Alumni Matters 2013: What Alumni Want

30 January 2014

During the latter half of 2013, Nottingham University Business School participated in an international research survey called ‘Alumni Matters’ which examines what alumni want and expect from the relationship with their business school.

The research was conducted by specialist University and Business School marketing agency CarringtonCrisp, in partnership with the Association of Business Schools and European Foundation for Management Development, using an online questionnaire.

The survey not only sought the views of current alumni but was also open to those in their final year of study to understand their awareness of alumni relations and expectations of the services that might be provided.

We would like to thank all those who participated in the survey which has provided us with invaluable information on what you want from alumni relations, how you would like us to communicate with you, and how you might be able to best support the school. This information will help us to make sure we provide you with the benefits and services you most value.

Below is a summary of the main survey results and the actions we are taking to address your current and future needs.

Your experience

The table below shows your responses to a series of statements asking about your experience of Nottingham University Business School:

Connections and communication

What you told us:

The most often used route to keep in touch with the School is through the Alumni Relations team although some of you said that you are not in touch with the School at all. Almost of half of you expect to hear from the School on a regular basis via an electronic newsletter and through postings on social media sites. Around a third of you still expect an annual alumni magazine. The alumni website is not widely used and some of you were not even aware it existed. Only one in six of you are involved with a local alumni network and some of you don’t have access to a network where you live.

What we’re doing:

To get maximum benefit from our full range of services and to track down old classmates you may have lost touch with, we recommend you register online. You can also stay in touch with the School and other alumni through our exclusive and very active social media groups LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter or contact us at our dedicated alumni e-mail address businessalumni@nottingham.ac.uk. Our LinkedIn group is especially popular as a way of staying in touch and making professional connections. It currently has a membership in excess of 2700 and there are also several specialist sub-groups you could join such as MBA, CSR, and new sub-groups for Cyprus and India. For all the latest news, developments and events check out the Business alumni website where you can also find details of local alumni networks right across the world. Last year we introduced a bi-monthly electronic newsletter featuring stories and events from all three of our campuses in China, Malaysia and the UK. A new edition of the printed Nubiz magazine will also be circulated in March/April. Get in touch and share your news with the NUBS alumni community, we would love to hear from you.

Purpose and benefits of the alumni community

What you told us:

Over a third of you told us that the main role of alumni relations should be to facilitate collaboration and networking, particularly to build a network that supports your career/business. You also told us that we need to improve provision and networking opportunities for international alumni in particular.

What we’re doing:

We have been working hard to build effective alumni networks, particularly internationally. Our campuses in China and Malaysia have facilitated an active alumni community with many events and reunions regularly taking place. A Business School networking event is taking place in Kuala Lumpur on 1st March. In India, the Business School has alumni coordinators in regional centres across the country and a major Pan-Indian event is currently being explored to take place later in the year. A new exclusive Indian alumni LinkedIn group was set up in September and an active Facebook group already exists. New networks were recently established in Romania and Cyprus. The inaugural meeting of the Romanian network was held in December and the Cyprus group will meet in May or June but have now set up both a LinkedIn and Facebook site. We are also looking to set up Business School networks in Hong Kong and closer to home in the London area where a significant proportion of UK based alumni live and work.

In 2013 we held over 30 Business School alumni events including networking, reunions, business speaker seminars, community events, and visits. These were held in cities around the world e.g. Nottingham, London, New York, Hong Kong, New Delhi and Bucharest. Our Business Leaders Series attracted high profile industry figures from organisations such as Tesco, Ford, and Paul Smith Ltd. In November we organised the landmark alumni event ‘Celebrating Business Excellence’ to mark the 25 year anniversary of MBA education at Nottingham which fused topical business sessions with an evening reunion dinner. Planned for 2014 are networking events in the UK, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Cyprus and India as well as leading industry and academic speakers as part of the Business Leaders Series and other business seminars due to be held in for example Nottingham, London and Singapore.

Support

What you told us:

Most of you said that you either have or would be willing to support the School by offering professional experience/knowledge, being a speaker at an event, mentoring a current student, providing internships and projects, or acting as an ambassador to promote the School. In terms of specific support you would like from the Business School you told us that amongst the most valuable alumni benefits are good career services and support, speaker events, access to library services and research papers, and continued learning opportunities.

What we’re doing:

The Business School is fortunate to have its own Postgraduate Careers Team who provide a wide range of services to help individuals build their career and professional networks. More information is available on their website and blog, and the next edition of the Nubiz magazine will contain a major careers feature. We often plan and organise joint events with the Careers Team and our aim is to incorporate a career dimension wherever appropriate into future alumni events. The University will be introducing a new e-Mentoring initiative later this year that will enable alumni to provide career mentoring to current students, regardless of where they are located. The Business School will be an active partner in encouraging uptake of the new software and we hope our alumni community will get involved.

Business Source Alumni Edition is a high quality business database that provides over 1500 full text business magazines and journals including publications in nearly every area of business. Business School alumni have free access through the alumni website. Our alumni can also consult the University’s OnLine Catalogue UNLOC, to see what is held within the University library system and access a limited set of free resources or borrow items for a small fee.

Please get in touch with us if you or your organisation would like to get more involved with the Business School. We welcome your knowledge and expertise.