Avenue Summer 2018

Staying connected

With an alumni community of more than 145,000 worldwide, wherever your travels take you you’ll never be far from another University of Glasgow graduate.

Over 26,000 students from more than 140 countries study at Glasgow every year and their association with the University doesn’t end at graduation. From Botswana to Brazil, Norway to Nigeria, there are alumni groups all over the world. 

There are no rules for how alumni associations operate. It’s recognised to be a strength that they all work in their own unique ways to bring alumni together for social, professional and networking opportunities as well as helping them to keep in touch with their alma mater back in Glasgow. 

Building a community

One of the largest is 5,623 miles to the east of Glasgow.  

Maintaining links with alumni is a labour of love for Yinfan Zhang (MSc 2013), who is Chair of Glasgow Alumni Association Shanghai: “Although I only spent two years in Glasgow [as an exchange programme student and postgraduate from 2011 to 2013], it was a crucial period for my own formation – intellectually, for my career and spiritually.” 

The Shanghai association has nearly 2,000 members, most of whom graduated from the Adam Smith Business School. “The majority of our alumni are around 27–35 years of age and work in the financial and professional services sectors,” says Yinfan, “but we also have many members working in the media, life sciences, health care and engineering.”

The emphasis for Yinfan is on building a community: “We rely heavily on WeChat to maintain our relationship with the alumni, rather than traditional email-based communication.

“After getting feedback from our alumni we focus less on career development – apart from welcome home events to help new graduates find jobs – and more on seasonal cultural and networking events. We have an annual ceilidh, which over 500 attended last year, a social event in summer and a Christmas party.” 

Enthusiastic Shanghai Association member Zhou Julie Yijun (MSc 2012) says: “Participating in the alumni association is a way to meet new friends away from work. The activities such as the ceilidhs are lots of fun – they create a delightful atmosphere for single girls and boys to meet up and some of my Glasgow friends started dating after the parties! Our shared background also allows us to share some working information and cultivate valuable relationships which may help us in our future career.”

Social outings and philanthropy

345 miles south of the University in London, Glasgow University Women’s Club recently celebrated its 90th anniversary.

“As far as we can understand, says Club President, Margaret Goldfarb (LLB 1984), “the club was originally founded in 1927 as a self-help group for women doctors, graduates of the university, who were working in London.

“We are a social club and have several functions in London each year. We have just enjoyed afternoon tea in Gallery Mess at the Saatchi Gallery and our next function is a lunch to be held at St Columba’s church in Pont Street, London.  We also have an annual dinner with a speaker and an outing, which this year will be to the newly restored Charterhouse.

“We pay a small subscription each year and all our events tend to cover their costs and sometimes make a profit, which we are very happy to donate to the University. We all enjoyed our time at Glasgow and this is one way of repaying our alma mater.

“What our members enjoy most about the association is the companionship, catching up with old friends met through the club, and also new experiences.”

Supporting our students 

4,365 miles to the west of Glasgow is another warm and supportive alumni association. 

As well as regular social events, the Glasgow Alumni Association of British Columbia welcomes visiting Glasgow students to Canada.

“We have started hosting events for postgraduate students who come to our two universities in Vancouver in the fall and this has been very successful,” says Dr Peter Richards (MBChB 1972), President of the association. “We aim to give the students a snapshot of local knowledge and the kind of caveats that would otherwise take a while to accumulate. We also discuss career opportunities in BC. It’s great to chat to them and I sense a real connection between our local members and the fresh news from Glasgow that the students bring with them.” 

If there’s a secret to the success of creating a community it’s the friendships, the partnerships and the occasional courtships!