Ms. Miersch, you have been responsible for alumni relations since 2010 and have refined a lot of areas during this time. Could you tell us a bit about the beginnings? What did you come upon at ASH Berlin when you started?
Structures for alumni relations had already been in place for a long time when I took over this area of responsibility. Former and current employees of ASH Berlin have been very active in building up the alumni network. Above all, Robert Kircher-Reinecke, Annett Eckloff and Michael Jannowitz should be mentioned here. Alumni work was also already structurally anchored in many departments of the university: in the Department of Further Education (Zentrum für Weiterbildung), in University Communications (Hochschulkommunikation), and in Career Services. In my opinion, the merit of my predecessors lies primarily in the fact that they established the idea of alumni networks at ASH Berlin on a friendraising basis. By the end of October 2022, a network of 2,506 friends of ASH Berlin had been created. More than 2,500 alumni have enrolled in the network and are interested in mutual exchange with the university. They accept the university's invitation to engage in a lively dialogue between theory and practice. This is a success of which ASH Berlin can be proud. However, it must also be mentioned that many alumni are silent members of the network. Thus, in the next few years, the focus must be increasingly on winning silent members as active members of the network (brainraising).
This raises the question of why former members of the university should continue to be active together with university members? Why was alumni work established at German universities? What is the goal? In your opinion, what sense does this make?
At the moment, the focus is primarily on our former students. In the medium and long term, however, all former members of the university can be understood as alumni. The goal is to bind all university members to the university and to Berlin as a location in the sense of mutual exchange and lifelong learning. From the cooperation with former students we expect a good cooperation with practitioners, in the sense of a scientific and practice-oriented education, and a transfer of the knowledge-oriented needs of practitioners back to the university. Also the suggestions of alumni, e.g. innovations in the job market, are transported into the teaching and into the further education program. This enables the university to align its educational offerings more closely with the market for skilled workers and to introduce practitioners to the latest developments in theory and science. In the best case scenario, this results in a mutual transfer of knowledge for the benefit of all. This mutual knowledge transfer is a main concern of the alumni strategy as well as the networking of alumni with each other. The alumni are also representatives of the university and can project a positive image of the university to the outside world. In the short, medium, and long term, they ensure a positive image of the university in the German and international educational and professional landscape. They can be seen as ambassadors who strengthen the institution ASH Berlin and its concerns. Former students are potential users of the Department for Further Education, Master's programs, and conferences. Graduates can be mentors for final theses and internships of current students. This intensifies the connection between university and practice and facilitates the transition of students into further professional and/or scientific careers. Through the graduates, the cooperation between practice and university can be expanded in research projects, in that practice projects ask for scientific support and evaluation or, conversely, university lecturers participate in tenders for third-party funding together with representatives of practice. The cooperation always aims in both directions, from the university to the practice and from the practice to the university. In this way, university and practice members assume responsibility for the development of future generations and graduates. They contribute to a positive image of the university also in the public at large (press, science, politics). Following the example of other universities, a support association „Friends of ASH Berlin“ founded by private individuals is also conceivable. Donations could be used, for example, to award scholarships to financially disadvantaged students. I think it should always be kept in mind that we as a university have the mission to contribute to strengthening social development and inclusion and thus to make society a more livable one for all its members. In my opinion, this alone is a good reason to continue supporting the university and its goals as alumni even after graduation.
Who have been your biggest supporters in the house so far?
The university management, especially the rector Prof. Dr. Bettina Völter, backs up the network by declaring her support for the existence of alumni work at ASH Berlin. Prof. Dr. Rita Hansjürgens, the former alumni representative of ASH Berlin, under whose responsibility the network has grown in the last two years, was particularly important. Together, we have realized new structural elements such as the 1st Alumni Day at ASH Berlin. Rita Hansjürgens has also been very active in the development of the current concept, which is a basis for discussion for all those interested in the alumni strategy. It is also due to her efforts that a network of members of the program directors, program coordinators, university lecturers and alumni at ASH Berlin has been created, whose active members now meet regularly and jointly take responsibility for alumni work at ASH Berlin. I would also like to mention the Department of University Communication, which works with me reliably and continuously and to which the alumni work at ASH Berlin owes some successful communication ideas.
„The alumni are also representatives of the university and can project a positive image of the university to the outside world.“
What does alumni work look like regionally and nationally? Are you linked-up with other alumni managers? And do you have regular meetings? What do you exchange about, and what have you been able to bring back to ASH Berlin from these exchanges?
ASH Berlin is a member of alumni-clubs.net e.V. (acn). This association is the DACH* association of alumni organizations in German-speaking countries and represents universities, alumni associations, non-university research institutions, university support societies or university-related institutions. The umbrella association organizes an annual conference at one of the many different universities as a place for professional exchange and networking ind and on all important fields of alumni relations. In addition, the members of the association are organized in regional groups. There are now four regional groups - East, West, South, North Germany. ASH Berlin belongs to the regional group East of alumni clubs net. e.V. We meet twice a year for a professional exchange at one of the institutions belonging to the regional group. The topics at the networking meetings are diverse. In the next regional group meeting, for example, we will discuss the topic of university-internal alumni marketing / internal lobbying - cooperation with other organizational units within the university. Other topics include the use of alumni in recruiting students, alumni portraits, the use of films with alumni for positive and authentic representation of the institution, and modern databases for contact data and event management, etc.
Alumni portraits are an important option. How do you have to imagine this? Do alumni approach you?
We encourage former ASH Berlin graduates to present their professional and career paths in the university magazine alice and on the ASH Berlin website. Barbara Halstenberg from the Department of University Communication realizes the interviews. In this way, role models in ASH Berlin's degree programs become more visible and career opportunities in the occupational areas shown are presented to a wider public. The degree programs can use the website to specifically draw attention to graduates in their degree programs - naturally with the goal of successfully marketing the academic offerings to the public. In this way, alumni can promote themselves and make themselves better known in the public sphere. We welcome any alumnus/alumna who approaches us and would like to introduce themselves in the portrait. We also approach alumni and ask if they would be willing to contribute to alumni activities at ASH Berlin in this way. University teachers can play an important role here, as well as program coordinators, who often maintain contact with former ASH Berlin graduates and know about their career paths.
Next, you are planning to introduce the Silver and Gold Diplomas. That sounds very interesting. Could you briefly describe what's behind it?
In the future, we would like to honor graduates whose graduation was 25 or 50 years ago in a ceremony and with a certificate. In this way, we at ASH Berlin would like to appreciate former students whose professional and career beginnings date back a long and very long time. Additionally, we want to learn more about how careers, which also began at our institution, can develop over such long periods of time. This is especially interesting for first-year students as well as for teaching members of the university, who value the dialogue with representatives of practice. It is also conceivable that alumni who are no longer committed to their professional lives could become volunteers for ASH Berlin, for example in the management of a friends' association of the university.
What are your wishes for the future and how can we all support alumni work?
Basically, I wish for an increasing understanding of the added value of alumni activities at ASH Berlin and also for more and more members of the university to happily make an active contribution.
Thank you very much for the interview and keep up the good work.
* The akronym DACH stands for Germany (D), Austria (A), Switzerland (CH). An english pendant would be GAS.
Further information
Website of the ASH Berlin Alumni Network
Contact: alumni@ash-berlin.eu
