The Office of the Vice-Chancellor warmly invites members of the University community to the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Occasional Lecture Series.

Topic: University Innovation Ecosystems

Speaker: Professor Ian Walmsley, Provost, Imperial College London

Date: Monday, July 7, 2025 

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Venue: West African Genetic Medicine Centre (WAGMC) Auditorium

(Located between the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and UGMC)

All are cordially invited to attend.

Thank you.

Abstract:

The Lecture will discuss how universities can contribute to the development of society by means of innovation - the translation of research ideas to impactful benefit through entrepreneurial activity. In particular, the Lecturer will describe the elements of the Imperial College innovation ecosystem that supports the development of intellectual property and its exploitation by means of start-ups, spin-outs and licensing to deliver new products and services that make a difference in the world. The chain from laboratory to successful company requires many skills and resources, as well as motivation and dedication from many people, both within the University and without, as well as resources to enable development and growth.

Profile:

Professor Ian Walmsley, CBE FRS, is the Provost of Imperial College London. He is a leading Physicist specialising in quantum optics and quantum technologies.

In addition to serving as Provost, he is Chair of Experimental Physics, leading Imperial’s academic mission in research and education.

Professor Walmsley is also the co-founder of ORCA Computing and a Fellow of the Royal Society, American Physical Society, Institute of Physics and Optica, where he served as President in 2018.