Imperial College London Strives to Meet the Needs of Industrialized Society

Added: 12/12/2005

The Imperial College London, referred to simply as Imperial, was established in 1907 upon the merger of the Royal School of Mines, the City and Guilds of London Institute and the Royal College of Science. Based in the South Kensington district, Imperial is one of the colleges of the University of London. The College focuses mainly on technology and science and is considered one of the best engineering schools in the world.

Today Imperial College London also rates with the best colleges and universities worldwide. It has succeeded in acquiring the reputation it now enjoys, and contributes constantly and significantly to the development of world research and medicine. It ranks third in Europe and the United Kingdom - after Oxford and Cambridge. The Times Higher Education Supplement has rated the college fourth in the world in the field of medicine, fifth in fields of engineering and information technologies, and tenth in the field of science. According to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's ranking, Imperial College London is 23 in the world, thus entering the group of the top 25 world universities. In 2005, the college was empowered by the University of London to grant degrees. Currently it offers undergraduate and postgraduate education, carried out on four faculties, including that of Physical Sciences, Medicine, Life Sciences and Engineering. In addition to the faculties, the College also operates a Business School, Graduate School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences and Medicine, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, and a Humanities Department.

The Imperial College Physics Department is a sixth rated department with only Oxford and Cambridge surpassing it. Among the honors of the department, there are 8 FRS and the IOP Duddel Medals. With a total of 200 undergraduate students and 200 research students, the department is regarded as one of the largest departments of Physics in the country. The Imperial College Physics Department covers a wide range of theoretical and experimental research fields; such as, High Energy Physics, Photonics, Quantum Optics and Laser Science, Astrophysics, Condensed Matter Theory, Plasma Physics, Experimental Solid State, Theoretical Physics, and Space and Atmosphere Physics. The department offers 6 undergraduate degree programs and 2 MSc programs.

Rated with the preeminent colleges of science and technology, Imperial College London can boast of many famous alumni, like Nobel Laureate Alexander Fleming, Queen guitarist Brian May, and even the Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. Out of 3,000 members of the faculty, 57 are Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, 53 are Fellows of the Royal Society, and 14 are Nobel Prize winners. The graduates of the college have the highest salaries among British graduates.

The research income of the college brings in $190 million as of 2002, and is one of the largest in the country. Imperial receives a larger investment from industry than any other university in Britain. It is seen as the leading institution in terms of research excellence in the physical sciences and frequently surpasses Oxford and Cambridge in this aspect. Today the College encourages research commercialization, which results in the establishment of a number of companies dedicated to academic research. Currently Imperial College London sees its main objective to be that of continuing to develop its full range of activities, which will enable it to meet the requirements of society, healthcare and industry.

Rate this article:

Bad

Good

Article comments:

No comments for this article yet. Post your comment now!

Return to top of the page