Category: News

Posted on Events, Jezebel, News

The Clemtenary and where to see Jezebel during 2026

As always, Jezebel and the RCS Motor Club have a packed schedule for the year 2026.

But before we go into the details:

STOP PRESS: Help build enduring support for Jezebel by contributing something (anything you can) to the new Derek J. Toms Fund for Jezebel or ‘The Toms Fund’. Read more here….

And after that important digression, let’s get back to the 2026 programme……

Events, this year are influenced by the 100 year anniversary of two of Jezebel’s friends. Both Clementine II (affectionately known as Clem), the 1926 Morris T-type truck, run by the Royal School of Mines Motor Club and Derrick, City and Guilds’ 1926 Ner-A-Car motor bike, are 100 years old this year.

Which brings us to the Spring Term’s flagship event: The “Clemtenary Dinner” taking place at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon on the 21st of March 2026. Tickets will grant you access to a range of entertainment at the museum on the day, and the 3-course dinner in the evening.… Read more...

Posted on Around Campus, Careers, Events, News

RCSA and RCSU double up on careers’ panels as jobs market gets tougher!

Following the successful pilot of a BioChem Soc careers’ panel organised jointly by the RCSA and RCSU in 2025, January saw a doubling up of panels to help RCS students cope with the current, tough jobs market.

RCSU VP Education Jacob Eyre working with the RCSA team of Mike Munroe and Sylvia Watson had organised two panels this year. One for the Physical Sciences held on January 20th and one for the Life Sciences held a week later on the 27th.

Using the successful panel format from last year, the RCSA had assembled two excellent groups of alumni volunteers to share their career journeys and answer questions with RCS student audiences covering first years all the way up to post grads.

Both events were lively, with students keen to get insight into how to get the best possible career opportunities at a time when competition for jobs is stiff. In total the panels had over 250 students in attendance reflecting the high interest and excellent marketing by the RCSU team.… Read more...

Posted on Around Campus, News, Outreach

RCSU Science Challenge 2026

The Royal College of Science Union’s annual science communication competition, the RCSU Science Challenge, is always of interest to our members, and all the more so for those of us with school-age children or otherwise involved with schools. So we are delighted to give you early information about this year’s competition.

The RCS Union opened the competition on Monday 15th December 2025 and it has a submission deadline of Sunday 15th February 2026 at 17.00. If any of your kids decide to get involved this coming year, we wish them the best of luck.

(And, as soon as the date and location of the Awards Ceremony for the 2026 RCSU Science Challenge is settled, we’ll pass on the details here.)

Hard at work are RCSU President, Jack Swires, Chair of the Science Challenge, Aadhavan Balachandran, Deputy Science Challenge Chair, Shama Sasikumar and the rest of the organising team, along with our very own Jenni Munroe.… Read more...

Posted on Around Campus, Events, News, RCSA Trust

Exploration Board Report Back Evening

The Exploration Board ‘Report Back Evening’ is a wonderful opportunity for our student expedition members to showcase their achievements. They will share with us their experiences from expeditions that took place during 2024 and 2025. Many of those students will, of course, have benefitted from your generosity via the RCSA Trust which financially supports these expeditions. There will be tales to tell, alongside some wonderful images, so we would be delighted if you were to join us on:

Wednesday 3rd December, 18.00-20.00
Royal School of Mines, Room 1.47,
South Kensington Campus,
London SW7 5HF

The presentations will be followed by an informal reception held at Eastside Bar, in Princes Gardens.

If you can, please let Ellie know, by Monday 1st December that you are able to attend by emailing e.rimmer@imperial.ac.uk or by telephoning +44 (0)20 7594 2416, along with any access requirements.

But if you can’t confirm, turn up unannounced. Room 1.47 is large, we’ll be sure to squeeze you in, and we’ll be very happy to see you.… Read more...

Posted on Around Campus, Events, News, Projects & Campaigns

President’s Autumn Message

The RCSA needs your help again!

Dear fellow RCS alumni,

[UPDATE: Dates of career panels confirmed: Physical Sciences on 20th of January, Life Sciences on 27th of January.]

I trust you all enjoyed a wonderful summer.

As we transition into another academic year at Imperial College, it’s time for the Royal College of Science Association gear up support for and engagement with the current crop of RCS students.

You will know already from our very busy Royal College of Science Association website how active the RCSA has been in recent years and it is crucial we sustain this momentum!

This time, instead of seeking donations or following up on memberships, we’re asking for a bit of your time and direct participation! We are calling for volunteers to help with two specific projects we are planning for the new academic year.

