President Brady: Now is the time to double down on international collaboration

Imperial's President Hugh Brady has called for greater international collaboration during times of global uncertainty.

Speaking at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin to an audience of academic, industry and policy leaders, Professor Brady highlighted the role of Imperial’s four global hubs in strengthening the university’s international partnerships.

"Now is the time for us to double down on international collaboration," he said. "We can use this moment not only to build our research ecosystem but also to boost our innovation capabilities."

President Brady added: "Our hubs have created powerful bridges between research and innovation ecosystems, delivering multiple benefits."

Falling Walls is an international forum that brings together leaders in science, business and society to address global challenges. Professor Brady spoke on the panel International Research Cooperation in a Fragmented World, part of the Summit for Research and Innovation.

President Brady was joined by Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council, and other European scientific and research leaders, including Professor Astrid Lambrecht (Forschungszentrum Jülich), Thierry Coulhon (Institut Polytechnique de Paris), and Stefan Asenkerschbaumer (Bosch). The session was moderated by German economist and President of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Bettina Rockenbach.

Tackling particle pollution

Imperial also hosted a panel discussion with leading experts on the impacts of particle pollution.

Earlier this year, Imperial and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) launched a joint research centre to address this issue.

The Imperial-TUM Centre for Health Resilience in a Changing Planet brings together Europe’s top scientists, industry experts and policymakers to investigate the health effects of particle pollution and support a shift in industrial design towards sustainable, low-pollution technologies.

The Centre is developing a major London–Munich programme spanning engineering, materials science, artificial intelligence, medicine and life sciences.

The Centre’s co-directors Imperial's Professor Robert Shorten and TUM's Professor Percy Knolle discussed how European science and technology can lead in clean industrial innovation.

The event was chaired by Amanda Wolthuizen, Imperial's Vice-President, Communications and Strategic Engagement and Chief of Staff to the President.

The researchers outlined plans to collaborate with industries including automotive, advanced manufacturing and ICT to develop cleaner production processes – enhancing competitiveness while addressing environmental and health challenges.