Communications Division
Media Report

Mission to Jupiter’s icy moons

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission (JUICE) launched in April, with the Media team securing live reporting at Imperial from Sky News and evening news highlights on Channel 4 and ITV.

The team also captured journalists’ interest with photography and video of the Imperial-designed magnetometer, one of the spacecraft’s key instruments, as well as interviews and media tours.

There was extensive global coverage of Imperial’s involvement in the mission, including major outlets such as Financial Times, New York Times, BBC, The Economist’s Babbage podcast, Daily Mail, CNN, Daily Mirror, Daily Star, and The Independent.

Treating child blast injuries

The Media team worked closely with Save the Children to promote the new Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies at White City, welcoming multiple journalists to an official opening event, organising media tours and filming, and issuing a joint press release.

This resulted in positive coverage in The Independent (and Independent TV), The Daily Mirror, The Evening Standard, and The Daily Mail.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

To mark International Women’s Day, the Media team pitched a feature about mothers who work at Imperial to the Evening Standard, who highlighted the project’s aim to normalise working motherhood by using images and quotes from the story.

The Media team also pitched two Business School alumni, Rima Suppan and Morgan Mixon (founders of the nappy brand Peaches), to be featured in an article in Forbes about women founders of businesses focused on women’s needs.

Advocating for international collaboration

Imperial’s President, Professor Hugh Brady, argued for continued international collaboration in several opinion pieces. The Media team secured an interview for him to discuss the importance of international collaboration and the College’s role in UK growth with the Times Higher Education’s ‘Talking Leadership’ series. He also wrote opinion pieces for the Sunday Times and The Times on Britain’s role as a science superpower and the importance of association to Horizon Europe. During his visit to Japan in March, the Media team secured an interview for Professor Brady with Asahi Shimbun about Imperial’s interdisciplinary research culture.

India's Science Minister visits Imperial

India's Minister of Science visited Imperial to help strengthen India’s research links with the College. During the visit, Imperial announced a new Future Leaders Scholarship for Indian students. Following a press release and pitches from the Media team, this news and comments from Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise) Mary Ryan and Vice Provost (Education and Student Experience) Peter Haynes were covered widely across Indian media, including in the Times of India, Economic Times, and Deccan Chronicle.

Pet treatments are polluting our waters

A media briefing on how pet parasite treatments are polluting waterways resulted in coverage in i News, vet press including the Vet Times, and The Times, which covered it in a news story and an editorial comment.

Organised by the Media team, the briefing involved researchers from the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Medicine. 

Early childhood respiratory disease

A press release from the Media team led to coverage in The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and CNN for a study about lower respiratory tract infections, led by Dr James Allison (NHLI). The research showed that contracting such infections in early childhood is linked to a higher risk of dying from respiratory disease as an adult.

Study reveals why bugs are attracted to light

A study by Dr Samuel Fabian (Bioengineering) looking at why insects gather around artificial lights was featured in the New York Times, on BBC Newsround, and in New Scientist.

Psychedelics and the brain

A study revealing how brain function is altered by the psychedelic compound dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the active ingredient in ayahuasca, was featured in The Guardian, The Times and Vice News following a press release from the Media team.

The study’s first author was Dr Chris Timmerman (Brain Sciences).

Online learning insights

The Business School was featured in two articles in the Financial Times Online Learning report, secured by the Media team. Sarah Grant was interviewed about the opportunities and challenges presented by the metaverse in business education. In a separate story, Markus Perkmann was interviewed about why online degrees remain a popular choice for students, post-pandemic.

Professor Ian Walmsley – Provost

Imperial’s Provost, Professor Ian Walmsley, wrote in Times Higher Education that in the absence of domestic fee hikes and full-cost grants, world-class facilities will help maintain international student flows.

Dr Sarah Grant – Business School

Sarah Grant authored an article in Times Higher Education Campus about how universities must be smarter with their edtech strategies and the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in teaching.

Professor Frank Kelly and Dr Gary Fuller – Faculty of Medicine

Researchers from Imperial’s Environmental Research Group spoke about new research they carried out for a Greater London Authority commissioned report into air pollution’s lifelong effects. The work was covered by the BBC, Evening Standard, Evening’s Standard’s The Leader podcast, the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, the Sun, the Telegraph, Al Jazeera, Sky News (Broadcast), BBC London News (Broadcast) and regional radio stations.

Dr Friederike Otto - Faculty of Natural Sciences

Dr Otto (Grantham Institute) continues to help engage the public with climate change through her work with the media. During this period she was quoted by the BBC, Sky News and the Washington Post in articles about a major new report she co-authored, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change. She also talked to The Guardian and The Express about carbon dioxide removal technologies, and to CNN on the likelihood of more record breaking heatwaves.

Professor George Hanna – Faculty of Medicine

Professor Hanna (Surgery & Cancer) appeared on Channel 4 News in a package about his work developing breath tests to detect esophageal cancer.

He was also quoted in The Mirror and Daily Mail.

Harry Grocott – Business School

Harry Grocott, a graduate of the MSc Climate Change, Management and Finance, was featured in Forbes for an article about eight inspiring founders of sustainability focused businesses. The story was pitched by the Media team to coincide with Earth Day, and the article was published just afterwards.

Professor Peter Openshaw – Faculty of Medicine

The Media team secured an interview with NBC for Professor Peter Openshaw about why some people may appear immune to COVID-19.

Dr Channa Jayasena – Faculty of Medicine

Dr Jayasena (Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction) commented on research into IVF sex selection in the Daily Mail, Evening Standard, The Telegraph, Sky News and The Independent.

Dr Claire Higgins – Faculty of Engineering

Dr Higgins (Bioengineering) was interviewed in the Guardian on the science behind Boots No7’s new skincare line, which had been hailed as a "world-first breakthrough in skincare research".

Professor Nick Voulvoulis – Faculty of Natural Sciences

Professor Voulvoulis (Centre for Environmental Policy) spoke to New Scientist about the issue of pollution in the UK’s swimming rivers.

Professor Mark Sephton – Faculty of Engineering

Professor Sephton (Earth Science & Engineering) commented on a key molecule for life being found in an asteroid in The Independent, The Metro and the Evening Standard.