Getting Involved: Alumni Support
We value our alumni involvement. Your knowledge and expertise are tremendous assets that can benefit the College. Every alumni who participates strengthens the RHUL community. There are many ways that you can keep in touch with the College from helping to recruit UK and international students through to mentoring. Volunteering opportunities can be virtual, regional, and on campus - you can be involved wherever you live!
Why should you volunteer?
Many alumni give their support because their time here left a positive impression on them, which they are proud of. Volunteering is a way to give back - it offers you the benefit of:
- helping to create community awareness of RHUL academic programmes
- developing your personal and professional development skills and enhancing you CV
- meeting fellow RHUL alumni and making new friends
- having some fun!
What ways can I volunteer?
The Alumni Office would be delighted to hear from you if you are interested in any of the volunteering opportunities. Please complete the volunteering profile form and we will be in contact with you.
Helping to Recruit Students
Attracting and recruiting UK and international students is one of the College’s key strategic objectives. Alumni involvement in recruitment can really help increase RHUL’s brand awareness and recruitment. Ways in which you can help include:
- providing an alumni profile to feature in recruitment publications and videos
- engaging with online networking sites e.g. ‘The Student Room’ to provide advise to prospective students and manage perceptions
- attending a recruitment fair to represent Royal Holloway
- delivering a joint presentation with a recruitment representative to prospective students
- providing your contact details to act as a local representative to answer queries from prospective students about College life.
- supporting the Outreach programme
International alumni support:
- hosting a reception/dinner for prospective or admitted students to increase conversion
- building relationships internationally with local agents and the British Council
- calling admitted students (who have yet to accept their offer) in your area to increase conversion
- advising admitted students (who have accepted their offer) on what to expect at RHUL
The Alumni Office would be delighted to hear from you if you are interested in any of the volunteering opportunities. Please complete the volunteering profile form and we will be in contact with you.
Enhancing the Student Experience
Connecting current students with alumni can really help enhance RHUL students’ university experience. There are a number of ways you can help:
Hosting small dinner parties: Alumni can host small dinner gatherings for students e.g. lunch, dinner, or breakfast. It gives students the opportunity to network with RHUL alumni and find out about life after College. It is a great way to share your experiences. It also offers a chance for students to get a feel for the alumni network, and see how they can stay involved and connected with RHUL after they graduate.
How to participate? We recommend inviting 3-4 alumni and 7-8 students. These gatherings can be as formal or casual as you like, either in your home or at a restaurant. You can decide which students to invite e.g. from a particular field or a broad spectrum of students.
What if I live out of town? Co-host an event with an alum in the Egham area. Or, next time you’re in town, host a gathering at a local restaurant. If you’re in an area where many of our students come from, you could host an event outside of term time.
These gatherings can be as rewarding for the alumni host as it is for the students. You will help to make RHUL a smaller, more welcoming place for students, closing the gap between current students and alumni. Alumni who participate will be given in-kind gift credit for the cost of providing the dinner
Summer Send-Offs Host a casual get-together for incoming students from your area before they leave for RHUL. Give new students a chance to meet each other; current students; and alumni as they become part of the RHUL community.
Can you provide placement opportunities for RHUL students? Many students at RHUL undertake internships and summer placements. There are many benefits of offering a student placement within your organisation including:
- additional skills, expertise and ideas
- increased capacity to engage in research or special projects
- knowledge transfer and increased partnership with RHUL
- enhanced profile of organisation/sector as a potential graduate employer
The student benefits in terms of putting their skills and knowledge into practice; networking within a relevant work field; and enhancing their employability – all key strategic objectives for the College.
Careers Talks Many alumni have inspirational stories to tell about where life has taken them after College. We are keen for you to share your experiences and pass on your expertise by becoming a guest lecturer and help students achieve their goals and dreams.
Mentoring current students In this increasingly competitive employment market there is no substitute for one-to-one advice from alumni who have been professionally successful. We are currently looking for alumni mentors to build the programme. See the mentoring page for more information.
Buddy Scheme
We are looking to set up a buddy scheme for international students. Some students may need help in finding accommodation or opening a bank account or just need a friendly face to help them along the way. This is where our alumni can help!
Mentoring
Why not become a mentor and help students and young alumni achieve their career goals? In this increasingly competitive employment market there is no substitute for one-to-one advice from people who have been professionally successful. We are currently looking for alumni mentors to build the programme.
A mentor is 'an experienced and trusted adviser' providing the mentee with guidance, support and encouragement to help develop his/her options.
Alumni can use their expertise to provide the next generation of RHUL graduates with practical advice about breaking into a particular field, as well as assisting them with the transition from student to employee or entrepreneur.
The Alumni Office would be delighted to hear from you if you are interested in any of the volunteering opportunities. Please complete the volunteering profile form and we will be in contact with you.
Affinity Groups
The Alumni programme is keen to develop more affinity groups in the UK and overseas. These affinity groups will represent groups of alumni who share a common bond e.g. professional or academic affiliation, a sport, club or other University programmes. Members can enhance their own careers, participate in activities and support RHUL’s academic departments.
Current Affinity groups:
The Alumni Office would be delighted to hear from you if you are interested in any of the volunteering opportunities. Please complete the volunteering profile form and we will be in contact with you.
Tell us your news
We welcome alumni contributions to our alumni publications. These publications include Higher, your alumni magazine; the alumni website and our regular e-newsletters. If you are interested in submitting an item for publication, please send us an outline in the first instance in no more than 250 words and ideally in a word document. News we are looking for includes:
- Contact details updates
- Class notes
- Alumni profiles
- Success stories
The Alumni Office would be delighted to hear from you if you are interested in any of the volunteering opportunities. Please complete the volunteering profile form and we will be in contact with you.
Organising an alumni event
Organising a reunion on campus is a great way of re-uniting old friends who have lost touch or a fantastic excuse to hold a celebration for those who are already in contact with each other. The Alumni Office supports many alumni-led reunions every year. It is the hard work of alumni who organise such reunions that help other alumni to stay in touch with each other. For details on how to organise an alumni event/reunion, visit our organising an alumni reunion page.
The Alumni Office would be delighted to hear from you if you are interested in any of the volunteering opportunities. Please complete the volunteering profile form and we will be in contact with you. |
