Communications Division
Media Report

Quantum sensor

The Media team offered a carefully selected group of priority media exclusive access to see an Imperial-developed quantum sensor on its first ever field test aboard a Navy ship and a package of interviews, photography and video content. Working closely with Dr Joseph Cotter and his team, the work resulted in high-profile coverage in The Times, BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, and Sky News, as well as capturing imagery of the work and creating eye-catching social media content to mark this moment.

Imperial advocates for Horizon association

In response to a Financial Times column which suggested that Europe would not be able to compete with the technological power of the US and China, the Media team helped to place a letter from Imperial’s President Professor Hugh Brady and Professor Thomas F Hofmann (President of the Technical University of Munich) in the Financial Times.

In the letter, the university leaders called for the EU and UK to “work swiftly” to find solutions on the UK’s association with Horizon Europe.  

Aircraft noise and heart attacks

The Media team pitched an Imperial-led study on the link between living near Heathrow Airport and cardiovascular disease risk to the Press Association, leading to coverage of the study in national publications, including The Independent, Daily Mail, Evening Standard, Daily Express, ITV London and LBC News. The work also resulted in an interview with Professor Marta Blangiardo (School of Public Health) on LBC.

Bats and coronaviruses

There was widespread media coverage of Imperial-led research into novel coronaviruses in bats, following a press release from the Media team. The work appeared in outlets including The Telegraph, The Times, Daily Express, Nature, Press Association, The Independent and The Daily Mail.

Micrometeorites on campus rooftops

Dr Matthew Genge was interviewed on the roof of Imperial’s Electrical and Electronic Engineering building for a BBC Radio 4 documentary about cosmic dust, which can be found on rooftops. During the BBC’s visit, arranged by the Media team, they found a micrometeorite that will be used in future research. 

Extreme weather

Two reports on a drought in the Horn of Africa and a heatwave in southern Asia from World Weather Attribution, based at Imperial’s Grantham Institute and led by Dr Fredi Otto, were featured in media including The Guardian, BBC News the Washington Post, the Independent, and Sky News. Dr Otto’s comments on recent flooding also featured in the Washington Post, and she was quoted in an editorial article in The Guardian about the upcoming COP28 summit.

Problem pledges

Research into how confident we can be that global governments will fully implement their net-zero pledges was covered in outlets including The Times, The Guardian and Bloomberg, following a press release issued by the Media team.

Fire drone

An Imperial press release about a new heat-resistant drone that could scope out and map burning buildings and wildfires resulted in good coverage across The Engineer, PC Magazine and the BBC 5 Live Science podcast.

Addiction and the brain

Dr Louise Paterson (Brain Sciences) appeared on a prime-time BBC One documentary talking to musician and actor Matt Willis about her research into the brain mechanisms associated with addiction. The interview, filmed at the Imperial College Clinical Imaging Facility, was arranged by the Media team, who also worked with the BBC on sharing footage from the programme on Imperial’s social media channels.

President Brady’s Japan visit

An interview set up by the Media Team with President Hugh Brady appeared in Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper on Imperial’s ambitions to expand its academic and industry partnerships in Japan.  

It came as coverage of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visit to the country highlighted Imperial’s new strategic relationship with the University of Tokyo. Imperial’s partnership was covered in The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Japan Times. 

Intelligent knife to treat breast cancer

The Media Team worked with Professor Zoltan Takats to highlight his work in a Channel 4 documentary, Sarah Beeny vs Cancer. Professor Takats developed the iKnife, an “intelligent knife” that can tell surgeons immediately whether the tissue they are cutting is cancerous or not.  

London leading the way internationally

Following Imperial maintaining its position as sixth best university globally in the QS World University rankings, the Media team ensured prominent coverage of a comment from Imperial’s President in an Evening Standard story about the rankings.

Great Exhibition Road Festival

There was good coverage of the Great Exhibition Road Festival, which took place in June, in media such as BBC London, ITV London and the Evening Standard, events outlets such as Londonist, and coverage of projects exhibiting at the Festival including cancer breath tests in The Guardian.

Professor Dame Lesley Regan and Professor Sian Harding – Faculty of Medicine

Professors Regan and Harding contributed to a Mail on Sunday women’s health special looking at some of the common health issues women experience as they age.

Russell Miller – Business School

Russell Miller was quoted in the Financial Times' Executive Education special report about the role artificial intelligence could play as an educational tool at business schools. The story was secured off the back of a pitch to the FT by the Media team.

Pedro Rosa Dias – Business School

Pedro Rosa Dias was interviewed by Poets&Quants for a special feature about the Business School’s new BSc in Economics, Finance and Data Science. The article was secured following a pitch by the Media team as part of efforts to secure coverage for the new undergraduate degree.

Dr Nisha Patel – Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre

Dr Patel is running clinical trials with a new type of endoscope that is softer, more flexible and self-propelled, reducing the discomfort patients experience during colonoscopies. The trial was covered by the Evening Standard and Daily Mail.

Professor Roderick Smith – Faculty of Engineering

Professor Smith commented in The Times on the loss of the submersible Titan visiting the wreck of the Titanic.

Professor Guillermo Rein – Faculty of Engineering

Professor Rein was quoted in a Bloomberg piece about the Home Office failing to update its wildfires strategy following a record number of incidents last summer.

Xinrong Zhu – Business School

Xinrong Zhu was interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Analysis show on the subject of boycotts and how they impact businesses and consumers.

Professor Nick Voulvoulis – Faculty of Natural Sciences 

Professor Vouvlvoulis spoke to Channel 4 news about the increasing number of monitored sewage spills in recent years.

Jack Blyzinskyj – Business School

Forbes covered the story about Imperial MBA student Jack Blyzinskyj’s swim across the English Channel to raise money for Ukrainian refugees. The story was pitched by the Media team to coincide with World Refugee Day.

Professor Ralf Toumi – Faculty of Natural Sciences

Professor Toumi told the Independent that a powerful cyclone like Mocha that hit Myanmar in May is now about 50% more likely to occur due to the climate crisis.

Dr Liz Whittaker – Faculty of Medicine

Dr Whittaker spoke to the Scottish Sun about links between Kawasaki disease and COVID-19 and to the Telegraph about heart inflammation in babies.

Sankalp Chaturvedi – Business School

Sankalp Chaturvedi authored an op-ed in Times Higher Education Campus about the need for systemic change in education to address EDI, following a pitch by the Media team. 

Dr Channa Jayasena – Faculty of Medicine

In an article about the growing number of people buying home fertility test kits, Dr Jayasena commented in the Guardian about the importance of knowing what you need to test for and how to perform the test correctly.