Current projects

Summary

This project aims to understand how skills and competencies in the area of sustainability are/can be developed in our Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Bioengineering and Biomedical Technology Ventures programmes in the department of Bioengineering. Whilst at an individual module level aspects of sustainability are discussed, how these fit together across the curriculum to allow our students to develop a deep understanding of the complex issues is not clear to our students, or to staff generally. Having a clear overview would allow the department to address gaps and build on best practice. 

To do this the project team, comprising of three teaching staff and three students will undergo a mapping exercise using a framework developed by the university of Sheffield, with support from their team.  

This project is a trial of the framework and methodology, which will allow us to examine how we can collaborate with students to understand their experience across modules and how they see skills to be developed. As a direct result of this project we expect to produce: 

• A map of our three undergraduate programmes in terms of where key competences in sustainability are introduced, developed and assessed.  

• Recommendations to module leaders for 'quick wins' 

• A summary identifying area of weakness to be addressed strategically by the departments teaching committee 

• A pilot of a student facing interactive mapping tool so our undergraduates can see how they are developing skills across our programmes 

Project Lead

Maria Parkes (maria.parkes04@imperial.ac.uk), Principal Teaching Fellow,  Department of Bioengineering

Further Details/Experience Required

Part-time at one half-day a week for ten weeks, starting 13th January.  

Undergraduate Bioengineering students from years 2-5, with an interest in sustainability are eligible and encouraged to apply.  

Mapping and Embedding Sustainability in Bioengineering UG ad

Summary

This project will research the development of competencies through I-Explore. It will draw on student and staff perspectives from their different departments and faculties to consider the different contexts from which students engage with I-Explore.

The project will use its findings to offer suggestions for how competencies could better be signposted in the communication of I-Explore. It will also provide insight into the competencies that students and teachers would like opportunities to develop further.

Project Lead

Mark Pope (mark.pope@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication

Further Details/Experience Required

Part-time for 20 weeks between October 2025 and March 2026.  Four positions available.  

Undergraduate students from any Faculty.  Particularly interested in recruiting students studying in the faculties of Engineering or Medicine, or with experience of STEMM or BPES modules on I-Explore.

(See recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

I-Explore Competencies recruitment ad

Summary

The Silwood Language Exchange programme will facilitate a conversation exchange between students and/or staff, for practise speaking a language informally. The programme will be inclusive for our whole student body, and will encourage everyone to take part, overseas students may want to practice English conversationally, which home students could offer and learn a new language or brush up on their existing skills. The programme will match people with different language back grounds. Offering a weekly space where people can come together in arranged pairs and take turns practising a language. The programme will also offer a social event/s.
Student shapers will collaborate with staff to design and implement this programme, including facilitating the weekly Language Exchange Sessions, which will commence late October 2025. 
As part of this project our Student Shapers will develop their project management, communication, and resource development skills as they work in partnership with department staff to design and roll out the programme. 
This work is scheduled for three hours a week for four weeks in the autumn term and the spring terms (8 weeks of work 
in total).

Project Lead

Clara Bradberry (c.scott@imperial.ac.uk), Student Experience Coordinator, Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park)

Further Details/Experience Required

Part-time for eight weeks over the Spring and Autumn term.  Eligible for incoming Life Sciences Masters and PhD students based at Silwood Park campus.  Those with an interest in student experience and languages would be particularly of interest.  3 positions available.  

(See recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

Silwood Park exchange recruitment ad

Summary

Following a grant from Presidents Community Fund the Chaplaincy Multi-Faith Centre aims to build a new community garden to create a space of belonging and well-being. The Chaplaincy seeks to collaborate with students to design and build this space for the community.

These support roles seek to reward and formalise the organic “knowledge-share” between students and staff that already exists at the garden. Students will work under a stewardship model with the space, sharing agency over its design, evolution and maintenance. 

Project Lead

Andrew Willson (chaplaincy@imperial.ac.uk) , College Chaplain, Chaplaincy

Further Details/Experience Required

Part-time for 25 weeks from Autumn term.   Four positions available.  

Undergraduate students from any Faculty.  Particularly those interested in gardening and regeneration of university space.

