills and tools to address some of the most pressing problems facing us, and to balance the impact of numerous disruptors such as climate change and AI. This, however, goes beyond the realms of STEMB and calls for the humanities and social sciences and their inherent affinity to question ethics and encourage thoughtful critical thinking about what it means to be human. The CLCC will give Imperial’s STEMB students the roots needed to ground them, provide them with the contextual relevance to their disciplines and support them embody their disciplines by cultivating curiosity and creating (human) connections.

Dr Ana P. Costa-Pereira

Director, Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication

Our Aims

The CLCC’s vision is to ensure that every Imperial student is given the opportunity to engage in a values-based and human-centred education, which will:

  • provide them with safe spaces to explore new perspectives;
  • stimulate multidisciplinary approaches;
  • enable them to contextualise their learning within the wider world;
  • allow them to explore their identity, values and place in the world;
  • provide them with tools to navigate complexity;
  • offer a critical voice to science and society, and support the development of the next generation of global graduates.

Cultivating Curiosity, Creating Connections

Students – Empowering Global, Curious, and Resilient Learners

Aim 1: We will aim to provide every Imperial student access to modules that broaden their perspectives, nurture their natural curiosity, and foster a critical understanding of the human context of STEMB.

We will do this by:

  • Expanding interdisciplinary projects (Horizons, I-Explore, Change Makers) with real-world, student-led challenges addressing global issues, sustainability, and responsible AI use.
  • Ensuring curricula reflect diverse cultural, linguistic, and global perspectives, supporting identity exploration and intercultural competence.
  • Developing transferable skills such communication, critical thinking, teamwork and reflexivity, and preparing students for placements abroad and future careers.
  • Cultivating inclusive learning environments and safe spaces for exploration, encouraging confidence, resilience, and mental wellbeing across all CLCC offerings, including not-for-credit programmes, such as Imperial after:hours and Imperial Leap, and Imperial Horizons.
Staff – Developing an Engaged, Skilled, and Collaborative Community

Aim 2: We recognise the particular challenges of having a staffing base with a large proportion of staff who are part-time and have teaching responsibilities in other institutions. We will create an environment for our staff which is more stable and inclusive, and which offers a strong sense of community, together with opportunities for growth and development.

We will do this by:

  • Improving the stability of our teaching staff contracts, moving away from variable hours contracts for undergraduate teaching staff and by actively seeking out new opportunities for staff to contribute to the CLCC’s wider programme and Imperial’s ecosystem.
  • Fostering trust, accountability, and cross-team collaboration; we will celebrate staff achievements and promote communities of practice.
  • Maintaining sector-leading practice in feedback, inclusivity, group work assessment, and reflective pedagogy; investing in teaching observation, peer review, and knowledge-sharing.
  • Supporting career development through participation in SIGs, professional associations, research opportunities, and innovative projects across Imperial and beyond.
  • Simplifying workflows, ensuring transparent communication (contracts, policies), and by providing tailored support to make teaching and administration more efficient.
  • Encouraging and supporting staff to experiment with new teaching methods, digital tools, and co-created initiatives, deeply embedding a culture of innovation.

 

Impact – Humanities for Science

Aim 3: The CLCC has a unique position within Imperial working with students and staff across inter-disciplinary borders: all undergraduate students study one I-Explore module, many chose to engage with one or more Imperial Horizons module, and many postgraduate students and staff learn new topics through Imperial after:hours. We will aim to leverage this standing to position CLCC as a hub for interdisciplinary education and critical engagement between science, technology, and society, something particularly critical in the age of AI.

