Alumni

Summary
Description of the mission and objectives the alumni policy.

Fontys ICT's alumni policy aims to actively involve alumni in the organisation's research and educational activities and fully integrate them into the community. The policy has been developed with the aim of engaging with our alumni and building lasting relationships with them. It focuses on maintaining connection with alumni, encouraging mutual knowledge sharing and positioning opportunities for personal and professional growth. Through this alumni policy, Fontys ICT aims to contribute to social impact and strengthen the connection between alumni, students, research groups and colleagues.

This alumni policy was commissioned by Fontys ICT and is based, among other things, on interviews with alumni in 2022 and 2023. In addition, students were surveyed and several discussions were held with other educational institutions (Tilburg University and National HBO Alumni Network). This has resulted in the vision 2023 - 2028 described on this page. A word of thanks goes to all those who contributed to the document on which this page is based.

The alumni policy focuses on building meaningful and lasting relationships with alumni that contribute to strengthening the Fontys ICT community.

Fontys ICT's alumni policy's mission is to maintain and strengthen the connection with our alumni. We want to create a strong connection between alumni, students, research groups and colleagues. This with the aim of increasing the social impact of Fontys ICT and contributing to the development of the ICT sector.

In Fontys ICT's alumni policy, the alumni are central. Fontys acts as a reliable point of contact, organises relevant events, offers valuable services and continuously cooperates with alumni in order to grow and improve together.

Fontys ICT's alumni policy rests on three strategic pillars: community building, alumni engagement and lifelong development. Fontys ICT strives to share knowledge, talent and experience within a strong network of alumni, students and researchers. A sustainable relationship with alumni is central to this, with an emphasis on involving alumni in Fontys education and research.

Our vision is for Fontys ICT's alumni policy to build and maintain a sustainable relationship with alumni, with mutual knowledge sharing and growth at its core. We want to create a community in which we can inspire, challenge and support each other. By offering relevant and valuable activities, events and knowledge, we want to actively involve our alumni in Fontys ICT and contribute to the development and growth of the community. Through this connection, we aim to increase Fontys ICT's social impact and contribute to the sustainable development of the ICT sector and society.

The Fontys ICT alumni team emphasises a seamless transition from student to alumnus. To make this transition smooth, it is essential to communicate with students at an early stage, even in the phase prior to their enrolment. This way, potential Fontys ICT students can be inspired by our own alumni. Our alumni can answer questions such as: “What can I become later with this study?” and “Does a study at Fontys ICT suit me?”. This proves to provide a clear picture for both study-chasers and parents. Moreover, our own alumni are the important ambassadors when it comes to influencing potential study voters.

During their studies, students are also inspired by alumni, for example through guest lectures, business assignments from alumni who are part of Fontys ICT's partner network, internship assignments, or informal conversations during one of our community events.

After graduating, we support recent graduates and young professionals in their first steps in their careers. We do this by providing access to the alumni network, organising inspiring events and offering career development opportunities through Career Jumpstart.

Finally, we invite older alumni to share their experience and knowledge with our students, for example by giving guest lectures, coaching students in the Student+ programme or becoming partners of Fontys ICT.

The main goal is to make alumni feel part of the Fontys ICT community. This will increase their willingness to give something back, attend events, and possibly choose a Life Long Learning programme at Fontys in the future.

Figure 1
The student - alumni journey: phases, activities and opportunities within the Fontys ICT alumni network.

To achieve our mission and vision, we will focus on the following strategic pillars over the next five years:

1. Community Building: developing a strong alumni community with a focus on strengthening mutual connections and creating a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration.
2. Alumni Engagement: initiating and creating various ways for alumni to stay involved with Fontys ICT, such as offering guest lectures, coaching for students, advising students on projects, internship or graduation or being a contact for students seeking internships.
3. Personal & Professional Growth: positioning valuable LLO programmes aimed at personal and professional growth of our alumni, so that they can continue to develop in their fields of expertise and keep up with the latest trends and developments within the ICT sector. This includes career guidance, training courses and workshops but also by sharing hands-on knowledge and expertise.
   

Supporting these strategic pillars effectively requires an organisation with clear processes and division of tasks. A well-functioning website and a reliable alumni data system are essential to successfully implement and manage the alumni policy. These systems ensure that we can communicate accurately and efficiently with both current and future alumni. It is important that all communication is in line with the three strategic pillars, so that we can convey a consistent message and achieve the desired impact.

An active and engaged community of alumni, students and employees in which mutual knowledge sharing, inspiration and support are central.

