Date: 13 February 2025
Join Scholars in the UK for a day of talks, discussions, and networking
The CSC Connect and Collaborate event is the largest event in the CSC calendar and a chance to celebrate Scholars’ achievements and hear from inspirational speakers involved in the work of the CSC and the wider Commonwealth.
Scholars will have the chance to meet and share ideas with fellow Scholars based in the UK and showcase how their scholarship work is making a difference in the world. The programme will feature talks and breakout sessions throughout the day, as well as opportunities to network and forge lasting connections for future.
The event will be held at the QEII Centre in London. There is information about getting to the venue and an interactive floorplan on the QEII Centre website.
Event programme
09:00-10:00
Registration and networking | Lobby and Pickwick
10:00-10:15
Delegates to be seated in Churchill
10:15-10:30
Welcome by Professor Robin Mason ORB, CSC | Churchill
10:30-10:45
FCDO address | Churchill
10:45-11:15
Keynote address by Commonwealth Alumnus Dr Lin C Sambili Gicheha, The Commonwealth Secretariat | Churchill
11:15-11:30
Delegates move to breakout rooms: Churchill; Gieldgud; Olivier; Redgrave and Burton; Victoria; Albert
11:30-13:15
Development theme discussion panels | Breakout rooms
13:15-14:15
Lunch and networking | Pickwick
14:30-15:30
Networking for impact workshops | Breakout rooms
15:30-16:00
Afternoon refreshments and networking | Pickwick
16:00-16:15
Delegates to be seated in Churchill
16:15-17:00
Keynote address by Commonwealth Alumnus Professor Tim Soutphommasane, University of Oxford | Churchill
17:00-17:05
Vote of thanks by Commonwealth Scholar representative | Churchill
17:05-17:15
Closing remarks by Professor Robin Mason ORB, CSC | Churchill
17:15-17:30
Delegates move to Pickwick for reception
17:30-19:00
Reception and networking | Pickwick
Event close
Professor Robin Mason ORB
Robin is the Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) and the Accounting Officer of the CSC.
Robin is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) at the University of Birmingham and is responsible for all aspects of the university’s global engagement. He is also the executive lead for LGBT+ equality in the University. He has held senior leadership positions in higher education since 2006 and has been a member of the executive board of two UK Russell Group universities. As Chair, Robin is responsible for ensuring the CSC makes good decisions (consistent with UK Government priorities) and for ensuring the Commission develops and implements an effective strategy. Robin is firmly committed to the mission of the CSC – to provide opportunities for talented and motivated young people who could not otherwise afford them – having himself been educated from the age of 11 thanks entirely to scholarships.
Robin’s academic research concentrates on the incentives faced by economic agents in situations where they have imperfect information about their environment. Formally, his area is game theory with incomplete information and learning. He is a decision-making Member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Financial Conduct Authority. He has acted as advisor to a number of regulators, in both the UK and internationally; to the Prime Minister of Mauritius on competition policy; and to a number of private-sector companies worldwide.
Professor Tim Soutphommasane
Tim Soutphommasane is Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Oxford and Professor of Practice in Human Rights and Political Theory in the Department of Politics and International Relations. In addition to his fellowship at Balliol College he holds a professorial appointment at the University of Sydney. He was previously Director of Culture Strategy at the University of Sydney (2019−2022) and Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner (2013−2018). As Commissioner, he led Australia’s national efforts in combatting racial discrimination during a period of extensive debate about race, human rights and freedom of speech. His work and commentary have featured in outlets including the New York Times, CNN, BBC, Financial Times, The Guardian, New Statesman, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian. He has supported numerous international organisations with culture change relating to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Tim is a 2004 Commonwealth Scholar from Australia. He completed an MPhil Politics (Political Theory) at the University of Oxford.
The pronunciation of Tim’s surname: the phonetic spelling of it is Soot-pom-ma-sarn.
Dr Lin Cherurbai Sambili-Gicheha
Dr Lin Cherurbai Sambili-Gicheha is an Advisor, Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) at the Commonwealth Secretariat. In her role, Lin actively contributes to the research, design and development of practical, sport-based interventions and policies that promote sustainable peace, build resilient communities and create safe inclusive spaces for individuals at risk of radicalisation into violent extremism. Over the last 10 years, she has worked with various local and international development organisations to promote the viability of sport, Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) and other locally empowering approaches (LEAs) to strengthen engagement in and delivery of capacity building initiatives. She is committed to enhancing the integration of sport prevent and counter terrorism, and the conditions conducive to its spread, in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.
Lin is a 2016 Commonwealth Scholar from Kenya. She completed a PhD in The Role of Sport in Preventing Radicalisation of At Risk Youth in Kenya at Loughborough University.
In 2021, she delivered a CSC Development in Action webinar on, ‘Youth, sport and cultural interventions in preventing violent extremism’. Watch the webinar here.