  1. Careers evenings. Our very successful Biochemistry/Life Sciences careers panel evening back in January this year (see Careers Evening with the Royal College of Science Association) was enjoyed by both the alumni and students, proving invaluable for students navigating their career paths!
… Read more...
Posted on Around Campus, Events, News, RCSA Trust

RCSA Prize 2025

It was to be a wonderfully dutiful RCS Mathematician who topped the nominations for the prestigious 2025 ‘RCSA Prize‘, and we couldn’t be more pleased.

At a brief ceremony outside the Faculty Building on Commemoration Day, Professor Richard Craster, Dean of RCS (or Dean of FoNS if you want to be terribly modern), Mike Munroe, President of the RCSA, and Oscar Farrell, Secretary of the RCSA, shared the officiating duties and presented Ariff Jazlan Johan from Mathematics with his framed certificate and with a cheque for £300.

The occasion is captured in the photograph above and you can see our prize winner, Ariff Jazlan Johan, sandwiched between Mike Munroe, President of the RCSA, and Professor Richard Craster, Dean of the RCS.

Our members will recall that the RCSA Prize was instigated in 1997 and is awarded annually at Commemoration Day to a student “who has excelled academically and made a great all-round contribution to the College“ and Ariff certainly fits the requirements.… Read more...

Posted on Events, News, Sport

‘Perry Robbens B’ Win the SKADL League

The Summer 2025 SKADL Darts League has been won by the ‘Perry Robbens B’ having seen off their opposition in eleven of their fourteen fixtures. They become the third winners of the “RCSA Purse”: £100 of prize money.

Our very own ORCS, the “Old Royal College of Science” darts team, were victorious in nine of their fixtures and came in at third place. Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, our combined RCSA Double Elevens and Arrows team ended up in a very creditable 7th position – an impressive achievement.

To remind you, the various teams in SKADL (the South Kensington Academic Darts League) have their roots in the Union Bar, in the Holland Bar, in the RCS and in various other academic institutions ‘not so far from South Kensington’. The RCSA Double Elevens team play on a Monday night with their home fixtures being in the Union Bar, and their away fixtures taking place in a variety of excellent pubs across London.… Read more...

Posted on Jezebel, News, RCSA Trust

RCSA helps the “bottom line” for Jez and RCS Motor Club!!

The RCSA continues on its mission to support all aspects of RCS student life at college and recently had an opportunity to support the RCS Motor Club directly on the bottom line!

The RCS motorised mascot, Jez, has attracted a lot of support and attention going back over the decades. To keep her on the road usually involves major items such as the engine, the wheels or more recently the radiator, but it had become apparent that the front bench seat cushion was not up to the job. It was worn thin, full of holes and no one could remember quite how old it was!

RCSMC president, Otto Pilbrow (pictured above being well supported) commented:
“we had been so focused on keeping Jez on the road that we had forgotten about issues such as driver comfort!!”

What a mess! The old driver’s cushion.

The RCSA stepped in and commissioned a tailor-made new cushion that has just been installed!… Read more...

Posted on News, RCSA Trust

Solo backpacking in Vestland, Norway

Kenny Louie, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

A 23-year-old Physics Masters student, Yaar Safra, has won the support of the RCSA Trust and of the IC Exploration Board for his 21 day solo expedition to the wilds of Norway.

His solo backpacking expedition in Vestland, Norway, took place between July 1st and July 21st, 2025 making use of Norway’s wild camping laws. This project was a three-week, self-supported hiking journey covering over 250 kilometres through Norway’s dramatic fjord and mountain landscapes, including Nærøyfjorden, Aurlandsfjorden, and Hardangerfjorden. 

Yaar sees this expedition as a personal challenge and a developmental opportunity. He is hoping to strengthen his self-reliance, navigation and survival skills, and heighten his sense of environmental responsibility. But, in a departure from the norm, he also plans to be creative in his documentation of the expedition. In addition to being a keen photographer, Yaar is accomplished in the art of ‘Plein Air’ sketching. An interesting twist inspired by his grandfather who, too, is a proficient artist.… Read more...

Posted on News, RCSA Trust

Bike-Packing expedition in Denmark and Norway 2025

Three scientists, a Physics PhD student, and two Biology Masters students have been supported by the RCSA Trust on their demanding Exploration-Board-approved expedition.

As you read this the three, Anna Tippett, Tatiana Dickins and Carolina Pestana, are part way through their 17-day expedition involving roughly 400km of cycling in Denmark and a further 750km in Norway. For those more comfortable in imperial units. the 1,150 kilometres of cycling is equivalent to about 780 miles.

An objective of this expedition is to minimise their carbon footprint. Cycling is intrinsically low-carbon, and air travel has been eschewed. The scientists will travel by train from London to Esbjerg in Denmark, before joining the North Sea Cycle Route to Hirtshals. The ferry will transfer them to Kristiansand in Norway where they will re-join the North Sea Cycle Route up to Bergen. Finally, trains via Oslo and Copenhagen will return the three safely back to St. Pancras.… Read more...