Student projects share at symposium

Are you part of a student-led project at Imperial? Or perhaps you’d like to join one – or better yet, even start your own? No doubt you’ve heard of the achievements of some of the College’s most ambitious student projects, which include e.quinox, who deliver electric power to rural villages in Rwanda, and Raincatcher Imperial, who aim to improve the availability of clean water to residents in Tanzania. Such projects clearly have a wealth of experience and knowledge in implementing solutions that are of benefit to the wider community.

The Students-Led Projects Symposium (SPS) aims to bring these societies together under one room, such that they can meet with each other and benefit from each other’s experiences. Jointly organised by both Imperial College London and Loughborough University students, the event provide an optimum interactive environment for keynote speakers, representatives from the Union and the societies to network and exchange their thoughts and ideas on student-led projects. In the words of Merwin Man, who came up with the idea of the symposium in the first place, ‘the purpose of the conference is to create a community to encourage knowledge transfer between student-led projects and its members, something that does not exist in a functioning form at Imperial College’. He believes that by encouraging student projects to share their opinions and experiences on what works and what doesn’t, they will develop a better understanding of the steps they can take in order to successfully meet their goals. He also hopes that the symposium will inspire other students to get involved in one of the most rewarding aspects of student-life.

The SPS, which is due to happen on 16th November 2011, will be a national event held at Imperial College London, with students from universities around the UK coming down to participate in the symposium. This event aims to bring these projects together and give recognition to the endeavours of students who have already started using their skills for the benefit of the wider community. By sharing their ideas and presenting their work to the public and other students, the SPS focuses on encouraging and developing current and new student-led initiatives. The symposium kicks off with panel discussions that involve representatives from the Union and the societies themselves, who will discuss how they went about starting their projects, and how they are run today.

Earlier this year, Imperial College London saw its first Global Citizenship Symposium (GCS), a symposium of a similar nature, held at a smaller scale and targeted at Imperial College students. The discussions revolved around the ever-important issue of money, with an emphasis on raising funds, and at how the Union and CAG can support the student’s idea or project. Simon Moss, the co-founder of the Global Poverty Project, who has spoken at prominent conferences in the past, including G20 and WEF summits, was invited to the symposium to give a presentation to the GCS.

The SPS will be beneficial for anyone with an interest in student-led projects, as well as to students currently involved in their own projects. “The symposium will let us know what other projects exist and what they do,” says Karen Ng of Robogals, who encourage girls at school to take a greater interest in science and technology. “It will help us develop our own and others’ project, whilst also enabling us to give more back to the student community and to our supporters!” As places are limited, prompt registration at the website below is recommended, with the event promising to be a stimulating overview of student-led projects at Imperial College London, Loughborough University and others.

November 16 2011 – go to www.union.ic.ac.uk/cag/symposium to register for free.