Student Sponsored Places

Winners for 2025 announced!

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Rowena Macrae-Gibson Student Award for 2025. Murtaza Fakhri and Robin will be joining us at LILAC 2025.

Murtaza Fakhri Abizer

Murtaza Fakhri is an educator and a librarian at Al-Jamea tus Saifiyah (Arabic academy) situated in India. He graduated from the same academy in 2017, majoring in Islamic studies and Arabic language. His passion for libraries and teaching has led him to the UK, where he currently pursues a master’s degree in library and information science at UCL.

Robin Wilson

After a career in teaching, Robin became a library adviser at the University of Nottingham in 2022, where he developed a keen interest for library services and first came across the concept of information literacy. He is currently pursuing an MA in Library and Information Services Management at the University of Sheffield, balancing study with his professional role.

The award (named in honour of former Information Literacy Group Vice Chair Rowena Macrae-Gibson) entitles two students to attend LILAC. The award includes a full conference place, including networking evening and conference dinner, and UK reasonable travel and accommodation expenses up to the value of £250. The award is aimed at newly qualifying professionals. We welcome applications from full-time or part-time students (including distance-learners) registered for a UK-based first degree or taught postgraduate qualification in information/library studies or information literacy (IL). It is not essential that applicants are current members of CILIP or its Information Literacy Group.

To apply applicants must write a statement as detailed below

Write a reflection on what inspired your interest in Information Literacy. Perhaps a teacher, lecturer or colleague sparked you to think about the importance of IL; maybe a book or journal article you read stimulated your interest; did you attend a particular IL workshop, talk or webinar, or perhaps you were inspired by the users of the library where you worked, or your own experiences as a library user? How do you see yourself as part of the future of IL? We are looking for a personal and individual piece of writing that reflects your own experience (Maximum 500 words).

To apply you will need to register as a member, or if you have already registered, just login to your account using the link at the top of the page. Once logged in to your account, scroll  down to the awards section and select 'apply now' to complete your application. Winners will be notified mid to late march.

Applications are now closed.