King's College London

Hosted by King’s Cultural Competency, based in the Department for Interdisciplinary Humanities, in collaboration with the International, Engagement and Service Directorate (IES), the event honoured staff members who completed the Cultural Competency Programme for Staff.

The event opened with a welcome from Dr Shuangyu Li, Director of King’s Cultural Competency, and Dr Kyriaki Koukouraki, Lecturer in EAP and Cultural Competency Education. Dr Li highlighted the programme’s journey, having engaged more than 7,700 students in broadening perspectives and deepening cultural awareness.

Turning the focus to staff engagement, Dr Koukouraki recognised the 400+ colleagues who have enrolled on the Cultural Competency Programme for Staff, including those who achieved Gold Certification. Dr Koukouraki has also delivered seven staff workshops with five more planned, reinforcing cultural competency as an integral part of professional practice at King’s.

Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President of IES, delivered an inspiring talk, drawing on her extensive United Nations experience. She emphasised that cultural competency must go beyond theory – it must become a way of thinking and engaging, especially in leadership and global governance. She stressed that diversity alone is not enough – true competency requires self-awareness, empathy, and the courage to listen and adapt.

The event continued with an open mic discussion, where attendees explored strategies to sustain and expand cultural competency at King’s. Key themes included strengthening the Cultural Competency Champions Network, fostering mentorship, and developing innovative ways to engage students.

A key takeaway was the Champions Network’s pivotal role in facilitating ongoing dialogue and collaboration. Attendees highlighted the need to sustain this network, drawing on the expertise of Champions to embed lasting change across faculties and departments

Learn more about Cultural Competency or get in touch on cultural.competency@kcl.ac.uk.