Our Academic Strategy sets out four themes in which, right now and in the future, the College will seek to accelerate discovery and impact to society. This will open doors to new technologies, enable applications that could have major human, physical and economic impact, offer new educational experiences and improve the environment for learning.

Imperial’s core strengths and distinctive capabilities mean that we are ideally placed to address some of the greatest challenges our society will face in the next five years. This builds on our foundations in world class core academic disciplines underpinned by fundamental science, enabling research that reaches across disciplines and embedding the educational experience in a vibrant, research-led, entrepreneurial environment.

New Discoveries

Sustainable Society

Sustainable Society

Student and plant

We are helping society to become more sustainable by transforming manufacturing, attitudes to consumption and economic practices.

What if...

… we could deliver water, energy and minerals that are secure, sustainable and affordable?

... we could achieve a zero-carbon and climate resilient future?

… we could improve our understanding of how environments impact health and disease?

… we could use our expertise to tackle the challenges of sustainability in business?

Healthy Society

Healthy Society

We are innovating new technologies and strategies to improve health services and support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease by converging science disciplines and integrating them with clinical and public health practices.                                                                                                                                       

 What if...

Healthy Society

… we could eliminate the threat of infection caused by antimicrobial resistance?

….we could predict and prevent illness right across the life course?

…we could measurably reduce the burden of chronic disease?

…we could deliver an affordable healthcare model adjustable to all global conditions?

Smart Society

Smart Society

Smart Society

We are enabling discoveries and developing new technologies in artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics, data sciences and robotics, and help to better understand how they will transform lives, environments and present new challenges to the world of work.

What if...

… we could use robots to build cities of the future?

… we could shape the production and consumption of digital goods and services?

… we could predict how cryptocurrency will change the face of business?

… we could accelerate the development of advanced materials through digital Chemistry?

Resilient Society

Resilient Society

Servers with wires

We are developing understanding and technologies to enable stable and robust infrastructures that underpin the delivery of services – from water, fuel and power, to data, communications and the banking system – to make our society resilient.

What if...

… we could build a digital world that is secure, inclusive and accessible by all?

… we could develop a built environment that is carbon negative?

… we could use technology-driven approaches to support society to live longer?

… we could predict the impact of financial events?

Our strategic approach

This diagram shows how Imperial’s combined strength in the core disciplines plus our capabilities (transdisciplinary, quantitative, entrepreneurial and engaged) are the foundations upon which we can make new discoveries and applications within the four areas of focus provided by our themes (Sustainable Society, Healthy Society, Smart Society, Resilient Society).