Each year, EADA Alumni organises a series of events to ensure that former students can re-connect and network with like-minded professionals. EADA is committed to sharing its achievements, such as the latest rankings and accreditations, with alumni, who are behind the school’s continued success. Alumni events include the EADA Annual Meeting (EAM), International Alumni Homecoming, professional development opportunities and international Meet Ups.
Annual Meet Ups take place in cities around the world and are designed to bring alumni together and encourage transversal ties between community members from varying programmes and classes. These events are an important opportunity for our 120,000 alumni from more than 85 nationalities to relive the EADA experience and maintain a link with the school.
According to Master in Finance alumnus Omar Urbina, who attended the Meet Up in Mexico in January, forming part of the alumni community is an important part of the EADA experience. “Alumni Meet Ups provide the chance for us to find out what is happening at the school, explore new networking opportunities and continue developing professionally long after leaving Barcelona,” he says.
Meet Ups can take several formats, and often include interactive sessions with top speakers, networking dinners or cocktails or sightseeing tours. This year, attendees have heard from alumni and experts on topics including companies as tools of change, entrepreneurship, leadership development and success in a VUCA world.
Over the last two years, more than 800 alumni have participated in a total of more than 50 activities. Master in Management alumnus Christoph Stamm, a regular attendee of the Meet Ups in Germany, values his involvement in the alumni community. “EADA programmes seem like a one-year experience, but they can become a life-long experience,” he says. “At Meet Ups, you can broaden your network, discuss professional opportunities, make new contacts and develop new friendships – you leave with the feeling that your year in Barcelona will never end.”
Already this year, EADA Alumni has hosted events in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and the U.K. Events are attended by the MBA director, Master programme directors and/or the Associate Dean and organised by EADA’s representatives around the world in collaboration with the department of EADA Alumni in EADA.
EADA Alumni Director Melissa Handely confirms that the intense planning and coordination of Meet Ups worldwide is well worth it. “EADA’s talented alumni are without any doubt a tremendous asset to each other and to the school,” she says. “Meet Ups provide a space in which our alumni can engage, share experiences and discuss professional opportunities. We are committed to creating an alumni community in which lifelong networking and learning can thrive.”