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Fast-track to a world-class innovation network: Imperial Ecosystem Fair

The Imperial Ecosystem Fair is a unique opportunity for businesses to connect to Imperial world-class resources that support innovation and growth – bringing together teams from across Imperial’s innovation ecosystem for a one-day exploration of all that this exceptional community has to offer. This popular event offers businesses a clear and practical way to explore facilities, flexible workspace, talent, academic expertise and collaboration opportunities in a single visit to I-HUB in White City Campus.

The Imperial Ecosystem Fair 2026 is open to all businesses looking to tap into this top 10 global institution’s research, talent and infrastructure spanning a wide range of sectors – including deep tech, AI, digital technologies, health and life sciences, energy and climate, space and security.

What’s on offer

  • Facility tours: Visit selected labs, workspaces and specialist facilities, and learn how companies can access and harness them
  • Talent and skills: Find out how to hire and work with Masters, PhD and MBA students through projects, placements and internships
  • Executive education: Explore courses for individuals at different career stages across areas such as finance, AI, innovation, leadership, management and strategy
  • Equipment and facilities: Learn how to access over 350 specialist R&D, clinical and prototyping facilities
  • Workspace: Discover flexible lab and office options for companies at different stages, from early start-ups to global organisations
  • Research collaboration: Meet teams that can support partnerships with academics and help navigate collaboration and funding routes
  • Academic consultancy: Understand how businesses can access academic expertise for advisory work, testing, analysis and technical support
Clockwise L-R: Image 1) Sodrul Hussain, Head of Growth and Partnerships for Scale Space and I-HUB; Image 2-5) Visitors attend the Imperial Ecosystem Fair at I-HUB


INTERVIEW WITH SODRUL HUSSAIN – HEAD OF GROWTH & PARTNERSHIPS FOR SCALE SPACE & I-HUB

We spoke with Sodrul Hussain – Head of Growth and Partnerships for Scale Space and I-HUB – about what’s new for the event this year, and how businesses can take advantage of this unique, one-day opportunity to accelerate their own innovation journey.

Q: Who should attend and who can businesses meet on the day?

SH: The Ecosystem Fair is aimed at founders and teams from across London and the UK who are curious about what’s available through Imperial’s innovation ecosystem – whether that’s talent, research expertise, facilities, or opportunities to collaborate.

What we’re doing is bringing together in one room all the key contacts and academics from each department, plus our world-class talent pool of Masters, PhD and MBA students, so that businesses can connect directly and get to know the relevant people in person – whether that’s to explore co-location, recruitment, drug research projects, or to work on joint funding proposals.

The idea is to make it as easy as possible for businesses to have conversations that might normally take weeks or months to organise. Instead of trying to navigate a large institution on your own, you can come along, have informal conversations, ask questions, and quickly work out who you should be speaking to and what’s possible.

We have over 350 pieces of specialist equipment on White City Campus – running across R&D, clinical and prototyping facilities – so that’s a big range of assets to discover. All the lab managers who manage this state-of-the-art equipment will be here at the event, including the teams who oversee the Agilent Measurement Suite, Royce at Imperial, The Hackspace and our advanced bioengineering facilities.

Visitors to the fair will also have the chance to meet with Imperial Consultants, Imperial’s specialist consultancy team of over 4000 researchers and academics. For over 30 years, ICON has worked with organisations of all sizes to test ideas and technology, conduct due diligence, and provide expert support for innovation and commercialisation projects across industry, government and the third sector.

We’ll also have representatives from Imperial Business School’s Executive Education team, so visitors can explore the wide range of business courses on offer for businesses looking to upskill staff through tailored management or leadership programmes, available on both an individual and organisation-wide basis.

Ultimately, it’s about opening doors, building relationships, and helping businesses plug into Imperial’s ecosystem in a way that’s practical and relevant to where they are right now.

Q: What’s new for the event this year?

SH: This year’s Ecosystem Fair is about opening things up and making the ecosystem more visible and accessible.

In previous years, the event was mainly aimed at businesses already based within our buildings. This time, we’re opening the doors much wider and inviting businesses from across the local area and beyond to come in, explore what’s here, and see how they might connect.

Another important change is the focus on experience, not just conversation. Rather than only talking about the support, facilities and expertise available, we’re giving people the chance to see it first-hand. That includes guided tours of workspaces, labs and specialist facilities, as well as incubation and collaboration spaces across the campus. Available tours will include visits to I-HUB, Scale Space and Imperial Incubator. 

For many businesses, it can be hard to visualise what an innovation ecosystem actually looks like or how it works in practice. By allowing people to walk through the spaces, see the equipment and meet the teams involved, it becomes much more tangible and easier to understand what’s possible.

Overall, the event feels more open, more practical, and more welcoming. It’s designed to lower the barrier for businesses who are curious but not sure where to start, and to show that this ecosystem isn’t something that sits behind closed doors – it’s here to be explored, engaged with and used.

To book your visit to Imperial Ecosystem Fair, please visit the event website. If you have questions about the facilities at Scale Space and I-HUB, or you’d like to enquire about workspace or co-location, please contact Sodrul Hussain.

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