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Institution | Imperial College London |
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Location | South Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom |
Established | 1997 |
President | Haider Nazerali |
Members | 2,600 |
Affiliations | Imperial College Union |
Website | icsmsu.com |
Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union (ICSMSU) is the students' union of the Imperial College School of Medicine. It is charged with representing and advocating for the educational, pastoral, social and extracurricular needs of all the undergraduate students within the Faculty of Medicine of Imperial College London, [1] and is a constituent union of Imperial College Union. [2]
ICSMSU was formed in 1997 by the mergers of the Students' Unions of St Mary's Hospital Medical School, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School (formerly Charing Cross Hospital Medical School and Westminster Hospital Medical School), and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School.
Rivalry was abundant before and during the years of mergers. The 1954 film Doctor in the House was reportedly based on the behaviour of the St Mary's students.
The Union has one full-time sabbatical president, Haider Nazerali, supported by 22 student volunteers, each covering areas such as academics, clubs & societies, entertainments, welfare, and the internal executive functioning of the Students' Union.
There are also committee members of the Students' Union responsible for looking after students studying BSc Medical Biosciences, which falls under the Imperial College School of Medicine.
The Academic Chair and three MBBS academic officers, along with the respective year representatives, oversee the academic needs of the 6-year MBBS/BSc course and all students undertaking BSc courses. The Academic Officer for Medical Biosciences looks after needs specific to students undertaking the BSc Medical Biosciences (BMB) course.
ICSMSU runs a highly successful "Mums and Dads" programme which aims to match up new students with older students on the same course, in order to provide pastoral and social support and a more informal basis. [3]
There are currently over 65 student-run clubs and societies dedicated for members of the ICSMSU. Many of the bigger clubs can trace their history back to the original hospital medical schools. [4] Most of the clubs compete in the United Hospitals competitions, or send players to the combined teams. Notable clubs and societies include Imperial Medicals Rugby Club, ICSMSU Boat Club, ICSM Water Polo, Muslim Medics and Light Opera.
ICSMSU also has a strong sporting ethos inherited from its predecessors. It enjoys frequent success against the other London medical schools in the United Hospitals and National Association of Medics' Sports competitions and in the BUCS league.
While medical students may join Imperial College Union (ICU) sports clubs (and non-medical students may join the medical clubs and societies), most prefer to participate in ICSMSU sports teams which, depending on the sport, may compete against Imperial College or other Imperial faculty teams such as the Royal School of Mines, such as in the annual Varsity competition, which involves teams from ICSMSU and ICU. The competition culminates in the J.P.R. Williams Cup, named after the highly successful Welsh rugby player and doctor J.P.R. Williams, who graduated from St Mary's Hospital, London in 1973, with the 1st XVs of Imperial Medicals Rugby Club and ICU Rugby playing each other in front of a 1,500 strong crowd.
Sir Roger Bannister, another St Mary's Hospital Medical School alumnus gives his name to the trophy for the annual varsity athletics meet. [5]
ICSMBC was formed in 1997 by merging the Medical School Rowing Clubs from St Mary's Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital and Westminster Boat Club. They row out of and train at the Imperial College Boat Club which is situated on the River Thames in Putney. The current captain of ICSMBC is Bonnie Price. Predominantly the Club participates in United Hospital events, as a constituent club of the United Hospital Boat Club, [6] though they also participate in races organised through British Rowing, such as the Men's and Women's Head of the River races.
In 2024 the women's crew made history, becoming the first women's crew to win every UH event that year- including the annual bumps race, which they won for the first time since 1999. [7] The team was lead by women's captain, Georgia Lowe.
ICSMSU Water Polo is the water polo team of Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union. It came about pursuant to a merger of the Charing Cross Hospital, Westminster Hospital, and St Mary's Hospital water polo clubs.
