2018 was a memorable year for the EIT Digital Alumni Foundation. Not only have we continued our growth - both in terms of members and initiatives - but we have also significantly strengthened our whole network, by better defining our structure of bottom-up Local Communities, spearheaded by our passionate Teams. Meanwhile, we have delivered an unforgettable second Annual Meeting and amplified our visibility and recognition toward the whole EIT (Digital) ecosystem. Several Alumni from the previous cohorts are finding ways to contribute and “love what the community is turning into”, and we believe this goes beyond any outstanding KPI, success story or achievement. Below, we present an overview of the major accomplishments of these last, exciting 365 days.
Looking at the numbers alone, we are close to hitting one thousand five hundred members, which means an increase of almost +60%. This is thanks to a proactive attitude and presence at the major annual events (such as the Conference, Kickoff, and Graduation Ceremonies), which helped us reach impressively high conversion rates - see 1. Our Community by the Numbers.
We have always kept our members well-informed of what was happening within the EIT community through extensive use of social media channels and an updated and improved website, which saw the addition of GDPR-compliant processes and new features deployed by our freshly-hired developer. You can find more details in chapter 2. Communications.
2018 was also a year of massive expansion in the number of members actively involved in managing the Foundation and its Local Communities. Two more (unofficial) members started helping the Board with the increased workload, and several Local Representatives are forming Teams all over Europe to have stronger hubs and more frequent meetups. Moreover, a number of bottom-up initiatives launched by Alumni are scaling: next to the well-known Women@EIT, we have now a Mentorship programme and a Mastermind group. For these activities and more events connected to the broader EIT Alumni family, have a look at 3. Board and Working Groups.
We plan to keep strengthening the relationships with the EIT (Digital) network and our partner companies, by offering career-long deals and opportunities to our members, as we did last year with a 20% discount on all Summer School and Professional School courses. We also aim at further engaging with our community startups, by promoting the talent of our members and collect more open positions for our Job Portal. Read more in chapter 4. Refined Strategy.
2018 will be remembered for the countless presentations of our Foundation, both at internal and external events, as can be seen in 5. (Re)presentations. But 2018 will be especially recalled for the Annual Meeting in the Italian Alps, which was the shining star of a year featuring 40+ initiatives in 2 continents. An extensive collection is available in chapter 6. Events and initiatives.
Finance-wise, we not only utilised the entire budget allocated for 2018, but we also received several sponsorships from companies attending our Annual Meeting. We are now looking
forward to the 2019 edition taking place from May 2 to May 5 in the beautiful, warm, sunny city of Porto, where we will also announce the 2019 Elections for the next EIT Digital Alumni Board.
Find here the full Annual Report for 2018:
EIT Digital Alumni and EIT Digital are supported by the EIT, a body of the European Union