Building Meaningful Relationships With University Alumni

Abstract

Innovation economy demands new skills and competences, creates the need to repeatedly and regularly improve one's knowledge and skills, therefore the link must be maintained between labor market requirements and higher education offer. As solution to above mentioned problems strategy proposes that educational and cultural education institutions should become the centers of social networking, in the management of which parents, teaching staff, students, as well as wider local community, including entrepreneurs, representatives of professional and sectoral associations, participate and co-operate. There is a particular emphasis on the need to develop programs of voluntary mentors. In year 2013 colleges and universities in the United States raised 33.80 billion USD in total voluntary support (Council for Aid to Education report, 201410). Alumni donations constitute almost one third of all the amount raised. In UK higher education institutions received GBP 657 million in cash income as philanthropic support in year 2103-14. This experience proves that keeping meaningful contact with alumni is a long term strategy and eventually results not only in intellectual cooperation but also a substantial source of financing. Alumni engagement activities have proved to be an effective tool providing life-long learning for alumni, experience exchange between experienced alumni and young alumni and students as well as, in the long-term, financial support for the universities by alumni and their companies. Two solutions are being discussed in this paper - ICT platform and alumni association. Paper is based on the Riga Technical University's example, EXTEND project case studies also publicly available statistics/data.