Alumni have raised a number of issues and concerns at general meetings of the Association. The Executive Committee of the Association considered and discussed these issues and concerns with the relevant institutional departments and considered ways in which to work collectively in support of the University in addressing the various issues. A first step was to group the various issues in focused and manageable areas.
FOUR areas were identified which include (a) Governance & Alumni Services; (b) Graduate & Student Employability & Livelihoods; (c) Mentorship & Personal Development Support and (d) Resource Mobilisation. Some key questions (a) How can alumni be supported in advancing their careers (alumni services) (b) How can graduates and students be supported in finding an internship, a job or realising an entrepreneurial venture? (c) How can alumni guide students and other graduates through mentorship and coaching to better equip them in their disciplines? (d) How can missing middle, postgraduate students and students with historical debt be assisted financially?
At a recent AGM of the Association members supported the FOUR areas and it was agreed that online consultative sessions will be held where alumni can share ideas, expertise, networks, etc which can be considered to address these issues. These inputs will feed into the Working Groups of the Executive Committee and together with the relevant institutional departments, it is hoped that agreed upon action steps can be taken to help address some of these issues meaningfully. One example is how alumni can share employment and internship opportunities for graduates, final years and students with our Career Services (
careerservices@mandela.ac.za).
A simple act of sharing information can create more opportunities for many others. There are many ideas which can be considered and the consultative sessions create an opportunity to share the problem and discuss possible solutions. Alumni can also share any ideas via email to
alumni@mandela.ac.za wrt any of the areas listed. The next online sessions are listed on the website
https://alumni.mandela.ac.za/Alumni-Events and is also shared on social media. Your ideas might change the world for someone!