Are your graduates alumni-ready?

Learning from the CASE Europe conference

Dear Friends,This week I attended the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Europe conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. The sun shone and this added extra sparkle to my first ever book signing at the event!I also had the privilege to moderate an incredible panel including Janneke Hermans (TU Delft, The Netherlands), James Davis (Birkbeck, University of London) and Johana Canda-Fiserova (Aluminati and former President of UCLA Alumni Association).What an energetic session! What DO alumni-ready graduates look like and how can institutions support them? At the end I presented this simple READY acronym to offer some practical tips:R - Relatable role models should be top of mind in all key alumni-ready activityE - Education on networking – this is not an innate skill (or often seen as an enjoyable one!). Demystify it with confidence building opportunities to try out networking in safe spaces (including informational interviews with alumni!)A - Advocate for an Alum from Day One approach to create alumni-awareness (and networking) earlyD - Develop relationships internally across campus - Map out the key personnel and offices that can support student-alumni transitionsY - You are the conductor not the orchestra! By the enabler – not just the creator! - of incredible music happening involving all parts of the institution!Your challenge this week:For alumni-facing professionals: How do you create alumni-ready graduates? Consider what alumni-ready means in your institution and how it aligns to your institution’s mission and strategy (and most importantly how it might impact your graduates.For students and alumni: Consider three things out of your comfort zone that you are going to do this month (it’s a new month!) to become alumni-ready – ready to take on the world!I am always eager to speak about alumni readiness – that was the impetus for writing The Alumni Way in the first place! Do you want to explore the Next Generation Networking workshop or an inspirational speaking engagement as an alumni readiness event? Feel free to book some time to discuss with me here.Yours with alumni inspiration,Maria

Quote from the book

"I am always surprised that a handshake and parchment satisfy most graduates who merrily start life in the real world. Why don’t graduates ask, is that all?"The Alumni Way, p. 25

Photo below: Book signing at the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Europe conference in Edinburgh, Scotland