Who are we?
The IEF is a young charitable organisation comprising of academics that have excelled in the UK, specifically from Imperial College London. It was founded by a 4th year medical student from Imperial College London, Adeel Iqbal, who gathered together a team of fellow students together committed to the statement, “A world without illiteracy where every child has the right to a quality education”. Working tirelessly they launched the IEF’s first project in Kashmir, winning recognition both from within the College as well as on the world stage.
At its core are the students who work tirelessly to raise awareness of the IEF’s work. They are what drives the organisation forward and are vital to the work that we do. Supporting them are three professors from Imperial College Medical School whose assistance throughout every aspect of the IEF has proved invaluable. All the people who volunteer their time to the IEF work without thought for payment, recognition or platitudes, so if you have the time then please read a little about each of them and the work that they do.
Joining the IEF mailing list enables you to keep informed of our upcoming events, including
• Our project launch event in February
• Two keynote lectures about maternal health in January
• A sponsored fun-run in December
It will also keep you up-to-date about our Summer School Programmes, which we will soon be recruiting volunteers for!
To join the mailing list, please email katherine.smith06@imperial.ac.uk
Executive board:
Professor Alan Fenwick OBE
Professor Fenwick directs the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology. The SCI is a collaborative project to assist countries in sub Saharan Africa control schistosomiasis, intestinal helminths and other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
The SCI was awarded a prestigous Queens Anniversary Prize (2008), and a medal and certificate were collected from Buckingham Palace on February 14th 2008. Professor Fenwick is working to expand the global health content of teaching at Imperial College, and encourages outreach in education, hence his support for IEF.
Professor F Azeem Majeed
Professor Majeed is Professor of Primary Care and Head of the Department of Primary Care & Social Medicine at Imperial College London.
His current research interests are in chronic disease management, health policy and the organisation and delivery of health care and the use of information for policy, planning and research. He is also involved in developing innovative methodologies for primary care and public health research using clinical and administrative databases, and also the use of new technology to improve health care.
Professor Geoffrey P Garnett
Geoff Garnett is Professor of Microparasite Epidemiology at Imperial College London. His main area of research is the epidemiology and control of sexually transmitted infections.
With a background in population ecology, Prof. Garnett's PhD, was on the epidemiology of varicella-zoster virus; exploring the relationship between chickenpox and singles and the impact of the varicella vaccine. Before taking up a faculty post at Imperial College London, Dr Garnett held a Wellcome Trust Training Fellowship in Mathematical Biology and a Royal Society University Research Fellowship.
Team Members:
Reenam Khan- Chair
“Education is the key to change the world”. This quote by Nelson Mandela concisely sums up Reenam’s views on the importance of education in addressing global social and economic equalities. During her time at medical school, Reenam has been demonstrated her commitment to education by organising tutorials and mock examinations for other students and getting involved in workshops for potential medical students. She hopes that her experiences of organising charity dinners and various other events through other societies will also be valuable in organising fundraising activities for IEF. She feels very privileged to be a part of this organisation and will work very hard this year to fulfil her role to the best of her ability.
Assad Farooq- Vice Chair
Assad is a fifth year medical student who recently intercalated a BSc in Management. He has been raised in developing, transitional and developed countries, which places him in a good position to identify the growing disparities in the standards of education and health between these three worlds. He is keen to promote awareness of these issues and help to address these problems. Assad has held a number of important positions in similar committees in the past, which will help him in his role. Most recently he became the Events Officer for Young Civitas for Medics, Student Representative for the Royal College of Surgeons and has helped to organise a successful charity fundraiser for Azad Kashmir Association of the Blind.
Katie Smith- Secretary
Katie is a 5th year medical student and has a lot of previous experience in fundraising and event organisation. She was Chair of Halfway Dinner 2009 and Vice-chair of ICSM Summer Ball 2010. Since 2006 she has also held the roles of Head of Entertainment and Head of Food and Drink as well as being involved in general fundraising for the ICSM Summer Ball. These events all raised significant funds for various charities. Additionally, she has been involved in many charities including St Raphael's Hospice, The Raphael Pilgrimage to Lourdes (enabling people with disabilities to pilgrimage to Lourdes) and Royal Medical Benevolent Fund in Wimbledon amongst others.
Afiya Andrews- Head of Events
Afiya is a medical student at Imperial College. She is very passionate about education particularly education for children. Following her passion she has been an academic mentor for Exscitec allowing her to motivate children towards tertiary education within the UK. She has also been exposed to the discrepancies in the medical system between developed and developing countries through voluntary work and through a medical internship at a local hospital in her home country of Trinidad. This has heighted her enthusiasm to be involved in promoting improved educational opportunities and healthcare facilities to those in developing countries and she believes that through her involvement in IEF this can be achieved.
Tom Ward- Project Director
Tom Ward is studying medicine at Imperial College London and has a passion for improving health and education in the developing world. He has previously taught English in both India and Malaysia and was head of the Save the Children Society at Imperial, raising money for projects across the world. Education is vitally important in bringing people out of poverty and is the only real way of providing sustainable change for the future. As a committee member for IEF, Tom hopes to take some small step in this direction. He is also a keen runner and has run a number of marathons and half marathons.
Najia Sultan- Head of Publicity and Marketing
Najia is a medical student at Imperial College London. She has been heavily involved in various societies at university and has a particular interest in medical education and Outreach work. In the past, Najia has helped organise everything from workshops for potential medical students to mock examinations, lectures and charity dinners. She has been a publicity officer on two previous occasions and understands the crucial importance of this role to the efficiency and professionalism of the International Education Fund.
Susan Golton - Web Designer
Susan is an MEchanical Engineering Imperial graduate with a double masters in Industrial Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art. She enjoys website design, creating illustrations and designing products. She feels that if she can use her design skills to promote the IEF and help them improve the lives of many people worldwide, then she will have contributed to global sustainability.
Asad Abdulla- Head of International Community Development
Asad Abdulla is a fifth year medical student at Imperial College. Working closely with youths of different backgrounds, ages and problems has enabled him to strongly appreciate the difficulties youths encounter in education and elsewhere. He has helped youths to overcome such difficulties, enabling them to become well-integrated members of society. Assad hopes to be able to draw on his experiences to help develop communities into a self-sufficient and self-improving society.
Anita Cheah- Head of International Relations
Anita Cheah is a fifth year medical student at Imperial College London. Hving grown up in a developing country (Malaysia) and completing a Global and Environmental Health module during her BSc year, she is well aware of the inequalities within society and the role of education in helping to overcome these inequalities. Roles such as Vice President of the Imperial College Malaysian Society and Supreme Council Member of a national student leader’s coalition have equipped Anita with experience and skills, which Anita hopes will help her execute the vision of IEF as Head of Inernational Relations.
Jahanzaib Khwaja- Head of Health and Education Development
Jahanzaib is a 4th year medical student at Imperial College London. He has been involved in many voluntary projects for a number of charities within Imperial and externally. His experience includes chairing large student societies and organising charity events. He has a passion for leading in global health care initiatives aiming to raise awareness, at a national level. He is looking forward to IEF's ambitious projects and working with a proactive team.
Supporting Professors:
Professor Siamon Gordon
Siamon Gordon is GlaxoWellcome Professor of Cellular Pathology at the University of Oxford, and has devoted his research life to investigating the recognition and effector mechanisms of macrophages.