We will do this by:

  • Engaging proactively with transition and widening participation projects within Imperial and through inter-university collaborations.
  • Sharing insights through impact events, external presentations, research outputs, and storytelling via newsletters, social media, and exhibitions.
  • Expanding collaboration with local communities, cultural institutions, industry partners, and global networks (including Imperial’s Global South partners).
  • Showcasing and leveraging alumni success stories - especially from our Science Communication Unit and our Languages programmes - to demonstrate real-world influence and inspire current and future students.
  • Strengthening the critical voice of the humanities within Imperial, providing context, reflection, and cultural literacy to complement STEMB education.
Opportunity – Growing Reach and Future Potential

Aim 4: The humanities have existed at Imperial for over 70 years in response to the seminal essay on The Two Cultures put forward by C.P. Snow. What was initially a non-technical programme of education has evolved through the years, and is now formally embedded in undergraduate curricula and a critical element of the rounded education Imperial gives its students. Our role in deepening the relationship between STEMB and the humanities, social sciences and art, is critical to our Science for Humanity strategy by ensuring that our students and learners have opportunities to develop as truly interdisciplinary, global individuals.

We will do this by:

  • Developing new undergraduate and postgraduate offerings (bespoke modules, short courses, life-long learning opportunities), including language training for Year in Europe and interdisciplinary degree pathways.
  • Securing internal and external funding for educational research, community engagement, and curriculum innovation; expanding partnerships with cultural, professional, and industry stakeholders.
  • Growing Imperial after:hours provision to attract wider audiences and provide intellectually rigorous, accessible courses for life-long learners.
  • Using insights from I-Explore pilots and Change Makers projects to inform future provision and stay ahead of global and institutional trends.
  • Building links with international universities and networks to co-create projects, offer student exchange opportunities, and amplify our global voice.
Organisation – Building a Robust, Agile, and Future-Ready Centre

Aim 5: Delivery of our ambitious strategy is only achievable with an efficient and effective support infrastructure, human and technological. We will aim to maximise our use of Imperial’s systems to best effect and provide opportunities for our staff to access and explore resources to enhance our effectiveness.

We will do this by:

  • Streamlining administration and technology platforms (such as virtual learning and allocation systems) to improve module selection, enrolment, and quality assurance processes.
  • Using historical data and sector trends to optimise student placement and inform provision planning (e.g., arts and science communication expansion).
  • Maintaining agility to adapt to emerging pedagogical, logistical, and technological challenges, ensuring smooth operation across all programmes, and as Imperial expands its footprint, ensuring that our programmes remain inclusive and are available beyond the South Kensington campus.
  • Continuing to strengthen relationships with Registry, ICT, and Estates to co-design solutions that work efficiently for staff and students.
  • Increasing CLCC’s profile across Imperial through active representation on university fora and explicit communication of our strategic direction.

Our Graduates

In the CLCC, we help students learn to think, create and communicate creative and respectfully in a world with AI.

  • Our pedagogical approach cultivates curiosity by encouraging critical AI exploration, helping students discern quality and recognising where human knowledge and skills remain essential.
  • We create connections by drawing on our strength in bringing different perspectives together and by approaching ethical use with openness, empathy and equity.

We will enact this by promoting:

  • Innovation: creating the space to explore, experiment and question AI’s role in learning;
  • Integrity: inspiring trust that AI is used ethically in our community of learners and teachers;
  • Excellence: helping students develop the ability to judge the reliability, creativity and value of AI outputs;
  • Collaboration: encouraging the sharing and appreciation of different perspectives, enriching learning through dialogue and teamwork;
  • Respect: engaging with one another, openly and empathetically, recognising the limits of AI and shining light on the importance of human knowledge and skills.

A centre focused on the humanities and social sciences may not seem like an obvious fit within a STEMB institution like Imperial, but it is a vital part of its ecosystem. As a global institution, we proudly embrace diverse viewpoints, languages, and cultures - each offering essential perspectives on how science integrates into society and how technology serves it. These contributions cannot succeed without strong communication, compelling narratives, and thoughtful engagement. The CLCC helps Imperial students understand the importance of these elements and equips them with the skills needed to navigate and contribute meaningfully to this dialogue.

CLCC Strategy 2025-2030 [PDF]