(See recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

Chaplaincy Gardening Project continuation recruitment ad

Summary

Do you want to help shape how future Imperial students understand assessment and feedback from day one? This project will bring together students and staff to co-create engaging, practical resources that make assessment expectations and feedback processes clearer, more accessible, and more useful for new students.
The project builds on recent StudentShapers work and the university-wide Assessment & Feedback Review, which have highlighted that many students still find assessment requirements unclear and feedback hard to access or use. Together, we’ll explore what’s currently offered to new students, identify gaps, and design new resources that are relatable, student-informed, and ready for departments to use in their 2026 inductions.
As a StudentShaper, you will be a partner in all stages of the project, from discovery to creation to testing. You’ll contribute your own perspective on assessment, help gather and analyse feedback from peers and staff, and work with other students and staff to design and trial new resources. Possible outputs might include short videos, podcasts, workshop activities, and practical guides – but the exact format will be shaped by the project team, including you.

Project Lead

Emma Passmore (e.passmore@imperial.ac.uk), Principal Teaching Fellow, Department of Earth Science & Engineering

Ioanna Papatsouma (i.papatsouma@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow in Statistics, Department of Mathematics

Timothy Kimber (timothy.kimber06@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Department of Computing

Jonathan Rackham (j.rackham@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Strategic Teaching Fellow, Department of Materials

Further Details/Experience Required

Part-time for 20 weeks between October 2025 and March 2026.  Four positions available.  

Undergraduate students from any Faculty or department, from Year 2 or above.  

(See recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

Effective A&F Literacy Materials recruitment ad

Summary

 This deadline extension is intended to encourage more expressions of interest from Aeronautics and Physics Undergraduate students (except final year) specifically

Lambda Feedback is a web platform for self-study, developed at Imperial. It hosts course content (such as tutorial sheets) that can be viewed in the browser or by PDF. Students can receive automated feedback on their answers, including hand-writing mathematical expressions. The platform also hosts step-by-step worked solutions and comment threads.

Lambda Feedback was first deployed in 2021-22, and is now used across College in all four faculties and by thousands of students. This summer we will be expanding the subjects that use Lambda Feedback, and improving features of the app.

We are looking for students to partner with academic staff to adapt and improve content when moving modules onto Lambda Feedback. We are also looking for students to contribute to the broader project, for example software development, algorithm development, feature design, data analytics, user documentation, marketing content.

Project Lead

Peter Johnson (peter.johnson@imperial.ac.uk), Principal Teaching Fellow, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

8 weeks full-time during Summer break.  9 positions available.  

 This deadline extension is intended to encourage more expressions of interest from Aeronautics and Physics Undergraduate students (except final year) specifically.  You should have:

• Passion and knowledge for your own subject
• Deep appreciation for the student experience and the key needs of students
• A keen interest in content management and typesetting (md, LaTeX, images – you can learn as you go)

 (see recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

Lambda feedback 24-25 recruitment ad

Summary

This project brings together the Central Learning Analytics Team and student partners to co-organise and co-host Imperial College’s first Learning Analytics Hackathon.

The project is structured across six phases, beginning in the summer with planning and preparation. Initial work will include establishing a collaborative framework, exploring best practices for hackathons, and preparing promotional materials. Student partners will also have access to Imperial’s anonymized learning analytics dataset. They will be encouraged to explore the data, identify key themes or challenges, and develop a bank of project ideas that can be used during the hackathon.

In the autumn, attention will turn to student hackathon participants recruitment, co-hosting pre-hackathon sessions, and co-delivering the main event on October 25^th (final date to be determined with students). The hackathon will offer a unique opportunity for students across the university to engage with real educational data and develop creative, data-driven solutions to improve learning experiences.

The final phase will focus on curating and analysing the outputs of the hackathon. Student partners will present key insights and findings to stakeholders across Imperial, contributing meaningfully to the development of learning analytics and digital education at Imperial.

*LEARNING ANALYTICS is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs.

 Project Lead

Mehdi Moussaoui (m.moussaoui@imperial.ac.uk), Data Analyst (Learning Analytics), Central Education Office

Helen Walkey (h.walkey@imperial.ac.uk), Learning Analytics Product Manager, Central Education Office

Further Details/Experience Required

5 weeks full-time during Summer break, and 8 weeks part-time during Autumn term.  And finally attendance at the Hackathon event itself, final date TBC.  Three positions available.  

All Undergraduate students from any year of study are eligible.   (See recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

Learning Analytics Hackathon recruitment ad

Summary

Imperial’s strategy aims to make the Class of 2030 “the most talented, the most enterprising and the most diverse we have ever had the privilege to serve”. Essential to this aim is gaining a rich understanding of what students gain from their educational experience beyond their academic attainment so that this can be supported and measured.

In partnership with the ICU Deputy President for Education, Emina Hogas, we have been exploring how Imperial’s definition of educational gain could be developed. There is strong enthusiasm from the student rep network for having a set of measures in place which help students articulate what they have gained from their time at Imperial.

