Events: Spring 2026

There is a wide range of events taking place across Bioengineering and Imperial this term, including flagship lectures, skills workshops, networking sessions and community celebrations.

Whether you are looking to broaden your research perspective, build collaborations, develop new skills or connect with colleagues, these opportunities are designed to enrich your experience and help you make the most of our community!

Culture Evening 2026: Connecting communities through culture
📅19 February 2026 Promotional graphic for Imperial Culture Evening 2026, featuring event details and a photo of students performing a traditional dance.

Join us on Thursday, 19 February, at Imperial’s inaugural Culture Evening as students compete for a £250 cash prize.
Part of Imperial Connect, the evening brings together the Imperial community for a showcase of student performances celebrating cultural diversity through dance, music, and storytelling.
Whether you come to meet other Imperial students, discover new art forms, or simply indulge in free food from Deliveroo, there is something for everyone.
🎟️Grab your ticket now. 

Black in STEM: Dr Faith Uwadiae
📅19 February 2026

Time: 18.00 – 20.00
Location: Skempton 301

Are you a Black Imperial student interested in scientific research and how it can be more inclusive? Join Black @ Imperial and the Black Doctoral Network for an inspiring and informative conversation with Imperial alum Dr Faith Uwadiae and current PhD researcher, Maya Thabal Herron. This event will also include an audience Q&A and informal networking over pizza and Afro-Caribbean snacks.

Dr Uwadiae completed her PhD in biomedical research in 2018. Currently, she works at the Wellcome Trust as an Ecosystems Manager, where she leads work to support Black-led initiatives that enhance the careers of Black-heritage researchers.

Dr Uwadiae will be interviewed by Maya Thabal Herron. Maya is currently researching smart textiles and soft sensing systems at Imperial. She also chairs the Black Doctoral Network, a community of Black heritage PhD researchers at Imperial College dedicated to supporting one another throughout the doctoral journey and beyond.

Please register to ensure there is enough catering for everyone.

🎟️Register your attendance

Sex Differences in Biology: Emerging Data and Insights Symposium
📅23rd – 24th February 2026

This two-day symposium at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, will bring together leading researchers from Japan and the United Kingdom to discuss the latest discoveries in sex differences across a range of areas, including sex chromosomes, epigenetics, developmental biology, immunity, metabolism and cancer.

As places are limited, we kindly ask that you register only if you are able to attend in person. If you would prefer to attend online, please email tyrese.williams@lms.mrc.ac.uk to request inclusion as a virtual attendee.

The registration deadline is February 12th, 2026. We encourage early registration, as places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

 Click Here to Register

Open Research training for PAs and Research Administrators
📅24 February 2026

11:00 – 13:00, online via MS Teams

 This training session is aimed at PAs, EAs, research managers, or administrators involved in any aspect of the research publication process, or those keen to learn more about open research, research data management, open access, bibliometrics, and copyright.

There will be time to speak individually with the relevant experts in breakout rooms on Teams, if you wish, as well as a general Q&A (see agenda below).

This session runs about once a year. If you have attended in the past, you are welcome to join for a refresher. There will also be some new content on copyright.

Please email r.hibbert@imperial.ac.uk if you would like to be sent the meeting invite, or if you are unable to attend and would like to be added to a list to receive the recording. Feel free to pass on to colleagues who may be interested.

From Bench to Business: Making IP work for you
📅 25th February 2026

Promotional graphic for an Imperial Enterprise event titled “From Bench to Business: Making IP work for you,” including date, location, and a QR code for registration.

12:00 pm – 1:15 pm (followed by a networking lunch)
LT300, City & Guilds Building, South Kensington Campus

How do academics and researchers make IP work for them? Learn how to start with the end in mind, prioritise what’s valuable and protectable, ensure your intellectual property is investment-ready, and understand what makes a good licensable technology.

Our panel of patent attorneys, academic entrepreneurs and industry experts will share expert guidance in a dynamic panel discussion format. The event will be followed by a networking lunch.

🎟️Read more and register.

Bioengineering Department Seminar with Professor Maïwenn Kersaudy-Kerh​oas
📅25 February 2026 | 16:00

Poster for an Imperial Bioengineering Department Seminar titled Goodbye blood cultures featuring Professor Maïwenn Kersaudy Kerhoas from Heriot Watt University with event details Wednesday 25 February 16 00 to 17 00 in RSM 2 28 South Kensington and a portrait of the speaker on the right

Goodbye blood cultures? Detection of pathogens in human circulation with a microbial cell-free DNA sequencing approach.
Maïwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas
Professor of Microfluidics Engineering

Heriot-Watt University

What if we could identify the cause of an infection in hours rather than days?
Traditional blood cultures can take more than 72 hours to deliver results, often after broad-spectrum antibiotics have already been prescribed. Faster, more precise diagnostics could transform how infections are treated and help tackle antimicrobial resistance in hospitals.
In this seminar, Professor Maïwenn Kersaudy Kerhoas will explore how rapid DNA sequencing can detect pathogens directly from blood samples without needing predefined test panels. She will share her team’s work on decentralised metagenomics, including new sample preparation methods and nanopore sequencing workflows designed to bring accurate infection diagnosis closer to the point of care.

