Category: RCSA Trust

Posted on Annual Dinner, Events, News, RCSA Trust

President’s Christmas Message

Dear Fellow RCS Alumni,

First of all, season’s greetings and hope all is good with you and your families as we come to the end of another year. This has been an amazing year for the RCSA with lots of good stuff going on that you will see in the content below and on our website and media feeds https://rcsa.org.uk/ but it is important to say right up front that the Association still has some major challenges ahead and we need more help from you, our alumni!

Our biggest challenge, I believe, is our membership! Thank you to those of you (in your hundreds) who are paid up members but there are literally tens of thousands of RCS alumni out there who are not members. What can we do about this? Firstly, please check that your membership is up to date and that direct debit payments have not expired to help us get an accurate list of up-to-date members.… Read more...

Posted on News, RCSA Trust

John Levy Awards

The RCSA are delighted to announce another initiative designed to help our hard pressed RCS students during these continued tough economic times. Working with both the RCSU President, Julia Purrinos, and FoNS Head of Education and Student Experience, Becky Middleton, and following a survey of RCS student needs in 2023, we have initiated and launched ‘The RCSA Levy Awards’.

These are bursaries which help RCS hardship students who have already been successful in getting funds from sources such as the the Student Support Fund or the FoNS Dean’s Fund, but who nonetheless find themselves in short-term financial difficulty whilst they are waiting for those funds to actually arrive.

The idea is that our Levy Award bursaries are provided almost instantly in the form of a supermarket gift card. These cards will allow our students to purchase everyday essentials such as food and other necessities with absolutely no delay and keep them going until the more substantial funds reach their bank accounts.… Read more...

Posted on 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 and share their experiences with us from expeditions that took place during 2023 and 2024. Many of those students will, of course, have benefitted from your generosity via the RCSA Trust who financially support 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 4th December, 18.00-21.00
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 Wednesday 20 November 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, 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, RCSA Trust

An Act of Remembrance – Monday 11th November 2024 at Imperial College

A two minute silence to remember those killed in the First and Second World Wars, and in contemporary conflicts. This short act of remembrance and personal reflection will be held, dedicated to members of the College killed during the two world wars.

The event will begin with a short introduction at 10.55 including information from the College Archives. At 11am there will be a two minute silence.

A British Legion wreath will be laid in honour of those mentioned by name on the College memorials. Flowers will also be laid to remember those killed in more recent conflicts.

The event has been prepared by Andrew Willson, the College Chaplain and Anne Barrett the College Archivist & Corporate Records Manager.

The event is open to all members of the College, friends and alumni. No registration is required.

11 November 2024
10:50 -11:10 College Main Entrance
Please gather at 10.50 by the big screen in the College Main Entrance

(This year we seek contributions for the re-installation of the RCSA War Memorial.… Read more...

Posted on News, RCSA Trust

Kyushu Island Bikepacking, Japan 2024

Two life science masters students, Eimear Loughlin and Tatiana Dickins, have won the support of the RCSA Trust and of the IC Exploration Board for their 23 day expedition. It includes a challenging 500 mile, 17 day loop of the southernmost island of Japan, Kyushu where they will start on the island of Shimoshima and finish in Kurume and will carry all their gear on their bikes and camp along each stage of the route.

As well as immersing themselves in Japanese culture, the two scientists will monitor the biodiversity of the island by identifying plant and animal species and will upload photographs to BirdNET and iNaturalist.

We wish the pair, the best of luck with this expedition and look forward to reading their post-expedition report and attending their post expedition presentation, to which RCSA members will be invited.

As one part of its programme, the RCSA Trust have been supporting the adventurous activities of our science students since 1990.… Read more...

Posted on Around Campus, News, RCSA Trust

RCSA Prize ’24

We were delighted when the results were announced: it would be a wonderfully talented RCS woman from Chemistry that topped the nominations for the prestigious 2024 ‘RCSA Prize‘.

At a brief ceremony in front of Queen Victoria’s statue on Commemoration Day, Professor Richard Craster, Dean of RCS (or Dean of FoNS if you want to be terribly modern), and Oscar Farrell, Secretary of the RCSA, shared the officiating duties and presented Kaat Lambrecht from Chemistry with her framed certificate and with a cheque for £300.