This definition will also support Imperial’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) submission to the Office for Students (OfS), as we are required to submit a narrative statement explaining how we measure and support Educational Gain. Following the recommendations of the Pearce report in 2021, the OfS introduced ‘Educational Gain’ (EG) as a new metric within the 2023 TEF. Described loosely as ‘what our students gain from our educational experience and how we evidence that’, the OfS did not provide prescriptive guidelines for how EG might be defined and measured, instead recognising the context specific nature of EG across different geographical areas, subjects and institutions. Building a robust, co-created definition of EG will be crucial in maintaining Imperial’s TEF Gold rating in the next TEF.

Following the 2023 TEF exercise, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) funded an Imperial-led project (headed by Dr Camille Kandiko Howson) which collaborated with 14 other HEIs to analyse other institutions’ TEF submissions with regard to their definition, measurement and evaluation of EG. Dr Kandiko Howson also conducted a Student Shapers project with Imperial students to review TEF submissions across the sector and the QAA project report in order to develop student-facing resources for understanding and using the concept of EG. Crucially, while neither project provided a definition of EG, the QAA report outlined a schema for developing EG within an institutional context, and highlighted the importance of co-creation with student partners in developing definitions, measures and evaluation frameworks for EG.

This project will build on this work, using the schema developed during the QAA project to develop an Imperial-specific definition of EG in collaboration with student partners. The resulting definition will be co-created with a wide range of students, ensuring that it is broad enough to capture the concerns, goals and aspirations of all Imperial students, and flexible enough for students to adapt it to their own specific contexts. The deep engagement and equal partnership approach of the Student Shapers programme, will ensure that participating students have direct and tangible input into the definition of EG.

Overall, this will be a co-designed and co-run research project, during which student and staff partners will work together to design and implement research that gathers the views of a wide range of Imperial students on their thoughts and opinions around EG.

The students will lead on the direction and implementation of the research project, with staff partners using their research and evaluation experience to guide them. Student partners will in turn use their experience as students to determine the best routes to engagement with the wider student body, to create an authentic peer-to-peer atmosphere during the fieldwork phase, and to interpret findings from a student perspective.

The project will begin with 6 weeks of full-time activity during the summer vacation, during which the following activities will take place:

• Induction activities, including teambuilding, and meeting colleagues in the Strategic Planning & Insight Division
• Project planning, including ways of working, key milestones and agreeing outputs
• Meeting stakeholders in the Careers Service, ICU (including departmental reps) and the Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship (CHERS) to understand their views and background to the project.
• Presentation by the Strategic Planning & Insight Division of the underlying rationale for the project, including background information on EG, TEF and intended outcomes so students gain relevant knowledge to undertake the project, and build an awareness of one aspect of Higher Education regulation.
• Educational research training run by CHERS to develop expertise to design and conduct the research
• Review of previous research (e.g. CHERS ‘Belong, Engagement and Communities’ project) and data held by Strategic Planning & Insight.
• Co-creation of research design
• Understanding/awareness of the ethical approval process for educational research

The second phase of the project will take place over 10 weeks during term time, starting in October 2025 and ending in December. This phase will include the following activities:

• Preparation for fieldwork (e.g. planning recruitment of research participants (focus groups/interviews), assembling contact information for survey participants, etc.)
• Fieldwork
  • Analysis
  • Running workshops to discuss your research findings and arrive at definition of EG
  • Presentation of findings to Strategic Planning & Insight team
  • Agreeing on next steps

By engaging with Imperial student partners in a collaborative way, this project will enable students to determine and refine the knowledge and skills—beyond just their academic studies—that they would like to gain. By allowing students to define the specific ways in which they can grow and realise their potential during their time at Imperial, this work will align particularly with aim 2 of the Learning and Teaching Strategy, ‘to deliver degree programmes that challenge students to achieve their full potential through discovery-based learning.’

 As well as this, by giving a wide range of students input into the development of Imperial’s definition of EG, the project will also align with aim 5 of the L&T Strategy, specifically the sub-aim of ‘engaging students in positive change by establishing ways for them to contribute to their own and their peers’ educational experience.’

 Project Lead

Adam Keogh (a.keogh@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Education Evaluation Officer, Strategic Planning and Insight

Louise Hanger (l.hanger@imperial.ac.uk), Education Evaluation Manager, Strategic Planning and Insight

Carole Hobden (c.hobden@imperial.ac.uk),  Associate Director of Strategic Planning, Strategic Planning and Insight

Further Details/Experience Required

Six weeks full-time during Summer break, followed by 10 weeks at part-time during term-time, between October and December. 

Four positions available.  Any undergraduate student from any department is eligible. 

