Challenges So Far, and Solutions

Points So Far


At the University of Birmingham (England), research will now be conducted to determine which students or student societies would be in favour of networking with Alumni, and if so, how they would like to network. If you are a student of this university, you are also welcome to bring your views to this blog and the related Facebook and LinkedIn pages. Student engagement will certainly be critical to the success of early networks. I agree with the advice given so far, that networks cannot and must not be forced upon students without their consent and co-operation.

It is important to bear in mind the students’ point of view. Having been a student, and on student committee’s I remember that we considered ourselves as the elected authority to make the decisions, and would have regarded proposals made by other authorities (no matter how benign) as interference. Also, while I understand that from our point of view, the mentoring scheme is meant to be a two way process, from the students point of view, it can seem like a one way street. Students may feel patronized to submit to someone else’s guidance: and this is an important psychological aspect to bear in mind, for the challenges that we face.

Empowerment of student committees is therefore of the utmost importance. We must regard student committees as the existing authorities, and work with them as equals. Careful, two way negotiations should determine each set of arrangements. It makes sense to ensure good relations with the committees, because if they decide to help, they can deploy large number of students, and their cooperation will save us considerable time and effort.

Further challenges raised so far in relation to student-Alumni networking include:

• That Alumni and students want to discuss privately when talking online.


• That in the past, networks have been underused, and participants to mentoring have not always honoured their agreements.


• That students and Alumni may each go into a different career path from their field of study, or profession.

To address the first point: this is precisely why I recommend a closed LinkedIn format. For example, engineering students who begin their studies could be offered a special LinkedIn network, that connects them directly to Alumni who are in the engineering profession. The network would be closed to the public, allowing both students and Alumni to discuss engineering issues, mentoring, and job opportunities in confidence, under the university's supervision. That said, I am more than happy to compromise, in favour of any kind of online connection, as long students and Alumni are connected online. The LinkedIn network is an option that could come later on. We could start with one to one connections by email, and then build on existing arrangements to develop a more sophisticated way of networking.

For the second point; to those who doubt that students and Alumni can be made to honour their agreements all of the time, I have a good example of how commitment can be maintained: the Guild Musical Theatre Group. In this student society, all members were volunteers who were fully committed to the performing arts, even though they all came from many different departments of our university. The student committee always took the business of putting on shows very seriously (I know because I was on it.)

Shows were always to a professional standard (and still are).  Members knew that they always had to put the effort in to be in shows: as it was made clear to them that, regardless of their membership, that all auditionees start from square one. So if you didn’t make the effort, someone else would take your place. Use it or lose it, it was as simple as that. And while many people did it for fun, there were those I knew with a burning desire to perform on stage for a living: and a some did just that, despite coming from different schools of study. Had they been offered to join a network with professional performing artists, I know that the ambitious ones would have seized the opportunity there and then.

This is how I would recommend that commitments be honoured between students and Alumni who agree to network online. Admins appointed like a committee, would ensure that the students who signed on were left in no doubt that access to Alumni is a privilege, and an integral part of their learning experience. Timescales and agreed schedules could be set, for who will discuss what with whom: like existing mentoring schemes. The difference would be that any students who did not conform to their agreed timescale would be removed from the network, and their place given to others. Alumni who did not honour their agreements could be similarly removed from mentoring, and their slots offered to others.  Before long, it would start to become clear, that a place on the network was something important to strive for, and I think students would realise they needed to make the effort if they committed themselves to it.

Thirdly, it is true that students may decide to change their degree while in higher education; or to go into a different career from the one they studied for. Likewise, Alumni may opt for a career change so many years down the line. That is why I suggest going by area of interest. At New York State University, there is an excellent 'Constituent' scheme to enable students and Alumni to do this. Students, student societies and Alumni of similar interests are encouraged to network together and share connections and information.

In much the same way, I suggest that we connect students by their current field of study, to Alumni currently in the same profession, and student societies with the same interest. For example, students currently studying medicine could be connected to Alumni of that university or college, who are currently practising doctors and nurses. Student societies whose interest is in medicine, health or sports science could be given special passwords to access the network, and share ideas with the medical students and Alumni. Their insight will be useful: for it is worth noting that there are many young people who wanted to go into a profession, but may not have felt it was a sustainable career. Their interest in a student society of that career path should still be supported.

Alumni who began their career in other professions, but who changed their career paths to practise medicine, could be offered to join the medical network. Likewise Alumni who left the profession could be offered places in other networks suitable for their new line of work. An Alumnus who has retired from the medical profession, but has been in other professions also, could be offered a choice by the university of which network they would like to join.

Therefore, to conclude the points made so far, I invite all experts and veterans of student-Alumni networking schemes to contribute their views on any of these ideas, so that we may develop the best possible way to connect the students and Alumni.


Best Regards,

James McGarry
Voluntary Project Co-Ordinator