Building on fundraising, partnership development and strategic communications experience in the think tank and foundation sectors, Carsten moved into higher education development in 2015 working at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Queen Mary University London and currently the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. 

At LSE, Carsten worked with HNWIs, foundations and corporates. Their funding enabled research, scholarships, infrastructure investment and public engagement, including the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa created with a ten-million-pound endowment. In its first 18 months, Carsten helped to establish the new institute as a multidisciplinary hub for research and policy engagement. He helped to raise almost twenty million pounds in philanthropic support and over six million in research council funding. 

At Queen Mary, in time for the launch of the university’s Strategy 2030, Carsten oversaw the rebuilding of a fundraising team for this Russell Group member and lobbied for a stronger alumni relations and fundraising function across the organisation. At Frankfurt School, as development director, he is overseeing the launch of a fundraising strategy in line with the ambition of this top-ranked, fast-growing business school. Previously, Carsten worked at the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. 

Having studied political science, law and political economy at the Free University Berlin and in Würzburg, Carsten also holds a M.A. in International Studies (Asia-Pacific) from the University of Birmingham (2006) and a M.Sc. in International Development (Africa) from LSE (2018). He continues his research in cross-border giving and the role of philanthropy in higher education, research and think tanks.

Realising that education is the key to change led Caroline Mattingley-Scott to fundraising. After initially working for the UNESCO project "Education for Children in Need", she soon became Director of the German foundation United World Colleges (UWC). Thereafter, Caroline successfully helped to set up and establish the first fundraising departments at the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. She has been head of fundraising at the University of Basel for ten years now. 

After studying education at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Caroline originally worked for several years in the private sector as a public relations consultant and as a marketing and sales manager before discovering her passion for people and philanthropy. She is involved in the network of Swiss university fundraisers, supports the German fundraising association in setting up a working group for research and higher education and is an enthusiastic participant and supporter of CASE. It is particularly important to her to help shape the professionalization of European university fundraising and to strengthen the exchange and cohesion among colleagues.

Mehrnoosh Rayner is Head of Alumni Relations at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) - an intergovernmental life science institute located across six sites in Europe and supported by more than 27 countries including the UK.  

She has developed and grown EMBL Alumni Relations in the last 19 years from a project to a programme that plays a central, strategic role in the delivery of EMBL’s mission to support life sciences in Europe and beyond. She has also helped newer life science institutes establish their own Alumni Relations programmes - an area she is eager to grow. 

Mehrnoosh has worked in higher education for over 25 years, managing stakeholder relations, building programmes and overseeing conferences, events, publications and data. 

Prior to joining EMBL, Mehrnoosh worked at the University of Edinburgh, where she graduated with an MA Honours degree and was later awarded a PhD. 

Mehrnoosh is a member of CASE Europe Council. 

Martine Torfs, Head of the Alumni Office at the KU Leuven Fundraising and Alumni Relations Office, is responsible for engaging the worldwide alumni network. The Alumni Office's mission is to build and support the global community of KU Leuven alumni, advising and implementing strategies for alumni relations in close collaboration with Faculties and alumni associations. With a past experience in implementing the university's internationalisation strategy at the International Office, Martine is passionate about aligning alumni programmes and internationalization strategies and engaging stakeholders globally for their Alma Mater.