“One of the things I love about working at Imperial is the opportunity to learn new things and collaborate with different teams.”
Katy Ingleby is the Head of Public Affairs and part of the team responsible for managing the delivery of the WestTech London project, one strand of Imperial’s Science for Humanity strategy.
After completing her PhD in English Literature, Katy’s career began first at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and then the Houses of Parliament in London. Following this, she held roles at several charities before joining the Medical Research Council and UKRI.
When the role of Head of Public Affairs became available at Imperial, Katy saw it as an opportunity to play an active role in not just the development of a new campus at White City but also in the creation of a new innovation district for London; the White City Innovation District. Now, that opportunity has grown with Imperial’s ambitious vision for WestTech London, a world-leading ecosystem for innovation, entrepreneurship and scientific imagination.
Building support for WestTech London
Building on her experience as part of the team that helped to build the White City Innovation District, Katy is now working with colleagues and partners to develop WestTech London. She’s involved in a range of activities which combine political advocacy, stakeholder relationship management, and the practical side of creating an innovation ecosystem.
“My role involves everything from securing high-level Government backing for WestTech London through to trying to unlock electrical power connections for innovation spaces and making sure rail companies commit to trains stopping at the new transport superhub at Old Oak.”
Katy says that one of the things she loves about the project is that it brings together a diverse set of teams.
“As well as collaborating with communications and strategic engagement teams, I work closely with investment and property colleagues and benefit from the expertise of our academic community too. It’s one of the things that I love about working at Imperial, the opportunity to learn new things and collaborate with different teams.”
Katy added: “I enjoy trying to answer some big questions in my role. For example, what is the role of research and innovation in making life better for people in the UK and around the world and how do we tell that story in a compelling way? What is the role of universities like Imperial in driving growth? And what are the conditions needed to enable research and innovation to flourish and fulfil that potential?”
A globally competitive ecosystem
The ambition of WestTech London is to build a globally competitive innovation ecosystem that harnesses the power of West London, and the partners that are based here, to drive inward investment, create jobs and lead to inclusive growth for London and the UK.
WestTech London will do this by drawing together likeminded stakeholders – such as fellow leaders in research, innovation and higher education, the West London councils and business organisations, and other developers who are investing in and transforming this part of the capital – as well as encouraging industry, startups and scaleups to co-locate and invest in the area.
WestTech London spans all of West London and is anchored by four key clusters of innovation activity: Albertopolis, White City Innovation District, Paddington Life Sciences and Old Oak.
“Our newest location is Old Oak. We’re currently transforming Imperial’s sites at 1 Portal Way and Victoria Industrial Estate to create new spaces for pioneering tenants, having identified a need for flexible and affordable follow-on spaces to enable innovators to stay and scale in West London. Our first companies are starting to fit out their new spaces and we hope to see more moving in in the new year.
“And excitingly, this week our new digital platform went live with a new WestTech London website and LinkedIn channel which will capture the scale and variety of science and innovation activity taking place across the region.”
Katy says that initiatives like WestTech London are vital if the UK wants to continue to be a global leader in research innovation.
“Being able to create something with the scale to compete with other leading science superpowers is important to the success of the project. Imperial benefits from its international presence through the Global Hubs, which provide bridges for knowledge, talent and investment, and create opportunities to collaborate with the best minds on a global scale.”
WestTech London is also firmly rooted in the local area, bringing benefit to the community. As well as longer-term job creation, it is working with existing initiatives, including Imperial’s societal engagement team, which help support and inspire the next generation of researchers and innovators.
Travel and photography
Outside of work, Katy enjoys travel, spending time in nature and photography. She combined these interests this year with a two-week trip to Alaska, where she spent time looking for bubble-netting whales, black and brown bears, and sea otters.
When it comes to the Imperial Values, Katy says that it’s hard to have one without the others, but she keeps returning to the innovation value.
“For me, innovation is about challenging yourself to try to do things differently.”
Read next
Find out more about WestTech London.
Follow WestTech London on LinkedIn.
Learn about Imperial’s Incubator for early-stage startups.
