The word ‘resilience’ has come a long way since it first appeared in the English language in the early 17th century* (from the Latin resilire, meaning to rebound or recoil). In recent years, its positivity and strength has been embraced by everyone from academics and civil servants to business advisers and psychologists.  

Join us in Cambridge this September and we will explore this useful term from different and thought-provoking angles.  

Over four days you will enjoy presentations from speakers hailing from differing backgrounds and partake in fine dining and hospitality in a city rich in history and culture. 

As a delegate, you’ll also have opportunity to take part in Q&As with our speakers that frequently spill over into fascinating conversations with other attendees. 

Cambridge celebration: meet our speakers 

This year we are celebrating 43 years of bringing you the very best speakers at Mensa intellectual conferences at the University of Cambridge. To date, we have featured more than 300 talks. 

This year’s speakers bring a wealth of expertise and experience, which they will share with you as we navigate the theme of resilience. 

Paola Diana is a British/Italian author, businesswoman and women’s rights campaigner who will be answering the question, ‘Do we still need feminism?’  

Noel McHugh will speak about the National Crime Agency’s fight to cut serious and organised crime. 

Stewart Hill, Lt. Col (Rtd), will focus on mental health, drawing on his own experience of living with a brain injury. 

Senior digital consultant, Florine Zhao, helps international companies adapt their digital strategies to the Chinese market, and will explore the equilibrium between inadequate and excessive resilience.  

Ian Dowson, a specialist in the strategic implications of innovation, will discuss resilience in systems.  

Dr Peter Grant, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Bayes Business School, will explore resilience in charitable giving.  

Dr Alan Punter, financial expert, author and long-distance trekker, will explain what we can learn from financial catastrophes.  

Professor Emma Edhem, an Alderman of the City of London Corporation, brings a wealth of experience from a variety of fascinating roles. 

Peter D Aldcroft-Colling, information security analyst, will discuss considerations and tools that we can use to prevent or reduce levels of risk. 

Lt General Sir Graeme Lamb, former Director of the UK’s Special Forces, explores communication in its varied forms, and being heard.