Imperial’s First Student Think Tank to Launch this year

Christened the London Forum for Science and Policy (LFSP) and launching this year, Imperial’s first student think tank carefully sidesteps the university’s trap of a neocolonial-sounding name. At a time when policymakers are increasingly criticised for their poor use of evidence, LFSP will infuse Imperial’s first love, science, with a new, political edge. In turn LFSP plans to inject the political sphere with some of the university’s world-famous scientific rigour.

A familiar phrase among budding policy wonks (as they’re known in the trade), for many students the words ‘think tank’ might instead conjure up images of schools of brain-fish floating and pondering blissfully in a basin. Far from this watery utopia, think tanks lie in the intellectual no-man’s-land somewhere between an academic policy unit and a full-blown lobbying group. Along with undertaking research into government policies, they then go about making practical recommendations for how policy could be improved in future.

Crucially, unlike many other think tanks, LFSP is non-partisan and encourages perspectives from across the political spectrum. It provides students with an arena to combine their scientific knowledge and political judgements into well-developed policy recommendations culminating in a written paper, pitched to experts in the field at monthly talks.

With King’s College London already leading the way in terms of London student think tanks, it’s about time that Imperial students stepped into the fray to put some hard facts behind the policies of today.

To find out more visit www.lfsp.org.uk for details of the launch and how to get involved.