Fostering an alumni ‘Give-Back’ culture to help develop student-esteem

A unique partnership with LSBU Marketing Alumni

Mel Godfrey - Anita Peleg - Charles Graham

LSBU Marketing Teaching Team 2014 winners of:

Academy of Marketing Team Teaching Excellence Award

University-Industry Links

Importance but difficult • Creates credibility

• Real-world learning opportunities

• Facilitates research and enterprise

• University’s human capital

• Brand impact

• Top ranked?

Building university–industry (U–I) relationships can be highly beneficial as this enriches and improves educational and research objectives and, according to Lantos (1994), helps to reduce the gap between the academic and business Communities.

Frasquet et al (2011)

Social Capital

networks and relationships • Developed over time

• Parents, schools, peers …

• First to university

• ‘New’ Londoners

‘the sum of actual and potential resources embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social unit. Social capital thus comprises both the network and the assets that may be mobilized through that network’.

Nahapiet J, Ghoshal S, Pp 243

3Ss

employability • Self efficacy

• Self esteem

• Self confidence

Mastery experience : opportunity to try a particular task Vicarious experience: students see others who’ve achieved success Social persuasion: they possess the capabilities needed

Dacre Pool and Sewell 2007 pp 285

How?

establishing student need • Extending their networks

• Job opportunities

•CVs to the top of the pile

• Tackling real world problems

•Role models

•Access to …

Alumni

Alumni

research showed intention that • 58% will help with case-study material

• 55% will give guest talks

• 49% will attend the careers evening

• 45% will give placements

• 45% will give to project/dissertation work

• 43% will join our industrial board

• 40% will give employment

• 36% will give internships

• 35% will give shadowing opportunities

• 18% will endow money

Alumni

wanted relationship with • Course Directors

• Engagement with THEIR course director - 50%

• Tutors, lecturers, teachers • Engagement with THEIR tutors - 50%

• Alumni department but secondary

• Contact by email (66%)

• then social networking (32%)

• Reunions

• Proactive communications from us

Alumni

who feel proud of their university

• return for the careers evening

• return for talks

• return for live case activity

•want to contribute to curriculum

•offer jobs & internships

•help current students

‘The university is like the hub and when you go back to the hub you recharge’

Marco Felicio, BA Marketing

provide easier access to jobs

Alumni

• Ogilvy

• Ipsos Mori

• Edelman PR

• Sony Europe

• Havas

• Barclays

• Bauer Media

• Expedia

Alumni

• Pearl & Dean

• AKQA

• McCann Ericsson

• eSearch Vision

• BlowFish Digital

• LVMH

• Fitness First

• Talent Intelligence

give guest lectures ...

Alumni

benefit from • Strengthening their own networks

• Sharing knowledge with each other

• Linking with University research centres

• Enabling their own staff development

‘This is your best network’ Ed Sexton

Students appreciate contact at all levels • Level 4 portfolio assessment

• Level 5 at least two modules

• Level 6 embedded throughout

• Level 7 embedded throughout including residential stay

“Meeting the three alumni members that came to our seminar was a delight. I really enjoyed talking to them ... I feel that this type of guest speaker goes along way in helping people realise the drive that they need to take part in our University work to set us up for our perfect job in marketing.” Gordon Duncan

“Amazing stuff really, I can't wait to talk to the S&M Director about it … I really wanted to let you know that it was a very rewarding experience and that I did benefit a lot from it.” Noor Waheed “The mix of academic and real world examples, as well as the use of guest industry speakers within the unit kept it fresh, current and engaging. PR was not something I knew much about nor had I considered it as a career path until I took this unit, I’ve now been in the industry for almost six years.” Ryan Whelan

‘I was especially grateful for their industry connections and willingness to help students network with former LSBU alumni........ I will be forever grateful to LSBU for equipping me with such valuable life long skills.’ Heather Johnstone

Students

appreciate alumni contact • Industry connections

• Relevant guest speakers

• Motivation and celebration

• Careers Evening

‘Working with YOKO Design allowed me to use what I learnt at Uni and actually apply it. For me the benefits of designing a live marketing plan are figuring out how to implement proposed strategies, how to work in an organized structure to meet goals and seeing my ideas come to life. It is a great opportunity ... and get a better idea of what quality of work is expected when working in industry.’ Samantha Press

enabled networking

• 50+ jobs and internships opportunities

• 10+ alumni speakers within specific modules at all levels (4 – 7)

• 25 alumni speakers at the 2015 ‘Annual Marketing Careers Evening’

• 5+ alumni mentors for job applications

• 20+ dissertation development contacts

Students

I just wanted to let you know that the second interview at Ogilvy went well and I've just been offered the position! I

was in contact with Gitte and she gave me some great tips too so thank you for putting

me in touch with her!