By developing and strengthening the relationship with our alumni, we can create an involved community with a greater willingness to allocate their knowledge, talent and time to Fontys ICT. The alumni community thus strengthens not only education and research but also the profiling of Fontys ICT at home and abroad. Building this community is done through the following activities:

1. Alumni website
   The alumni website is a portal where alumni can find and contact each other. The portal is used by Fontys ICT to announce events, news and vacancies at Fontys ICT. The portal is also accessible to both employees and students in their third and fourth year.
2. Involvement in Fontys ICT events
   In Fontys ICT's revamped event plan, alumni are actively involved and invited to various events. This allows alumni, students and employees to meet and possibly share knowledge on specific topics or themes.
3. Appointing an alumni office
   The alumni office is responsible for building and maintaining the community. This team manages the online community, co-organises events and liaises with alumni. A concrete elaboration is included later in this document.
4. Actively involving current students and student associations
   It is important to actively involve student associations and current students in the alumni community. Third- and fourth-year students will have access to the alumni website and thus the alumni network. This can be valuable, for example, for finding specific expertise or help with certain issues. In addition, students can be allocated to events such as the Fontys IT Festival.
5. Surveying alumni wishes and needs
   In order to successfully implement the alumni policy, it is important to regularly survey alumni wishes and needs. As of academic year 2023/2024, this can be done by adding questions to the hbo-knowledge monitor.
6. Measuring and evaluating alumni engagement
   It is important to regularly measure alumni engagement within the community. Based on these insights, this plan can be adjusted and optimised. Measuring engagement can be done through the alumni portal.
7. Keep alumni up to date with the latest Fontys ICT news
   It is valuable for alumni to be kept up to date with the latest developments at Fontys ICT. We need to provide updates on new programmes, research groups' research results, events and other relevant information. This can be done through newsletters and allocation of the alumni website.

Increasing alumni engagement with Fontys ICT.

Our goal is to build and maintain lasting and meaningful relationships with our alumni. In doing so, we particularly want to build relationships with alumni who, in turn, want to give time and knowledge back to the knowledge institute. This can be on both a personal title and an organisational level. This makes alumni an important basis for the future of Fontys ICT's partner programme.

Alumni involvement can be increased through the following activities:

1. Identify alumni who want to be actively involved
   Alumni can indicate in the new portal what they want to be involved in (offering guest lectures, coaching for students, advising students on projects, internship or graduation or being a contact for students looking for internships). Based on this, alumni can be approached more easily.
2. Involve alumni in the Student+ programme
   Alumni can allocate themselves as voluntary study coaches within Fontys ICT's Student+ programme. In this, alumni can guide students who experience obstacles to study success.
3. Organise study activities with alumni
   Organise study activities with alumni where they have the opportunity to contribute to the development of our students. Examples include: information sessions, guest lectures and company visits.
4. Give alumni a voice in the Work Field Advisory Committees (WAC's)
   Give alumni a voice within Fontys ICT's WAC's. In addition, alumni can be involved in important decisions, ask for feedback and use their input to improve Fontys ICT.
5. Involve alumni in the research groups
   Make sure alumni are kept up to date with Fontys ICT research projects. This can be done by sharing posts about the research groups on the alumni portal. Alumni can also be involved in the various stages of the research process, such as formulating research questions, participating as respondents and collecting and/or sharing data.
6. Setting up an alumni ambassador programme
   The alumni ambassador programme is designed for alumni who want to make an allocation to increase the involvement of other alumni. As an ambassador, you are willing to think along and work on activities within Fontys ICT's alumni policy.

Providing valuable opportunities and support for the growth of our alumni.

At Fontys ICT, we are committed to playing an active role in informing, facilitating and positioning career and development opportunities for alumni. In this way, we want to continue to support our alumni after they have completed the study programme. We do this through the following activities:

1. Career opportunities
   Highlighting vacancies at Fontys ICT and our partners. In doing so, we support the employer branding programme to position Fontys ICT as an attractive employer among alumni.
2. Coaching and mentoring
   You will learn from your contact with students as a coach. You will also receive substantive support from the Student+ programme, including basic training, practical tools, lectures, workshops, feedback and an online library.
3. Lifelong development (LLO)
   We continue to inform alumni about development opportunities within Fontys. These include the Master Applied IT but also, in the future, short courses, career guidance, training courses and workshops.
4. Developing Employability \\courses Focus on (international) alumni who have just graduated. For example, think LinkedIn training and job application techniques. This will be taken up together with Brainport Development.