The club in its modern form was founded in 1997 following the merger of the St. Mary's Hospital Water Polo Club with the Charing Cross and Westminster Hospitals Water Polo Club. One notable member of the constituent St Mary's Hospital Water Polo club was nobel laureate Sir Alexander Fleming. [8]
In 2008 the club agreed a joint venture into the BUCS league with the Imperial College Swimming and Water Polo Club. This brought immediate success with the Imperial College/Medicals side being crowned Tier Two Champions in 2009/10, and thus securing promotion to the Premier Tier for the 2010/11 season. The joint BUCS team performed strongly again in the 2012/13 season finishing third in the Premier Tier. The current President is Renée Servin.
The club focuses its efforts on the London Universities Sports League (LUSL), formerly known as the ULU League, in which it enters a mixed gender team and plays weekly matches against other London universities. The Varsity match against the Imperial College water polo team is played annually in March.
The origin of the medical school's musical theatre society is a 1943 production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury by students at St Mary's. Despite a trend towards more modern musicals, the name was maintained during the 1997 merger to honour the society's history, which includes performances attended by then HRH Princess Elizabeth in 1945, HRH Princess Margaret in 1957, and HRH Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1981. [9]
Each year, Light Opera performs its main show in December and a so-called '24-Hour Opera' in April or May, hosts multiple 'Big Chill' open mic nights, and participates in other showcases. The 24-Hour Opera is a musical chosen, planned, and auditioned without revealing the show's identity. It is announced to the cast, crew, and public on one evening and performed the next; all proceeds are donated to charity.
The society maintains strong social traditions and also provides academic support for its numerous members. The current president of the society is Aoife Madden.
ICSMSU runs a full social calendar, including long-standing events and traditions from the original medical school student bodies. This includes Freshers' Fortnight, Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner, Halfway Dinner, 'Snow Ball', recognition dinners for ICSMSU Sports clubs, Arts clubs, and Volunteering & Academic societies, and RAG Week (with associated RAG events across the year as well).
The main facilities for the medical students of the Imperial College School of Medicine are found in the Reynolds Building on the Charing Cross Hospital campus. Here you can find facilities owned and run by ICSMSU, including the Reynolds Bar, as well as a dance studio, clubs and society storage room and a common room. The Students' Union office is located on the ground floor.
The Sir Alexander Fleming Building serves as the home of ICSM on the central South Kensington Campus. Here ICSMSU has a suite of offices for use of the President and SU, as well as a common room, locker room and merchandise shop. [10]
ICSMSU are responsible for the upkeep of the common room located on the ground floor of the Wolfson Building at the Hammersmith Hospital campus, and for lobbying the faculty and NHS trusts for the upkeep and improvement of student facilities at the other respective teaching hospital sites, including Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and St Mary's Hospital, London.
2004 saw the first set of ICSM doctors graduate, and so the ICSM Alumni Association was founded. [11] Run with heavy input by ICSMSU, the association aims to provide funding for the clubs and societies of the medical school, as well as offer support to students. Additionally, ICSMSU has a close affiliation with the St Mary's Hospital Association (SMHA) who equally supports students including through funding of grants, bursaries, and clubs and society awards.
Imperial College London (Imperial) is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural area that included the Royal Albert Hall, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and several royal colleges. Established by royal charter in 1907, Imperial College London unified into one institution the Royal College of Science, the Royal School of Mines and the City and Guilds of London Institute. In 1988, the Imperial College School of Medicine was formed by merging with St Mary's Hospital Medical School. In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Imperial College Business School.
GKT School of Medical Education is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital (Southwark), King's College Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital (Lambeth) in London – with the initial of each hospital making up the acronymous name of the school. The school in its current guise was formed following a merger with the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals on 1 August 1998. As of 2023, the medical school is ranked 5th best in the UK for clinical medicine by U.S. News & World Report, and 10th best worldwide by Times Higher Education.
