IB Insider #6: Global connections, Entrepeneurship life and the Everest of Swimming

Let’s start this month’s IB Insider with a bang! Imperial is the sixth best university in the world – IN THE WORLD – just let that sink in. This was announced at the end of June in the?QS World University Rankings 2024 , and we're proud to be consistently ranked among the top 10.

If that came at the end of the month, we started June in Nairobi, Kenya where our?MBA students travelled for their Global Experience Week ?led by Tim Weiss . The trip provided our students with real-life exposure to a variety of national and international companies and a perspective on the ways that businesses work towards innovation and sustainability within Africa.

Later in the month, Imperial hosted the?WE Innovate 2023 Grand Final ?run by the Imperial Enterprise Lab Lab. Designed to boost opportunities available to women in entrepreneurship, WE Innovate is a pre-accelerator programme providing support to female-led start-ups. Finalists battled it out for a ￡33k grand prize, with medical start-up?Matrix ?taking home first place.

Following the theme of entrepreneurship, across the month our students have been mixing and matching through their electives and special projects – which often sit across programmes. The Entrepreneurial Journey is part of the Imperial DNA, running across the year, and helping students to develop the essential skills to starting a venture or becoming an intrapreneur. MBA student? Komal Bapna ’s deep dive into her experience on the Entrepreneurial Journey ?is well worth the read.

We always like to share great people stories and this month we have two:

Karen Wang ?(MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance alumna) was recognised as a young leader by the UN’s Envoy on Youth for her dedication to the Sustainable Development Goals.?Head over to our website to read the full story .

Jack Blyzinskyj (MBA Class of 2023) swam the English Channel to raise money for people fleeing from Ukraine. He completed the 33km swim known as?the Everest of Swimming?in 10 hours and 36 minutes and has raised over ￡100,000.?Read more on the Imperial College London new site .

And finally, June is of course #pridemonth , an important time to celebrate the LGBT+ community. London played host to events across the city, including the iconic?pride parade . At Imperial, we?ran a variety of sessions ?supported by our LGBTQ+ staff network Imperial 600, and the student union, including training, talks, and social events.

Bonus content: A handy insight into?what Japanese philosophy can teach us about finding purpose in the workplace ?by Frank Brueck , Leadership Lab Lead at our Leonardo Centre on Business for Society