 (See recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

Co-Creating a Definition of 'Educational Gain' recruitment ad

Summary

This project addresses key challenges and opportunities in the Department’s computing and programming education, informed by student feedback, staff observations, and curriculum reviews.

Topics include:

• Programming: MATLAB, Python, C++
• Simulation Tools: 3DEXPERIENCE (CAD), StarCCM+ (CFD), Abaqus (FEA)

Common concerns raised:

• Difficulty accessing beginner-friendly guidance (especially for 3DEXPERIENCE)
• Inconsistent software usage across modules
• Gaps in supporting resources and confidence-building materials

Project Aims

1. Evaluate the current computing education experience from both student and staff perspectives
2. Improve teaching materials, aligning them with real-world applications and industry standards
3. Recommend evidence-based improvements to module structure, duration, and delivery

What You’ll Do

• Design and distribute surveys to assess confidence, usability, and learning challenges
• Lead focus groups to gather deeper insights from different year cohorts
• Engage staff via interviews and consultations (e.g., with Directors of Teaching and UG Studies)
• Co-create resources, including: Supplementary self-guided learning content, real-world-inspired problem sets, and improved software documentation and usability guides

 Project Lead

Masoud Seifikar (m.seifikar@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow in Computational Engineering, Department of Aeronautics

Further Details/Experience Required

Eight weeks full-time during Summer break. 

Two positions available.  Aeronautics undergraduate student are eligible. 

 (See recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

Optimising Computing and Programming Education recruitment ad

Summary

Following a review of the software used on the Computational Methods thread which runs through the first three-years of the MEng Civil Engineering degree it was decided that Python would replace MATLAB as the software to be taught, with current first year students introduced to coding using Python rather than MATLAB. The second part of Computational Methods 2 introduces structural analysis, using the stiffness and finite element methods, as an application of the coding skills that have been developed on the thread beforehand, and is assessed through coursework. MATLAB was well suited for implementing the stiffness and finite element methods, as it is based on matrix operations (MATLAB standing for Matrix Laboratory) while Python is based on array operations. This necessitates that this part of the Computational Methods 2 module undergoes a more complete redesign. A potential pedagogical advantage of moving to Python, is that Python scripts can be incorporated into Rhino/Grasshopper, a geometric modelling software, and associated parametric plugin that first year students are introduced to as part of Sketching and Modelling. The use of Python embedded in Grasshopper provides an opportunity to allow students and staff to develop a more intuitive understanding of how different parameters such as material or cross-section properties affect structural behaviour, as Grasshopper definitions, which can be quickly created, allow the effect of altering input parameters to be visualised in real time. With skills in using Rhino/Grasshopper in parametric design being increasingly sought after by industry, with some graduate job descriptions requiring this, the redevelopment of the Structural Analysis part of Computational Methods 2 presents a unique opportunity to improve teaching and learning on this module and introduce sought after parametric engineering skills into the curriculum.

The project the student to participate in the redesign of the Structural Analysis part of Computational Methods 2. The student will have recently experienced the current version of this part of Computational Methods 2 implemented in MATLAB and so is best placed to reflect on the current challenges and help identify the opportunities using Python embedded within Grasshopper. They will be able to comment from first-hand experience on whether the coursework aligns with the intended learning outcomes for the module as well as on the workload associated with the coursework. They will be able to co-create new material for the module with Dr Phillips and advise on aspects of Python and Grasshopper that students are likely to be unfamiliar with. It is planned that Dr Phillips in consultation with the student will develop some material in advance of the start of the Student Shapers project with the student critiquing and assisting in adapting this material, with regular discussions between Dr Phillips and the student throughout the six weeks, with the aim of developing a completed set of tried and tested notes, lecture slides, computer lab exercises, and coursework brief as part of the Student Shapers project.

During the project progress will be checked through regular twice weekly meeting, with a schedule set for completion of different module materials. In the longer term the student partner will be encouraged to continue to feedback to the department and directly to Dr Phillips on the development of the Computational Methods thread through the degree, as well as on future development of a Digital Engineering elective module, building on the concepts introduced. The redesigned module will also be presented to the newly formed Industry Advisory Board (IAB) as an example of how students and staff can work to redevelop parts of the curriculum.

 Project Lead

Andrew Phillips (andrew.phillips@imperial.ac.uk), Reader in Structural Biomechanics, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

 One position available.  Open to any current second or third year MEng Civil Engineering student who has successfully completed Computational Methods 2.  

Six weeks full-time during Summer break 

 (See recruitment ad for Project Skills details)

Redesign of Computational Methods 2 recruitment ad