Imperial College London, ranked second globally in the QS World University Rankings 2025, has inaugurated its fourth international science hub in Bengaluru, India, named “Imperial Global India.” This strategic initiative was started in order to give the UK and India more opportunities to perform research together in critical areas such as artificial intelligence, climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and other important areas of research.
The Bengaluru hub is just one of many initiatives taken by Imperial College London to spread its branches across the globe. The University has set up similar centers in Singapore and San Francisco.
According to university president Professor Hugh Brady, the goal is not to establish a branch campus but to deepen impactful partnerships with Indian researchers. “Our new science hub, Imperial Global India, will forge and strengthen links between Imperial and partners in India,” Professor Brady stated at the Science Gallery Bengaluru during the launch of the hub. “Through the hub, we will support several flagship programmes, including research projects, long-term collaborations, student scholarships, collaborative PhD programmes, and fellowships in areas such as telecoms, critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, health-tech, and advanced materials. These initiatives will help deliver solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.”
Over the past five years, Imperial researchers have co-authored nearly 2,000 publications with collaborators at over 300 Indian institutions, supported by £170 million in research funding from various sources. The university plans to double this funding over the next five years.
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Imperial’s collaborations with Indian institutions are extensive, including partnerships with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and various Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). These collaborations span various shared challenge areas, from developing clean energy technologies and antimicrobial pollution policies to training the next generation of infectious disease modelers.
The establishment of Imperial Global India in Bengaluru underscores the university’s commitment to co-creating world-leading science and technology research with Indian partners, leveraging the strengths of both nations to address global challenges. The creation of the hub is not aimed at creating a branch campus but rather at deepening impactful partnerships with Indian researchers. The international science hub will primarily act as a way to create a better environment for collaborative research between India and the UK, so that both countries can play to their strengths and fill the gaps in each other’s research.
