Author: Sara West

Bouquette Kabatepe, Digital Accessibility Officer, ICT

“Even before it was called digital accessibility, I was involved with making things more user-friendly.” 

I have been the Digital Accessibility Officer at Imperial since 2020, where I coordinate our digital accessibility compliance efforts. Reporting to the Head of Governance in ICT, my role involves policy and risk management, raising accessibility awareness, digital accessibility compliance approvals, stakeholder engagement, and providing advice and support on accessibility compliance. 

By engaging with high-level decision-makers, including digital teams across the university, ICT product line teams, student support services and teaching technology staff, I have been working towards embedding best practice in inclusive digital design throughout the institution. 

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Professor Eiman Kanjo, Provost’s Visiting Professor, Department of Computing

“My extensive network within international tech companies and community groups enables me to foster collaboration and advocate for change in the broader engineering community.”

My primary mission as Provost’s Visiting Professor in the Department of Computing  is to fully immerse myself in the academic community and contribute significantly to the research and teaching efforts of Imperial. I firmly believe that this role will provide me with the resources, support, and collaborative environment I need to take my research to the next level and make a meaningful impact. I am committed to sharing my extensive connections with end-user organisations and industry by mentoring PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers, helping them bridge the gap between academia and the professional world for real-world impact and knowledge exchange.  (more…)

Suzy Ford, PA and Administrator, Department of Surgery and Cancer

“My school governor role has given me a wealth of experience and has widened my remit within my role working here at the College.”

I have been working in the Division of Cancer for over twenty years in cancer research administration. I am a Unison steward and have previously served as Chair, and I am currently Treasurer for the Committee. Previously, I have taught adult education in ESOL (English for speakers of other languages), functional skills, family learning and have taught a range of fitness related classes from dance fitness to Pilates. I have also taught accredited fitness qualifications and have experience in assessment and internal verification.

The team I work with carries out research in a translational laboratory which focuses on detection of micrometastatic disease (cancer cells which have escaped from the original tumour and have spread to other parts of the body) and applies this to the treatment of breast cancer.

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Abu Bakarr Bangura, Hall Supervisor, Campus Services

“My primary responsibility is to ensure the residents have a safe and secure environment in which to live.”

I am one of the Hall Supervisors at Wilson House and I have been at Imperial College London since 2011. Before that I worked in sanitation management for King’s College, the Royal Free Hospital and for Carilllion. I came to live in the UK in 1991 from Russia, then the Soviet Union, which led me to study Russian and German at the University of Westminster. I’ve worked in several different halls at Imperial over the past 12 years, including Pembridge, Beit and Silwood. My primary responsibility is to assist in the general management of the hall and ensure the residents have a safe and secure environment in which to live. Checks are carried out daily and any maintenance issues are logged in terms of priority.

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Jacyra Da Silva Baptista, Staffing and EDI Coordinator, National Lung and Heart Institute

“As a Black woman working in education, I understand that there are many barriers to women of colour taking up leadership positions. I want to help dismantle not just race, but disability and gender-based biases, making NHLI’s working environment as inclusive as possible.”

When I graduated from Aston university with a degree in Management and Strategy in 2010, I didn’t have a clear vision of what my career would lead to. During that time, the economy was just recovering from a recession, it was a huge struggle to find graduate level jobs, and I felt overwhelmed and lost. I applied for a great number of jobs and eventually stumbled into the wonderful world of education.

I worked as a student support officer at an independent education provider and then I moved on to another role in a contemporary music college as a wellbeing adviser. I felt like I had finally found my feet, but three years later I was made redundant. I knew I wanted to stay in education as I really enjoyed helping students and working within a learning-focused environment.

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Professor George Constantinides, Professor of Digital Computation, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

“Outside of my role at Imperial, being a school governor has been transformational for me. I got to learn the very different skills of a non-executive director and gained a huge amount from working with a diverse group on strategic planning.”

I first joined Imperial as an undergraduate in 1994 on the Information Systems Engineering course (now called Electronic and Information Engineering), and I’ve been here ever since! As an undergrad I encountered an inspirational lecturer, Peter Cheung, who convinced me to stay as his PhD student (jointly supervised by Wayne Luk), and I’ve never really looked back. I became a lecturer in 2002, and over the last two decades I have had various roles including director of the undergraduate course I took as a student, research group head, and currently I am Associate Dean (Academic Workload) for the Faculty of Engineering.

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Aabida Patel, Senior Business Analyst, Registry

“I am always looking to continue developing my professional skills and knowledge so that I can ensure the projects and processes I work on are as inclusive as possible to all students and staff in the College.” 

After graduating with an undergraduate degree in Law in 2016 and a Masters in 2017 I joined the NHS through a graduate scheme in Leicester, moving on to my first full operational management role in January 2020. In September 2020 I moved to London and continued to build on my operational management experience in the NHS.  

In late 2022 I came across the position of Senior Business Analyst with the Transformation Team in Registry at Imperial College London. I see my biggest responsibility as supporting people through change. My role focusses on digital improvement of the student and staff digital journey through the Student Lifecycle Administration Board (SLAB) with the College strategy and values in mind. SLAB focusses on ensuring continuous improvement to the student experience at Imperial. 

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Arianna Olivelli, Research Postgraduate, Earth Science and Engineering

Arianna Olivelli

“At Imperial I found fantastic laboratory facilities and a thriving research environment, where excellence and integrity are at the core of everything we do.”

As a child I was fascinated by space and planets and my dream was to become an astronaut. However, as it is often the case, perceptions changed, and by the time I had to enrol at university I realised I cared more about our own home planet than what surrounded it.

I studied Geology at the University of Milan – Bicocca, in Italy, and during my second year I had a fantastic opportunity to attend a marine ecology workshop in the Maldives, where the university has a laboratory outpost. It did not take me long at all to realise I wanted to dedicate my career to studying and protecting the ocean.

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Angela Arkandhi, Taught Postgraduate, Business School

Angela Arkandhi

“Being at Imperial has opened doors to many new opportunities and experiences that I believed were impossible.”

Back in 2021, in between finishing pharmacy school and getting into my apothecary program, I found an interest in public health, specifically in the area of environmental health. My interest and passion intensified after spending a year interning at different pharma jobs (pharmacy, community clinic, hospital, and industry) because through that experience I saw how the environment is being severely damaged and affected by healthcare practices. I was motivated to build a better healthcare system for Indonesia by initiating sustainable healthcare ideas, for example encouraging proper medical waste management, reducing energy consumption, and increasing awareness of the impact of climate change on health. Seeing Health and Environment listed as one of the modules for the International Health Management MSc was what led me to Imperial College Business School.

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Professor Julie Makani, Provost’s Visiting Professor of Haematology, Department of Immunology and Inflammation

“As a Provost’s Visiting Professor, I hope to work with colleagues here to develop a platform for coordination, health, advocacy, research, and training in Africa.”

I trained in medicine at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, graduating in 1994. During my medical training, I did a student elective at the Royal Free Hospital in London. While at this placement I decided that I would like to specialise in internal medicine. At that time in Tanzania there were limited opportunities for specialist training as people were encouraged to go into public health. There also were no active haematology  specialisation programmes because there were only two haematologists in the whole country.

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