Estranged Students Support Group
📅25 February 2026 | 15:30

The group is open to any Imperial student who has no or little contact with both parents. You do not need to be eligible for the support of the Imperial Underrepresented Student Support Team or meet the requirements for Estrangement according to the Student Loan Company to join this group.

This is a recurring group at 13.00-14.00 on Level 8 of the Chemistry Building at the South Kensington Campus. The dates of the next sessions are:

  • Wednesday 25 February (time change! 15:30-16:30)
  • Wednesday 25 March
  • Wednesday 29 April
  • Wednesday 20 May.

The group is a joint project of the Underrepresented Student Support Team and the Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice Service, and staff from both services will be present.

If you would like more information about Imperial’s support for estranged students, please visit the Underrepresented Students Support Team’s webpage: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/student-support-zone/student-services/underrepresented-students/

🎟️Register to attend

School of Convergence Science, Health and Technology. Mission Launch and Engagement Town Hall
📅2 March 2026 | 13:00

The School of Convergence Science, Health and Technology (H&T) are excited to invite you to the internal mission launch.
As part of the Science for Humanity Strategy, the H&T theme is working to create a fairer, more resilient future for everyone and is focusing on three key problems:
  • Health inequity, driven by social, economic, and environmental factors
  • Spiralling global health costs
  • Sudden shocks, such as pandemics, conflict and climate disasters, and health system resilience.
Hear from Imperial’s world-leading interdisciplinary Co-Directors (Professor Anthony Bull, Professor Marisa Miraldo, Professor Faith Osier and Professor Iain McNeish) as they present the missions and activities to date and seek involvement from Imperial’s academic community. Their vision  of sensing, empowering and shaping health aims to achieve healthcare that is continuously sensed, continuously adaptive and radically personalised by 2050.

President’s Address 2026
📅 11 March 2026 | 13.00

Graphic announcing Imperial’s President’s Address 2026, with date shown as Wednesday 11 March.

Join us on White City Campus for the annual President’s Address, delivered by Professor Hugh Brady, on Wednesday 11 March 2026 at 13.00

The Address will be followed by a lunch reception at The Works, Sir Michael Uren Hub.

🎟️Register to attend

Sir Ernst Chain Annual Lecture: Science as Revolution
📅 25 March 2026 | 17:00 – 18:00

Promotional banner for the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2026 featuring Sir Paul Nurse standing in a laboratory, with event title, date, and lecture theme displayed.

Abstract
Science has brought about revolutionary changes in our understanding of ourselves and the natural world, which have acted as major drivers of our culture and civilisation. This scientific knowledge has, in turn, brought about revolutions in the ways that we live and in the technologies that support society.  A case can be made that science is the most revolutionary activity of humankind.

The lecture will be followed by a public reception until 19.30. 

🎟️Please register to attend the lecture.

Lifeline – a musical on antimicrobial resistance
📅28 March – 2 May

A group of Imperial PhD students, alumni, and a Professor will be performing in a new musical, Lifeline, which will run at Southwark Playhouse Elephant from 28 March to 2 May 2026. The production has transferred to London from off-Broadway.

Lifeline tells a dual story: one strand explores the present-day challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), while the other traces Sir Alexander Fleming’s 20th-century discovery of penicillin and its far-reaching impact. A unique aspect of the production is its rotating chorus, which is made up of scientists and healthcare professionals, placing scientific voices at the heart of both the narrative and the performance.

The musical offers an engaging and accessible way to introduce the public to the realities of AMR, while celebrating the role of scientists and healthcare professionals in addressing global health challenges.

The Imperial-affiliated performers include:

  • Cecilia Longoni – PhD student, Life Sciences
  • Céline Driessen – PhD student, Life Sciences
  • Ryo Kuno – PhD student, Chemistry
  • Solen Marqueste – Alumna, Chemical Engineering
  • Nurin Abdul Aziz – Alumna, School of Medicine
  • Prof. Ashley Brown – Professor of Practice (Viral Hepatitis)

🎟️More information about the production can be found here: https://www.lifelinemusical.com/

Research Computing Showcase Day 2026 – Call for abstracts & registration
📅21 April 2026 | 10:00-15:00

You are invited to Research Computing Showcase Day 2026 on Tuesday, 21 April 2026, 10:00–15:00 (BST) in LT200 and the foyer, City & Guilds Building, South Kensington Campus, with an option to join online.
The event will highlight research enabled by Research Computing Services (RCS), including RSE projects, sensitive data platforms, and new services such as HX2 (HEX-HTC) and HX3 (HEX-AI). The day will feature talks, demos, and opportunities to meet RCS staff, fellow researchers, and external partners (e.g. Intel, Lenovo, NVIDIA).
Call for abstracts
We invite submissions from researchers who use RCS facilities or receive RCS support.
🎟️Registration