Students

Build their experiential learning • Shadowing

• Live Projects 2012~2015

• Ipsos Mori (M Level)

• Yoko Design (Level 5 and M Level)

• Stenders (Level 6)

• Tespack (Level 6)

• Dr Pierre Ricaud (Level 6)

‘Trying to solve live case studies from the alumni has given me a real taste of the marketing environment outside books and lectures. We physically had to go out and do research to help solve the problem. It was certainly one of the best experiences at LSBU.’

‘Anon – Final Year Student’

Students

alumni-driven live cases … • Most remembered activity by students • All said: alumni driven live cases …

• helped to know what was expected in work • developed their knowledge

• Nearly all agreed that they … • gained real-world experience • gained understanding of the industry • felt proud do this for alumni • were more confident to achieve the task • were empowered to do the best they could • thought it was a good experience

40 +

25-29

under 25

Impact on Staff

Research projects:

1.“Employability Skills and Curriculum. The Experience of Business Graduates”. PRHE 2008 & PRIME 2009

2.“Alumni contribution to the University” Academy of Marketing, 2011

3.“The teaching of ethics across the marketing curriculum” Doctoral Research

4.“Assessment Feedback and the work place” LSBU Teaching and Learning Fellowship

5.“ Live cases and the Alumni” Current

6.Live Case Impact MPS

research opportunities • 6 research projects

• Conferences

• Publications

• Link with practice

•Doctoral programmes

relationship building •Rewarding & motivational

• Link with practice

Impact on University

strategy in practice

‘The Marketing Careers Evening is the best example I have seen of putting aspirations for a graduate level job in to practice. With the full support of a strong alumni network this evening brings together past and present students for a great networking event that itself often leads directly to employment. I cannot praise this initiative highly enough’

Prof John Egan, Marketing Subject Leader

… develop true expertise as evidenced by their ability to apply their knowledge in real world situations. In addition as part of the LSBU offer we need to ensure that every student has the option to access a range of activities designed to further support their own professional development so enhancing their confidence and aspiration

LSBU University Corporate Plan 2015 – 2020

Changing Culture

• Annual Marketing Careers Evening

• Alumni network growing – by engaging our final year & postgraduate students

– in the classroom and on social media

• More than 1,800 digital connections

‘I have rarely been so surprised by what I encountered. As I said, I was quite stunned by the numbers, the interest, the alumni, staff, and the overall willingness to support each other ... impressive and contagious atmosphere …’

Jon Epstein, R-Cubed, Keynote Speaker,

Careers Evening

everyone is joining in …

Concluding

Building Social Capital • Learning how to network

Self Efficacy • Mastery experience

• opportunity to try a particular task

• Vicarious experience • students see others who’ve achieved success

• Social persuasion • they possess the capabilities needed

• And … so much more

THANK YOU LSBU ALUMNI

Questions?

References

Afonso, A, Ramirez, J, Diaz-Puente, J, (2012), University-Industry Cooperation in the Education Domain to Foster Competitiveness and Employment, Procedia-Social Behavioral Sciences, Vol 46, Pp 3947-3953

Bruce, G, & Schoenfeld, G, (2006), Marketers with MBAs: bridging the thinking-doing divide. Marketing Intelligence & Planning , 24 (3), 257-282.

Dacre Pool, L, Sewell, P, (2007), The key to employability: developing a practical model of graduate employability, Education + Training, Vol. 49 Iss 4 pp. 277 - 289

Dacre Pool, L, Qualter, P, Sewell, P, (2014),Exploring the factor structure of the CareerEDGE employability development profile, Education + Training, Vol. 56 Iss 4 pp. 303 - 313

Frasquet, M, Calderon, H, Cervera, A (2012), University-industry collaboration from a relationship marketing perspective, Higher Education, 64, pp 85-98

Nahapiet, J., and Ghoshal, S. (1998), ‘Social Capital, Intellectual Capital and the Organizational Advantage,’ Academy of Management Review, 23, 242–266.