Anna Mika, OAKland Group
One might sometimes think that the role of Alumni Associations is to support their graduates in their careers. But it goes far beyond that. Indeed, students are often members of their association as soon as they enter the school and benefit from many services of which sponsoring is one of the most appreciated.
Why is sponsoring important?
Having a sponsor enables students to benefit from valuable advice on academic, professional and personal matters. It is an exciting relationship for both parties.
By drawing on his or her professional experience, the sponsor provides genuine support to the student by helping him or her with:
- Their career path / directions
- Career choices
- Development of their skills
- Their self confidence
The sponsor has an essential role to play, not only by sponsoring but also by sharing knowledge and new ideas, he or she can offer individual support providing real value to the student.
A value for schools
Sponsoring is a unique concept, which addresses two key issues in education: improving the student experience and creating a real link with the real world.
For schools, this concept can spread business expertise and professional behaviours to students, thereby reinforcing their educational pathways.
It also helps schools and associations to be more attractive because, by accepting to be a sponsor, the alumni plays the role of an active ambassador defending the values of their school and contributing to its reputation.
In addition, promoting sponsors from different companies and different sectors allows the school to offer a variety of support that is more likely to address the needs of future students.
As a result, sponsorship is a valuable service for students, their integration and the school’s interest in active life.
This is why ESCP Alumni is offering students a sponsorship programme and therefore promoting an alumni network in order to foster the relationship between graduates and new students.
Alumni associations, a key role
In order to suggest sponsors from different sectors, different professions and different nationalities, it is crucial to have access to these targets. This is why an up-to-date database is key to the programmes’ success.
“We at Netanswer are committed to facilitating relationships between students and alumni. Our sponsoring management solution allows alumni networks to automatically match potential mentees with relevant sponsors thanks to our automatic matchmaking engine that creates the best pairings based on different criteria: sector, geography, spoken languages or type of relationship. This way, networks focus on communication and marketing, and everything else is automatic!”
Says Fabrice Wilthien, CEO of NetAnswer
“The ESCP Alumni sponsorship programme is one of the most popular services for our students. They build long-lasting and strong relationships while benefiting from personalized advice helping them decide what is best for them.Graduates are also delighted to discuss with their successors and to stay in touch with the concerns of the younger generation”.
Says Eva Mollat du Jourdin, General Delegate of ESCP Business School Alumni.