The occasion is captured in the photograph above and you can see our prize winner, Kaat Lambrecht, on the left, shaking hands with Professor Richard Craster, Dean of the RCS and watched over by the statue of our Royal patron, Queen Victoria.

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 Kaat certainly fits the requirements.… Read more...

Posted on News, Projects & Campaigns, RCSA Trust

Memorial Fund up and running

It’s so exciting! Donations for our Memorial Restoration Fund have begun to flow in.

The fund was announced by RCSA President Mike Munroe, who described it as “an ambitious project with a tight deadline and a challenging budget of over £9,000!” with a rallying cry of “And so we desperately need YOUR KIND DONATIONS.“

So please donate if you can, using the ‘donate buttons’ below.

We have consulted with many RCSA members including, with a lifetime of service to the military, our very supportive champion…. Wing Commander Paul Antony Kendall MStrat, MA, BSc, ARCS, OBE who sends us a few words:

“I am honoured to act as a champion for the RCS War Memorial project. Workplace memorials such as these remind us that the World Wars left their mark not just in terms of the physical and mental casualties, but also the lives of those returning or left behind, and the in the disruption caused within institutions.

… Read more...
Posted on Around Campus, News, RCSA Trust

“Astonishing” find after 52 years!

(and the launch of our Memorial Restoration Fund)

“It’s utterly astonishing,” says RCSA President Mike Munroe, “that the RCS World War Two memorial stone might lie, hidden and undisturbed, for 52 years in the bowels of the Bessemer Building!

The stone weighs a whopping 120 kilos and is one of a pair that were originally located in the central portion of the Royal College of Science Building, which is the building pictured in the RCSA banner across the top of this web page.

The recently found WW2 stone, the lower of the two, was jointly funded by the RCSA and the RCSU, and was designed by Welsh sculptor Robert JR Thomas.

The still-lost upper WW1 stone was designed by Trenwith Wills. It was paid for by student and alumni subscription with the excess used to purchase the sports ground (then in Wembley) and the boat house.

“Sadly the RCS building was torn down in 1972/73, and in the ensuing chaos, the two RCS memorial stones were tragically lost, presumed destroyed.… Read more...

Posted on News, RCSA Trust

White Water Kayaking, Kyrgyzstan 2024 Expedition.

Seven IC students, one being a third-year chemistry student, have won the support of the RCSA Trust and of the IC Exploration Board for their eight-man White Water Kayaking, Kyrgyzstan 2024 Expedition..

The students will visit the areas of Kekemeren, the Natyn Valley, Issyk Kul (the second largest alpine lake in the world) and the Alamedin Gorge during the optimal season for glacier melt rivers.

We wish our intrepid students the best of luck with their challenging expedition and look forward to reading their post-expedition report. And we’d like to thank BUKE, British Universities Kayaking Expeditions, who explored the Kyrgyzstan region back in 2005, for permission to use their fabulous photograph.

(The RCSA Trust have been supporting the adventurous activities of our science students since 1990. Please consider making a donation to the Trust. Any amount, however small, will be gratefully received and every penny will be faithfully applied to assist the students of the Royal College of Science.… Read more...

Posted on News, RCSA Trust

Haute Route Glaciere, Switzerland Expedition

Two IC students, one being a third-year physics PhD student, have won the support of the RCSA Trust and of the IC Exploration Board for their four-man Haute Route Glaciere, Switzerland 2024 Expedition.

The students will complete a slightly truncated version of the traditional high-altitude direct route from Chamonix to Zermatt via the Glaciers within a time-frame of 8 days in late June. They will start at Bourg-St-Pierre, from where they will follow in the footsteps of those early members of the Alpine Club who first pioneered the route in 1861, sticking to the glaciers which lie high on the valleys and passes.

We wish our intrepid students the best of luck with their challenging expedition and look forward to reading their post-expedition report.

The RCSA Trust have been supporting the adventurous activities of our science students since 1990. Please consider making a donation to the Trust. Any amount, however small, will be gratefully received and every penny will be faithfully applied to assist the students of the Royal College of Science.… Read more...