There was an interesting question which was left un-answered on Quora – the link is here.

Vijay Sharma

I wanted to write an answer not only to those there, but to many alumni of BITS and of other institutes/schools as well. A quick few thoughts after volunteering for the past 2.5 years to support Alumni activities for my association:

The Question is – “What are good ideas to re-organize an alumni assocition?”

My answer:

1. Find/Help a bunch of “few” musketeers who are willing and have a “cause” to work for and organize the association’s initial activites around the same – as the cause will be bigger than any other pull – if it connects to most alumni. Ideally these musketeers would have great sense of belonging for the alma mater and would also be close friends.

2. Involve the administration in your key programs and have a great link-back with the institute.

3. Build a structure for the core committee and provide opportunities for growth from volunteers to a position of importance so that the incentive’s are present for anyone who puts in time and effort. Involve a good mix of young & old in the organization.

4. Have a great Online Infrastructure available to continuosly engage with Alumni who register and sign-up for regular newsletters, activities & events.

5. It will take time – if you/others dream of a great alumni association, it takes lots and lots of time and effort!

These experiences are thanks to the brilliantly organized BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA) International which now has helped conceive and implement many ‘Million Dollar’ projects and also continues to have a regular framework to allow all alumni to participate and give back in some capacity to the Institute. Quite thankful for it!

If there are more thoughts around this, do let me know – learning though never stops.

PS: This post is for Non-BITSians as well !