You may be thinking about setting up an Alumni Group for former students of GRIPS and GSPS. The following guidelines identify a number of issues that you will need to consider when establishing your Group.

• Define the geographical boundaries of your group by country or region.
• It is useful to send a letter outlining the idea, and a questionnaire to find out the level of interest among alumni. Ask the alumni in your region for their ideas and comments and get in touch with those interested in helping organize a group. The GRIPS Alumni Office will help you find and contact other alumni in your area.
• How do you intend to establish appropriate “leadership” for your Group? The group can be as formal or informal as you like. If it is informal you may just need an Alumni Group Coordinator and meet up occasionally for dinner and drinks and keep in email contact. In countries where we have many alumni it may be a good idea to set up an Alumni Group Management Committee (including e.g. president, secretary and events-coordinator) and to involve enough volunteers on the committee so the tasks can be allocated to different members who share the workload (more about the Organzational Structure of Alumni Groups).
• Regardless of the level of formality, each Group will need to appoint an Alumni Contact Person to act as the main contact with GRIPS to ensure effective communication and support. Ideally, each country/region should have a second contact person to ensure continuity in case the first person (temporarily) moves.
• What kind of people do you need? Alumni Group Coordinators and members of the Management Committee need to have a keen interest in GRIPS’ past, present and future, good interpersonal and communication skills, enthusiasm for meeting new people, be self-motivated, and have access to email and internet. Other useful skills and experience include: leadership and (project) management, editing and publishing (including electronic publishing), web site design, event organization, and public relations.
• Decide on a “term of office” for members of the Management Committee (including yourself). Many alumni who volunteer their time for an Alumni Group are busy professionals with a range of other commitments and interests as well. Limiting terms of office also provides an opportunity to refresh the Committee with new ideas and perspectives through regular changes in its membership.
• Think about what type of activities you are hoping to organize. Successful Alumni Groups base their program on a mixture of activities. Allow the opportunity for as many people as possible to contribute. Key activities of an Alumni Group include:
  • organising a minimum of one or two events per year to which all alumni in the region are invited;
  • acting as a contact point for GRIPS in their country or region;
  • providing a GRIPS link for recent graduates returning home;
  • offering informal advice to alumni moving into their area;
  • offering informal advice and information to prospective GRIPS students;
  • answering their queries about the School, the admissions process, financial aid opportunities and curriculum;
  • contributing to the GRIPS Alumni Newsletter at least once a year;
  • occasionally doing some promotional activities for GRIPS;
  • acting as a local contact point for GRIPS, e.g. offering advice to members of staff and faculty about where to stay or hold meetings when visiting their area on recruitment or other trips;
  • offering advice and assisting GRIPS with new student recruiting
• Decide on a “Alumni Group” launch event. Pick a location and date and work out a plan of what you want the event to achieve. The launch event is an excellent opportunity to meet alumni and talk to them about possible ideas for future activities and events. It also provides a good opportunity to identify additional potential volunteers for committee membership. Remember that it is extremely important to be as inclusive as possible at this early stage.
• The Alumni Groups are not allowed to charge membership fees but, of course, alumni can be asked to pay for their own expenses when participating in an event (e.g. dinner and drinks).
• Keep the GRIPS Alumni Office informed about the latest developments and activities organized by your Alumni Group. The Alumni Association website provides an ideal forum for telling alumni in other parts of the world about your activities. We would be delighted to include a short feature on your event on our website together with any good photos you may have taken on the occasion.

How can we help?

• The GRIPS Alumni Office will provide you with information about former students in your area
• We can send out mailings to those graduates
• We will provide you with regular updates on new graduates in your area
• We’ll keep you informed of any GRIPS professors or staff visiting your country or area
• We can advise you on the organization of events and other activities
• We’ll publicise your events on the GRIPS website

How to proceed?

Hopefully the above guidelines have given you some useful ideas and advice. If you are still keen on establishing an Alumni Group in your region, contact us at alumni-mlgrips.ac.jp.