Involving the institution’s researchers in meaningful alumni relations

Abstract

This presentation argues that researchers are essential institutional advocates for successful alumni relations because they represent a large and influential group on campus. Despite this, researchers often do not engage with alumni due to barriers like time constraints, lack of awareness, and unclear benefits.     To overcome these obstacles, TU Berlin implemented specialized professional training programs for international alumni. In this model, researchers generate the academic content while the Alumni Team handles all administrative and organizational tasks. In 2025, five such trainings were held on topics like Sustainable Food Cultures and Green Economy. The project highlights that researchers benefit from these interactions by finding new collaboration partners, gaining multipliers for global knowledge transfer, and securing external funding. The core advice for implementation is to "start small," communicate visibility, and contribute to already existing initiatives rather than reinventing the wheel.