At the end of January, we organised digital sessions on two evenings for alumni who were invited via LinkedIn. Over both evenings, we talked to nine alumni. There was a good variety in the graduation years of these alumni (see overview below).
The aim of these sessions was to explore what alumni expect of us as a School after they graduate, to analyse how they experienced their time at the School. We also enquired after what they missed during their studies, and what contributions they could and would like to make as alumni after graduation.
Main conclusions
In these conversations with our alumni we've discussed many different topics and themes. You can read our main conclusions, based on what they told us, down below.
Perceived connection and contact with the faculty
Our alumni feel good about their time as a student at ESHPM/iBMG/SAG and still feel a connection with the faculty. They feel a stronger bond with the School than with EUR as a university. This is partly due to the small scale of the School, so communication with lecturers feels very accessible. This bond with ESHPM is also expressed in the fact that the alumni are interested in events organised by the faculty and like to contribute/help.
The alumni say that they mainly have work-related contact with the faculty, for example when they have interns from ESHPM. Many alumni also follow contributions by (researchers from) ESHPM on LinkedIn, and they regularly meet other ESHPM graduates in the work field.
Some alumni also regularly meet up with their former classmates, and all alumni were fimiliar with the alumni association ESHPMa.
Points for improvement to the study programme/transition to alumn
In general, the alumni valued the fact that the bachelor programme is quite broad. Occasionally, a former student said they missed specialisation in the bachelor programme. Some subjects were addressed in the programme, but this did not provide enough basis to access some master programmes.
Another point was that it would be nice if future alumni were better informed about any support they are entitled to as recent alumn.
Role of alumni
The participating alumni certainly think that experiences from the work field could support education at ESHPM. In practice, they also come across things that could be useful as lecture material. Alumni could play a role in this alignment of theory and practice. Sometimes, alumni still experience a gap between this theory and practice, for example in the internships and related theses. What is most useful for practice may not always be experienced in that way by the university.
Guest lectures could also help bring alumni and the work field closer to the students. Alumni are also interested in facilitating practical assignments for students, like business cases. Businesses also need university students. There is also an interest in creating a think tank.
Needs of alumni
The alumni say that they particularly want contact moments with other alumni and to be kept informed about developments at ESHPM. Lectures are also mentioned: it would be nice to attend lectures again.
There is no need for longer access to university services like literature or computer programmes. These are often also made available by the employer.
Post academic education
EUR is certainly regarded as a good option for post academic education. Some see this as the logical first place to look; for others, EUR is one of many options.
Interesting themes mentioned for post academic education are governance structures and strategic issues.
Interesting and informative sessions
The sessions proved very interesting and informative, and we certainly gained insights which will benefit our activities in the coming year. However, we realise that we only spoke to a very small group of alumni and that they do not reflect our entire alumni population.
Graduation years of the alumni we spoke with; 1986: 1x, 1997: 1x, 2001: 1x, 2006: 1x, 2011: 1x, 2017: 1x, 2020: 1x, 2021: 2x.