INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY BREMEN

German Academic Exchange Service fosters IUB’s Alumni work

   

Within their “Alumni-Plus” program, the German Academic Exchange Service (GAES, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) granted 28.000 Euros to the work of IUB’s Alumni Association. Measures to further develop the alumni service will be supported over a two-year period. The main deciding factors for the grant were the coherent overall concept of IUB’s Alumni work as well as the already accomplished input by the university and the association, the quality and viability of the projects, the networking with other universities, and the opportunities for alumni participation in the governing of the association.

[ Sep 18, 2006] 
This year’s campaign “Alumni-Plus” of the GAES was the first of its kind and is financed by the German Foreign Office. The aim of the project is to promote and further develop relations with educational and scientific elites worldwide in order to make Germany a more attractive educational and research site as well as to foster general international cooperation in science and economy.

“Our Alumni, recruited from the more than 85 different countries currently living and studying on campus, are the best ambassadors for Germany”, sais IUB President Joachim Treusch. “Moreover, they are the best reference and confirmation of our educational profile. In the long run, they will form an important network and a source of support for IUB beyond Germany. Hence, a functioning Alumni network is an integral part of the IUB community we intend to strengthen to the best of our capabilities. The GAES grant is a confirmation that our alumni work is on the right path to success”, Treusch adds.

IUB’s alumni projects serve the purpose of collecting data encompassing the whereabouts and career developments of the students graduating from IUB. “Uncomplicated and efficient global communication is the key to a sustainable alumni network”, sais Hagen Böttcher, IUB Alumni Officer since June 2006 and an IUB alumnus himself. “At the moment we therefore focus on developing a versatile and user-friendly online communication portal which our alumni can use to exchange information any place and any time via a databank containing current contact details and international job postings. Also an info-magazine is being created as a communication tool within and outside the alumni community.”

Currently, about three quarters of the IUB alumni live outside Germany. Larger groups can be found in Amsterdam, Aalborg, New York and London (Cambridge, London, Oxford). The IUB Alumni Association was founded as a registered association in 2004 and presently has about 500 members. 85% of IUB’s graduated students have decided to become members of the association. The work of the association is financed by IUB and receives organizational support by IUB's alumni office and various other IUB departments. The Alumni Association’s long term goal though is to fully sustain themselves independently through donations and member contributions.

 


Author: Kristin Beck. Last updated on 18.09.2006. © 2006 International University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen. All rights reserved. No unauthorized reproduction. http://www.iu-bremen.de. For all general inquiries, please call IUB at +49 421 200-40 or mail to iub@iu-bremen.de.