The Royal Veterinary College is a veterinary school located in London and a member institution of the federal University of London. The RVC was founded in 1791 and joined the University of London in 1949. It is the oldest and largest Veterinary school in the United Kingdom, and one of only 11 in the country where students can study to become a vet.
St George's, University of London, legally St George's Hospital Medical School, is a public university in Tooting, South London, England, and is a member institution of the federal University of London. In August 2024, St George's will merge with City, University of London to form City St George's, University of London.
Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) is the undergraduate medical school of Imperial College London in England and one of the United Hospitals. It is part of the college's Faculty of Medicine and was formed by the merger of several historic medical schools. It's core campuses are located at South Kensington, St Mary's, Charing Cross, Hammersmith and Chelsea and Westminster. The school ranked 3rd in the world for medicine in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School existed as a legal entity for 13 years, as the midpoint of a series of mergers which strategically consolidated the many small medical schools in west London into one large institution under the aegis of Imperial College London.
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. The hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminster Hospital. It is operated by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and became a member of Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre in July 2020. The hospital is the central part of Imperial College London Chelsea and Westminster Campus, and plays an integral role in teaching students and medical research at Imperial College London.
The Imperial College Act 1997 is a local Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a minor piece of legislation that enabled Imperial College London to take over the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, the National Heart and Lung Institute and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. It is one of the largest NHS trusts in England and together with Imperial College London forms an academic health science centre.
St Mary's Hospital Medical School was the youngest of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine, founded in 1854 as part of the new hospital in Paddington. During its existence in the 1980s and 1990s, it was the most popular medical school in the country, with an application to place ratio of 27:1 in 1996.
Charing Cross Hospital Medical School (CXHMS) was the oldest of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine.
The Westminster Hospital Medical School was one of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine. It was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Westminster Hospital almost from the hospital's foundation in 1719.
The United Hospitals Rugby Football Club represents the five medical schools in London, each of whom have their own distinct rugby clubs but from whom are picked a select fifteen to compete for UHRFC. The club exists to encourage and facilitate rugby at these institutions. It hosts the United Hospitals Cup, the oldest rugby cup competition in the world.
Imperial Medicals Rugby Club is the name given to the rugby union team of Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union, a modern amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history, having all been founded in the nineteenth century. The teams from Charing Cross Hospital and Westminster Hospital were the first to merge in 1984 following the union of their respective Medical Departments. When St Mary's Hospital, London also merged in 1997 the team was strengthened by one of the two most successful hospital sides in London. Imperial Medics is notable for its recent dominance of the oldest competition in rugby, the United Hospitals Cup, as well as its history and the joint history of its constituent elements which have produced a large number of international players.
United Hospitals is the historical collective name of the medical schools of London. They are all part of the University of London (UL) with the exception of Imperial College School of Medicine which left in 2007. The original United Hospitals referred to Guy's Hospital and St Thomas's Hospital and their relationship prior to 1769. Since then the name has been adopted by the London medical schools.
The Faculty of Medicine is the academic centre for medical and clinical research and teaching at Imperial College London. It contains the Imperial College School of Medicine, which is the college's undergraduate medical school.
St Bartholomew's and The Royal London Hospitals FC ("SBLHFC") are the football club of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, having been formed from the merger of two formerly distinct hospital football clubs each with a long history.
The United Hospitals Athletics Club is a historic athletics club that used to host the annual United Hospitals athletics competition. Since the disbanding of the club, London Universities and Colleges Athletics has organised the competition within the LUCA Indoor Championships. The competition has been held since 1867.
A timeline of the Imperial College School of Medicine, the medical school of Imperial College London.
The history of Imperial College London can be traced back to the founding of the Royal College of Chemistry in 1845 in London, with some ancestral medical schools dating back to 1823. The college was formed in 1907 out of the Royal Colleges in South Kensington, and throughout the 20th century became central to the national strategy for technical education and research. It existed for most of its life as part of the University of London, only becoming independent in 2007.