Category: Professional Staff

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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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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Jacklin Kwan, ‪Digital Communications Officer, Natural Sciences‬

Jacklin Kwan

“Bouncing from a Physics degree, to a journalism qualification, to an MSc in Science Communication at Imperial, I now do what I love most: telling stories about science.”

The ‘aha’ moment came to me during a summer internship, just before I entered the final year of my Physics degree, when I was sitting alone in an empty newsroom at midnight. I was exhausted but I had to wait copyeditors to finalise my article before I could go home. Yet, it was the happiest I had ever been.

I’m the Digital Communications Officer at the Faculty of Natural Sciences. I came into this role after I completed a Master’s degrees in Physics and Science Communication. When I first moved to the UK to pursue Physics, I spent my time outside of classes continuing with clubs that I did in high school, namely writing for the student newspaper.

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Seth Jethwa, Support Services Supervisor, Central Biomedical Services  

Seth Jethwa

“I feel that I am contributing to the research community and science as a whole.” 

I am qualified in Animal Care (BTEC National Diploma) and started my career at Huntingdon Life Sciences as a Support Services Technician. I learned more about water quality and gained further expertise, including being involved in a study testing and collecting data on air quality machines. Following this experience, I moved to Imperial to work as Support Services Supervisor for Central Biomedical Services (CBS), Imperial’s animal care facility, at the South Kensington Campus.     

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Joyce Kadibu, Software Developer Apprentice, Information and Communication Technologies

Joyce Kadibu

“My apprenticeship journey at Imperial has been an enriching and transformative experience” 

I can vividly recall writing my first lines of code – the classic “Hello World”. Despite its simplicity, I was immediately captivated by the art of programming. Coding helps to fill my creative urges as it allows me to bring my ideas to life in a tangible way. With each project, I am presented with a new challenge that requires me to think critically and find innovative solutions to complex problems. As a software engineering apprentice, I have been exposed to a diverse range of technical and practical skills that have equipped me with the necessary knowledge to develop complex software systems. 

As a member of the products team in ICT, I have been building systems using programming languages such as JavaScript. The experience has allowed me to gain a better understanding of all sides of the product life cycle, from design to deployment. My current project involves building digital platforms that will improve the admissions process for both staff and prospective students. It’s rewarding to see end users benefiting from the products I’ve contributed to building and knowing that my work has enhanced people’s experience at Imperial.  (more…)

Cynthia So, EDIC Coordinator, Human Resources Division

Cynthia So
“It can sometimes be tricky to find spaces where I feel like I can be fully myself, but with the EDI Centre, I just knew that I belonged”

I studied Classics at the University of Oxford. As a university student I was already very involved in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) – amongst other things, I was on the Oxford University Student Union LGBTQ+ Campaign Committee, and I was the Black and Minority Ethnic Officer at my College. I organised LGBTQ+ film screenings and discussion groups, and dinners to celebrate festivals like Diwali and Lunar New Year. I didn’t imagine back then that EDI was a field I would work in professionally though – I didn’t realise it was an option! (more…)

Samantha Symmonds, Postgraduate Education Manager, Earth Science and Engineering

Samantha Symmonds

“The most rewarding part of my role is supporting my team to ensure we provide the best service for our students and staff.”

I joined Imperial College of Science & Technology (as it was then known) in 1988 as the Vacation Training Co-ordinator in the Careers Service. At the time I had no real plans to stay, but 34 years later I find myself still at Imperial having enjoyed the many diverse roles I have undertaken.

In 1988 technology was very limited, and I fondly remember the one afternoon slot the Careers Service received each week to access the single Registry computer. It was a very busy afternoon given the other option was to use the typewriter and make many carbon copies!
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Polly Fox, Clinical Project Manager, Department of Infectious Disease

Polly Fox

“It was incredibly rewarding to see our work make a difference.”

I studied BSc Medical Sciences at the University of Exeter which exposed me to a range of disease areas and therapeutics. After graduating, I took a position as a research administrator at Imperial in January 2019, working with the Ageing Epidemiology Unit at Charing Cross Hospital. My manager was very supportive of my career development and ignited my interest in clinical trials and research. I found it very fulfilling to contribute to research that can lead to improved treatments and outcomes for many people.
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Hyunman Shin, e-Access Licensing and Subscriptions Coordinator, Library Services  

“I set up authentication for all the electronic journals, books, and databases so that Imperial members can access them virtually from anywhere.”

I joined Library Services at Imperial in 2004. Thinking about all the years I’ve spent at Imperial, it has been quite a journey professionally and personally. I witnessed how the bookshop in the library turned into a café. I’ve walked around the stacks shelving books relishing the smell of them. I also once served Professor Robert Winston at the issue desk. My time at Library Services has been memorable so far. I remember buying a book costing more than £7,000 and I got involved in challenging the biggest journal publisher. I’ve also helped users located as far as Australia to access library journals. Most importantly, I’ve made friends here. 18 years on, I am still here. 

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Mo Akinseye, Communications Intern, Communications Division

“My experience at Imperial has impacted me positively, both personally and career-wise.”

At the start of the summer, just after finishing my first year of my English and Communications degree at the University of Exeter, I was eager to get into the working world. I wanted to gain first-hand experience of communications, and I feel very lucky to have achieved this in Imperial’s communications team. 

I’ve had a long-standing interest in the broader creative industry for a long time, so I applied to intern with Imperial through Creative Access, an organisation that enables people from communities under-represented in the creative industries to access careers, progress and reach leadership. I came across the job description for the Communications Intern role at Imperial, and was drawn by the variety of media projects that the role offered. I didn’t have much prior knowledge of communications as a career path, so I aimed to find out what this would look like. 

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