Holland Alumni Conference: alumni vital for universities

Holland alumni from all over the world gathered in the Hague last week at the Holland Alumni Conference, organised by the Netherlands organisation for international cooperation in higher education (Nuffic). Personal encounters such as these play a centrale role in “linking knowledge worldwide” (the Nuffic motto), as Sander van den Eijnden, the Nuffic director-general, emphasised in his opening speech.

Sijbolt Noorda, president of the VSNU and keynote speaker, emphasised that the relationship between alumni and their universities is a two-way relationship. Universities play an important role in the lives of their alumni. They remain part of their educational experience but also of their CV. At the same time, alumni are vital for their universities. They are their ambassadors, their links with the world. “The pride of a university is the success of its students and the other way round”, Noorda said. He also pointed to the role of alumni in providing feed-back, not only about their past experiences at a Dutch university, but also with a view to the future, in advising universities on how to become better. Feed-back is particularly relevant with respect to three core features of higher education, Noorda maintained: its international character, its ability to respond to challenges and to be dynamic, and the diverse nature of its educational paths, catering for the diverse needs of students. Noorda gave examples of the activities at Dutch research universities in these areas, but also stressed that the feed-back provided by alumni is important for universities in maintaining and improving their already high standards in these areas.

Alumni policy has been given increasing attention at the Dutch research universities and Dutch organisations of higher education. Nuffic has recently launched the Holland alumni website www.hollandalumni.nl, and all Dutch research universities offer alumni clubs, networks, and activities.