Hi all,
As September marks the end of my first year as President of the º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Alumni Association I wanted to personally update you on the work we’ve been doing over the last year and the plans we have for the future.
Before that though I want to extend a warm welcome to our new graduates - the moment you stepped off that stage with your degree you joined an alumni community of over 200,000 people worldwide.
It is my privilege as your President to speak with alumni from across the world, from every kind of background, with every skillset you can imagine but each with the bond that our time at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has forged in us all.
To us, graduation is just the end of chapter one of your º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ story.
The rest is still to be written.
As the University’s new strategy, named Creating Better Futures. Together, continues to be rolled out, the Alumni Advisory Board has played a key role in helping to shape a number of core plans on topics as broad as internationalisation and how the University approaches equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The creation of these core plans, which impact every aspect of the University, offer the alumni community a unique opportunity to strengthen the relationship between us and º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, giving us a chance to offer our expertise and advocacy like never before.
We’ve had a presence on the Vice-Chancellor’s international trips (namely to India and USA) throughout the year and we’re also appointing Board champions who will liaise directly with the University in their area of expertise, be that sustainability, enterprise, sport and wellbeing or others.
To that end, this year the Board and its constitution is evolving to meet ever-changing needs and to take advantage of upcoming opportunities to enhance the visibility and accessibility of our alumni.
Central to this will be a forthcoming alumni strategy with a single truth at its core: that the connection between alumni and º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ should be mutually beneficial and life-long.
Because your relationship with º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ shouldn’t end with graduation.
We’re going to come up with new and interesting ways you can volunteer your time and expertise with the University whilst also developing a menu of support º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ can offer your career and life aspirations.
What that means to each of us will be something different.
To some it could be access to the University library to keep up-to-date with the latest research in your area, to others it could mean discounts on courses that could benefit your career, or it could even be help to start that business you’ve always wanted to.
There are huge possibilities.
We’re working on it right now and your thoughts are always welcome.
So, there we have it: lots done, lots to do, and hopefully lots you can be involved in too.
I look forward to being able to share more with you some point soon.
All the best,
Luke
Dr Luke Stott, President of the Alumni Association.
You can find out more about the activities of the Alumni Advisory Board in our year in review, and check out the results of the recent elections, too!