Thank you to all who attended the meeting dated Friday the 8th
November, and I will send this message to those who were unable to attend, but
wanted to be kept informed. A number of points were raised at the meeting, and
the appropriate responses are given in this document. The points raised at the
meeting dated Friday the 8th November include:
·
That the project should be concentrated on a
specific university of choice.
·
That there should be a clear timeline of events
·
That it should be established exactly what the
students themselves want.
·
That the university’s own interests as an organisation
should be respected.
Therefore, to ensure maximum results, the first 3
universities of focus will be the University of Birmingham, Oxford and
Cambridge. Sanctuary staff and others, who are Alumni of these universities,
are invited to join the project, to offer their advice and participation.
The first university of choice will be the University of
Birmingham. As an Alumnus of this campus, I am working with the university’s Alumni
Office to find out exactly which networks and mentoring are offered to the
students, and what could be improved upon. To respect the university’s interests as an
organisation, it is best to ensure that both the students and Alumni of that
university support an integrated network, before one is implemented.
There is clear evidence that both students and Alumni at the University of Birmingham have demanded
closer online networking throughout the year,
according to the findings of the university’s Volunteer Relationship
Manager, Kerri Holland. In a recent poll
taken on Birmingham University’s Alumni network, a clear majority have voted in
favour of networking more closely with the students:
I have also asked a representative from the NUS to contact
the Student Executive, so that we may hear the students’ point of view. It is
likely that the students will agree on some kind of closer online networking. I
will wait to hear the university’s Student Executive’s thoughts on this.
Once it is clear and where any improvements need to be made
and what the students want, my fellow Birmingham Alumni and I will go with
student volunteers to the university’s Careers Network, to make the case for
more networks and mentoring.
Online Networks as
the Solution
I believe that an online network of fully interconnected
students and Alumni, is the best possible way to ensure both mentoring and
knowledge transfer. It is true that both students and Alumni are very busy with
work, study and family commitments: and that is precisely why I recommend an
online network as the best option, to allow members to contribute at their
convenience.
Initiatives such as the Knowledge
Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN), (see www.worcester.ac.uk ), have proven that direct knowledge transfer from graduates can be used
effectively for the benefit of all enterprises. The work of all regional Local
Enterprise Partnerships is further proof of successful collaborations between
the academic and business sectors.
Successful
collaborations between universities and other organisations to integrate their
services, have led to clear results; a perfect example of this being The Hive
at Worcester, as a successful collaboration between the University of Worcester
and Worcestershire County Council : http://www.thehiveworcester.org/ From these
examples, I argue that integrated online
networks will provide an effective means for us to continue this trend on a
permanent basis.
As per the advice given, I agree that the most effective
model of would be an integrated LinkedIn network - I would argue within each department of the
university - to link the students and
Alumni of that profession. For example,
engineering students and Alumni in the engineering professions could be
connected by a closed LinkedIn network, owned by the university. This would
allow members to discuss their profession in confidence, supervised directly by
the university, and would allow mentoring, knowledge transfer, networking and
job creation, as well as job opportunities.
To ensure that signatories commit to using this network, a
select group of students and Alumni would be encouraged to help administer the
network. They would be responsible for the recruitment of new members,
organising and agreeing on discussions, and ensuring that members adhere to the
university’s rules.
The admins should think of themselves as a committee or
admin team, and allocate their roles accordingly. They should arrange for
successive admins to be available, when it is time to hand over their
responsibilities. In this way, the process of mentoring and knowledge transfer
will become self-sustaining, and it should no longer be necessary to ask for
student and Alumni volunteers: as they will be actively recruited by the
network’s admin team, under the university’s supervision.
Therefore, I assert that online networks to connect students
and Alumni will be the best possible means to ensure both mentoring and
knowledge transfer, and I challenge those who disagree to prove me wrong. If it is proven beyond any doubt, that all
bridging networks are already in place, or that there are a sufficient number
of Alumni, who mentor the students of every department at each place of higher
education, then the aim of this project will have been achieved. However, I
suspect that when the information is compiled by the volunteers, this will not
be the case.
Timescale and Budget
The creation of new online networks, such as LinkedIn can
normally be done free of charge. In most cases, this would involve a
reshuffling of students and Alumni who are members of other online networks
elsewhere, into new ones created to connect them with one another. However, an
invitation alone to join such networks may not be enough. There needs to be a
sufficient number of students and Alumni who interested, to justify
establishing new, integrated networks for them. Therefore, it may be necessary
to hold a networking event to bring large numbers of students and Alumni
together, who can then be offered a place in a new network, created for their
field of study (see below for notes on this process).
According to the estimates made so far, the average cost of
a campus-wide event would be around £1000. In most cases, the university’s Alumni
Office and Student Executive should be able to cover most of the overheads.
However, it is unlikely that they will be able cover all costs and resources in
all cases. Therefore, it is prudent to set aside a reserve fund of sorts, to be
put towards events when necessary. Given
that Sanctuary tenants have access to funding for Fixers projects, the best solution appears to be for student tenants
to apply for funds to put towards events held at their university of study. In
this way, funds could be targeted only at campuses where networks and mentors
were not already in place, which would be cost effective and accurate.
The first of the events was to be an X-Box/Console
Tournament of choice this Christmas, at the University of Birmingham. This
exciting event should attract a diverse range of students and Alumni of all
disciplines, who can then be offered new networks prepared for them, or be invited
to become the admins of the university’s existing LinkedIn network. However, it
is now more likely to be held early next year, given the short time left before
Christmas. I will discuss this further with both the Alumni Office and Student
Executive, to see what can be achieved. It is my intention to have new
networking arrangements or new integrated networks in place for all fields of
study, by the end of the first quarter of 2014.
Sanctuary will also benefit from the transparency of this
project. The online networks for Let’s
Build Bridges are purposefully open ones, to give them two advantages. The
first is to make the project accessible to all willing volunteers. The second
is to demonstrate the expertise of Sanctuary and other volunteers to both the
business and academic communities, who will follow these networks closely as the
project gains momentum.
Summary
The nature of our work at the Sanctuary requires us to be
proactive and to influence change. This I believe is one change that is clearly
worth influencing. For reasons given so far, I argue that online student-Alumni
networks will be the most effective way for Sanctuary to help students’
employability in this project. It would help not only the mentoring of students
by Alumni, but also facilitate knowledge transfer for the benefit of the
students, their universities and institutions, and will in turn, benefit Sanctuary
as an organisation. Therefore, with immediate effect, I will endeavour to concentrate
on the networks at the University of Birmingham as the first example, and I
invite fellow Alumni of this university, as well as the universities of Oxford
and Cambridge and any willing volunteers to join me. Together, we will
demonstrate Sanctuary’s expertise to improve students’ employability and
future. Let’s make this happen.
Further Information
·
Evidence and opinion poll in support of
student-Alumni support for integrated networking at the University of
Birmingham: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=118866&trk=my_groups-b-grp-v
·
Example of a successful knowledge transfer
arrangement, the Knowledge Exchange and
Enterprise Network (KEEN): www.worcester.ac.uk ; enquiries: wbs@worcs.ac.uk
·
The Hive, Worcester, a successful example of collaboration for an
integrated service for both students and Alumni: http://www.thehiveworcester.org/
·
Links to main online networks for this project Let’s Build Bridges:
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