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The Common Room | Bengaluru
The Common Room | Bengaluru

Fri, 17 Apr

|

Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks

The Common Room | Bengaluru

Networking Passes Available!

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Time & Location

17 Apr 2026, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm IST

Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks, off Intermediate Ring Road, Embassy Golf Links Business Park, Challaghatta, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560071, India

About the event



Mark your calendar for an evening of connections and community! Join us at 'The Common Room' on 17th April 2026, where you meet those with shared experiences. An evening where alumni from UK universities discuss their journeys, what they are building and learning.


What is The Common Room event about?


The Common Room | Bengaluru is an easy, conversation first networking evening for alumni of UK universities - designed to help attendees meet naturally, without the pressure to “pitch”, and to leave having made at least one meaningful connection. The event is taking place on Friday, 17th April 2026 (5:30–8:00 pm IST) at Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks.


What makes this event distinctive is the mix of community and insight: you will hear short, practical reflections from featured alumni Ravi Sinha (go-to-market and digital transformation) and Varsha Rao (designing and branding), alongside the Bengaluru City Hosts, Shalika Sharma and Kiran K Addala, who’ll help anchor the room and introductions. The evening stays relaxed and social while still being high-signal.


Why should you attend?


The event is designed to give you two things most professional events promise but rarely deliver: genuine connections and useful perspective - in a room of people who share the common language of a UK education and the lived reality of building careers in India. The format is deliberately relaxed and conversation led, so you can meet people naturally (without the pressure to “pitch”), and still leave with fresh ideas from featured alumni whose work spans leadership, technology and go-to-market strategies.


  • The event is explicitly built around real conversations that can turn into collaborations, friendships, or simply valuable peer learning.

  • Cross-sector insights you can actually use. Short reflections from the featured alumni are grounded in what they are building and learning - useful whether you are in corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, policy, education, or technology.

  • A strong peer room which is a UK-university alumni gathering, so you are meeting people with shared experiences but diverse industries - ideal for referrals, hiring, partnerships, and perspective.


How could this event benefit you?


  • Warm introductions that lead to outcomes: meet someone who can introduce you to a hiring manager, a founder, an investor, a policy stakeholder, a client, or a collaborator - faster than cold outreach ever will.

  • Hiring and career opportunities: discover roles before they are public, get referrals, find strong collaborations, or identify advisers through trusted peer networks.

  • Business development and partnerships: spot partnership fit (distribution, marketing, pilots, institutional tie-ups) through conversation, then take it forward with a follow-up call.

  • Industry intelligence you can act on: learn what is changing in adjacent sectors (skills, education, consumer tech, policy, marketing, AI services) and how leaders are responding - useful for strategy and risk awareness.

  • Credibility by association: being part of an active, curated alumni room strengthens your professional presence - especially when you stay visible through follow-ups and future community participation.

  • Mentorship exchanges (both directions): find a mentor for a specific challenge, or meet someone you can mentor - both create long-term professional compounding.

  • A reliable “relationship pipeline”: leave with 3–5 contacts you can genuinely reconnect with over the next quarter - creating a pipeline for opportunities, not just a one-off chat.


Join us for an unforgettable evening, to learn, to share your ideas, or just to meet interesting people. It is the kind of place where you feel belonged.


Featured Alumni & City Hosts joining for 'The Common Room'.

Ravi Sinha - Featured Alumnus

Ravi is a hands-on technology and go-to-market leader integrating AI with enterprise software, helping organisations extend legacy ERP applications near real transactions. Based in Bengaluru, he leads India GTM and alliances at Onfinity, shaping AI use cases across supply chain, finance, HR and sales. Earlier, he built supply-chain planning IP at SAP and delivered transformation programmes across Europe and the Middle East; he also co-founded LocalPay, a payments start-up that won the LBS–Deloitte Founder Award.


Ravi holds an MBA from London Business School, an engineering degree from BIT Sindri, and a US patent in constrained sourcing and demand forecasting.

Varsha Rao - Featured Alumna

Varsha is a brand strategist and creative leader, and Partner at Project 1.6, where she leads visual identity and extended brand programmes for purposeful organisations across sectors. A graduate of the University of the Arts London (Fashion Management), she works closely with legacy businesses and mid-sized B2B brands at inflection points - when growth stalls, differentiation fades, or teams need cohesion - helping them unlock brand power as a durable competitive advantage.


Varsha partners with founders, CMOs and brand heads to build distinctive presence, long-term equity, and consistency across touchpoints, including repositioning for the next decade of growth, and runs workshops decoding cultural and tech shifts.

Shalika Sharma - City Host, Bengaluru

Shalika is an alumna of the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. She brings over 13 years of experience in the luxury industry, with expertise in brand building, strategic positioning, business strategy, events, and 360-degree marketing. Her work spans sectors including apparel, jewellery, fragrance, beauty, homes, and travel.


Shalika has played key roles in building brand visibility and forging partnerships for clients across India and international markets such as the UAE, the UK, and the USA. Combining global exposure with creative insights. Shalika is your city host in Bengaluru.

Kiran K Addala - City Host, Bengaluru

Kiran is an alumnus of University of Sunderland, currently working in real estate deals advisory and consulting services firm catering to HNI, UHNIs & Family offices. He has been instrumental in launching European SMEs into India. Kiran is also a board member and investor in companies, where he leverages his expertise and entrepreneurship to help them expand their international presence and grow their revenue.


Kiran graduated with MSc in Engineering Management from University of Sunderland in 2006. He is passionate about creating & nurturing partnerships and achieving business targets. Kiran is your city host for Bengaluru.


Network with a selection of beverages for INR 1,000 + taxes (partially sponsored, reduced from ₹ 1,600).


Networking Pass fee includes

  • A Pint of Beer or a Glass of Wine or a mocktail (from the selection) or a hot beverage (from the selection)

  • Appetisers (options between veg. and non-veg.)

  • Name Badges


Terms and Conditions

  • Networking Pass is mandatory to attend this event.

  • Please carry a valid ID proof with you.

  • Images and Videos taken of the guests during the event will be used for public relations or publicity purposes, as well as on our website. If you are not comfortable with the same, please inform us at the start of the event.

  • Security procedures remain the right of the organisers/management.

  • If you are attending the event with a plus one, please make sure you take their full responsibility. Please bring a plus one guest only if they are your significant other, family member or a very close friend.

  • The sponsors/hosts/organisers are not responsible for any injury or damages occurring due to the event.

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