Impact Story I — Impact of a Technology backed Alumni Network

Inspiring stories of Impact through active alumni engagement keep us going from one milestone to another.

We want to cherish and celebrate each one of these stories through our Impact Story Series where will talk about the inspiring change Alumni Engagement is bringing about in the networks powered by Vaave and in the larger educational space.

Here goes our Impact Story 1!

According to this report, India has around 14 lakh educational institutes that broadly range from primary schools to Universities.

Lakhs of students pass out of these educational institutes every year. In this rushed pace of life, the educational Institutes find it hard to keep track of their alumni and also the alumni find it hard to stay abreast of the latest happenings at their alma maters.

The power of technology has percolated to every aspect of human life across the globe. Social media has transformed how people interact with one another. In spite of such commendable achievements, the web world and technology remain neglected when it comes to Alumni Networking.

Some Educational Institutes identified the potential of technology and how it could effectively fill in the glaring gaps in Alumni Engagement.

Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology(SMIT) is one of them. SMIT had been engaging with their Alumni in an unstructured way until last year, when at the behest of some active alumni, students and management, they decided to build a formal Alumni Association. The SMIT Alumni Association was formed and the institute also signed up with Vaave to launch their exclusive and endorsed Alumni Network.

In 2016, their Alumni Engagement has taken a completely different turn courtesy the efforts put in by the association. Pushpak Chakraborthy, an alumnus of SMIT has penned down the transformative journey of SMIT Alumni Community in the last one year and how it has deeply impacted their lives.

Below are some excerpts from Pushpak’s article:

• Increased Exposure to the world beyond College : The students at SMIT felt the absence of real world exposure to the corporate life that lay ahead of them. Coming together of SMIT Alumni opened the doors for them to understand the corporate world through the experiences of their own seniors and alumni of SMIT.
• Students felt Inspired and Connected to their Alumni: The end of college days brings about a sense of unprecedented uncertainty to students, as to what career one should pursue or which stream of higher education to take up and so on. This is best alleviated by the alumni interacting with students and educating them about their own journeys post college. SMIT Alumni Association’s — ‘Alumni Success Stories’ initiative did just that. It gave the students a starting point to where they could start off from after college. Taking up challenges did not seem so daunting after learning that one of theirs own had already done that.
• Extensive Mentoring Support : The Alumni Success Stories Initiative was so successful that it led to organizing TEDx SMIT in which, the Alumni went back to SMIT and addressed their students and shared their stories with them. This further acted as a launchpad to promoting an active mentoring culture at SMIT.
• Learnt about Job Trends and Industry Requirements : With the help of the jobs posted on the Alumni Network,students were able to understand the trending jobs in the market and the necessary skill sets required. This aspect made the students job ready.
• Found Employment Opportunities : Students directly benefited from the job opportunities shared by their Alumni on the Alumni Network. Some more students who found mentors in their Alumni found unconventional jobs and jobs that suit their passions, which would have not been possible otherwise. Alumni helped their juniors and peers find their calling and also helped them pursue it.
• A feeling of belongingness in a vibrant and helpful Community : Amongst all the benefits that came out of their Alumni Network, the one that stands out is — Alumni Community Building. He says SMIT Alumni are today a closely knit group of people ever ready to help one another. There is a shared feeling of togetherness that’s being nurtured and enriched every day by the active participation of SMIT Management, Alumni and Students.

These accomplishments of SMIT are due to the focussed and dedicated work of all the stakeholders (students, management and the alumni). Vaave facilitated and supported their efforts to bring them to fruition through a dedicated Success Manager and an exclusive Alumni Network with features so comprehensive that they could handle all their operations through the network. SMIT Alumni Network makes a strong case for what human efforts combined with smart technology can achieve and how a thriving alumni network benefits all the stakeholders of the Institute.

Please find Pushpak Chakraborthy’s original article here — How Our Alumni Network Changed Our Lives