The year 2019 was eventful for the EIT Digital Alumni. The community has continued to grow and involved more engaged alumni than ever before, as shown by the increasing number and quality of events that have taken place around the continent. At the same time, the Alumni Foundation continues providing support to EIT Digital and its educational programmes. 2019 was also marked by another successful Annual Alumni Meeting in Porto and the election of new roles in the EIT Digital Alumni Board. The 23 engaged Alumni that applied for one of the 7 board positions are just one example of the incredible interest and engagement from the alumni. The Alumni Foundation continues to provide direct value to all its members thanks to its local groups and other bottom-up initiatives. Therefore, the Alumni Board is happy to present the major highlights of the last, exciting 365 days!
The EIT Digital Alumni Community has continued its stable growth and reached almost 1900 members. Aside from this overall increase of +27%, the foundation has seen an even bigger increase in full alumni (+41%) thanks to active recruitment and participation in various events. For example, from the 2019 Graduation Ceremony, over 90% of the graduates are now members of the EIT Digital Alumni Foundation.
Online communication is one of the key aspects of the EIT Digital Alumni. In 2019, the Alumni Board has placed an emphasis on the creation of more quality content for the website and newsletter. At the same time, the foundation managed to expand the reach and engagement on the Social Media channels.
Volunteers are the cornerstone of the Alumni Community and it is exciting to see a steady increase in local working groups and other bottom-up initiatives. To better structure the support and funding for such initiatives, a semesterly Working Group Survey was introduced. Furthermore, a call was launched to form a working group for the organisation of the next Annual Alumni Meeting, with 4 quality applications brought forward by engaged alumni.
2019 was also the year of new Board elections and expansion to 7 Board members, strengthening the work in IT, Partnerships and Outreach. For its 2019-2021 mandate, the Alumni Board will focus on the creation of a strategic framework ensuring the sustainability of the Foundation for the years to come. A great emphasis will be placed on community engagement, stakeholder relationships, board support and community management. All jointly aiming to create value for the alumni and increase the quality of events and other initiatives.
2019 will be also remembered for the wide variety of events organised by the EIT Digital Alumni. From talks on an Island close to Helsinki to a LoRaWAN workshop in Berlin, there is something for everyone. Furthermore, the alumni successfully organised their 3rd Annual Alumni Meeting in Porto. This event gathered over 120 alumni for 3 days of talks, workshops, networking and more. Additionally, the Alumni presented their community on multiple occasions, both within and outside the EIT ecosystem.
None of this would have been possible without the work from all the dedicated volunteers involved in the Alumni Board, Working Groups and other initiatives. The year 2020 is promising to be another great year with the next Annual Meeting taking place in beautiful Split and many more incredible events to come!
Read the full Annual Report 2019 below:
EIT Digital Alumni and EIT Digital are supported by the EIT, a body of the European Union