

Sat, 28 Mar
|The Connaught, New Delhi
The Common Room | Delhi
Networking Passes Available!
Time & Location
28 Mar 2026, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm IST
The Connaught, New Delhi, 37, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg, Shivaji Stadium, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Delhi 110001, India
About the event
Mark your calendar for an evening of connections and community! Join us at 'The Common Room' on 28th March 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 | Delhi 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 Saturday, 28 March 2026 (5:00–8:00 pm IST) at The Connaught - IHCL SeleQtions, New Delhi.
What makes this event distinctive is the mix of community and insight: you will hear short, practical reflections from featured alumni Siddharth Banerjee (consumer-tech/EdTech leadership) and Jayant Krishna (skills, technology, public policy and employability), alongside the Delhi City Host Somdutta Sarkar, 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 consumer-tech/EdTech leadership, technology and public policy.
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, co-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, 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.
City Host & Featured Alumni joining for 'The Common Room'.
Siddharth Banerjee - Featured Alumnus
Siddharth Banerjee is a leading consumer-tech CEO with 25 years of global experience across Fortune 500 brands (Unilever, Vodafone, Facebook) and India’s internet start-up ecosystem (Univo Education, Games24x7). He is CEO and Board Member at Univo, after serving as Managing Director and SVP at Pearson, driving digital transformation across higher education in India and Asia. Previously, as CRO and Global CMO at Games24x7, he helped scale the company into India’s 99th unicorn, and led key commercial roles at Facebook India and Vodafone across Asia–Africa.
Siddharth is a Chevening Fellow, Oxford University, he is also a bestselling author, investor, and mentor.
Jayant Krishna - Featured Alumnus
Jayant Krishna is a distinguished leader in skill development, technology and public policy, with 40 years of experience across industry, government, non-profits and think tanks. As CEO and ED & COO of the National Skill Development Corporation, he helped shape the Skill India Mission, including the rollout of PMKVY and
major apprenticeship reforms, and contributed to the National Skills Qualification Framework. He has held senior roles at TCS, led UK–India Business Council as Group CEO, and now serves as Senior Fellow and Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at CSIS.
Jayant is a Chevening Scholar, University of Leeds, he is a Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award recipient, prolific author and sought-after speaker.
Somdutta Sarkar - City Host (2026), Delhi
Somdutta is an alumna of the University of Leeds. She leads marketing across India and South Asia in the Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) sector. Working in a traditionally B2B space, she is currently experimenting with sharper, more human B2B2C communication design to improve clarity and engagement.
Her career spans private enterprise, public institutions, semi-government organisations and the non-profit ecosystem, giving her a practical, cross-sector view. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion. Somdutta is your city host for Delhi.
Network with a selection of beverages for INR 1,000 + taxes.
Networking Pass fee includes
2 Pints of Beer or 2 Glasses Wine or 2 Cocktails (from the selection) or 2 Mocktails (from the selection)
Nibbles
Access to a Discounted Food Menu
Name Badges
Terms and Conditions
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.



























