When in 2018 the National Agency for Academic Exchange made a call for applications for the International Alumni Project, we did not hesitate for a moment. We thought: this is the perfect time for action for wider involvement of our graduates. We want this Project to become an impulse for activities that will go beyond the time frame, in which it will be implemented.

As the most important goal, we identified the improvement of communication with the graduates of the Jagiellonian University. We considered various options, including the creation of a special platform for our graduates. However, after some thought and consultation, we decided to choose an existing solution that offers wide possibilities and brings together a large community of people associated with the Jagiellonian University. We chose the LinkedIn platform as a meeting place for people of business and science.

The first phase of the Project saw the development of a communication strategy which is now about to be implemented. We would like to offer our graduates engaging content, such as news about the life of the Jagiellonian University, information about meetings, conferences, as well as training courses, workshops, interviews and interesting articles.

We want our profile to become your place of contact with the Alma Mater. In September 2019, we launched a special survey in which we asked about the possibility of cooperation and expectations towards the Jagiellonian University. The response surprised us. We received several hundred answers that provided us with invaluable help in specifying the nearest plans and directions in which we should go.

Our talks with those people who took the survey and agreed to be contacted produced ideas for collaborative action that we are going to take together. Some of you shared their career stories with us, some said they were ready to become mentors.

Speaking of mentors, we would like to draw your attention to the second part of the second part of the Jagiellonian University’s Alumni Project. Ten of our mentor alumni attended a special ceremony that took place in Cracow on 11 May 2020. This ceremony was the culmination of a series of trainings prepared by mentors for Jagiellonian University students. Each mentor met a group of students for three sessions to discuss topics related to career planning and development within the industry represented by the mentor.

Students were able to learn about the conditions in the job market, directly from practitioners currently living and working outside Poland.

The May event was just the beginning. In the following years, we want to develop cooperation with the graduates of our University within various fields. So, please, don’t hesitate to contact us. If you have any comments, suggestions, doubts or questions, please let us know. And visit our LinkedIn profile.

 

Project Manager - Piotr Rapciak, alumni@uj.edu.pl