Volunteers Academy

‘Meet & Learn’ conference in Geneva

The first ‘Meet & Learn’ conference in Geneva on 30th May is the perfect illustration of an event whose inception is a direct result of interconnections between different networks.

It all started when two alumni put their heads together and shared their thoughts and experiences of organising events for their respective communities. Rodolphe Morvan (GE 90), alumni ambassador in Switzerland, was planning to launch series of conferences and networking sessions “to interconnect people through quality subjects and speakers.”

Brigitte Neveu-Dérotrie (GE 85), ambassador since 2008 of the alumni marketing & digital club in Paris, had just done exactly that in Paris with a workshop on e-reputation, social selling and strategy of influence on social networks. “It seemed logical to get in touch with Brigitte to see what suggestions and advice she had for us”, says Rodolphe.

“When you organise a conference, the most crucial part is finding a theme that addresses a current issue”, says Brigitte. “At the Paris marketing & digital club, we are committed to ensuring that people leave with operational answers for their own business. A format with experience sharing and dialogue between an alum and an expert or consultant often works really well. But it’s also important to think about the choice of date and also the opportunity for social interaction”, she adds.

Audencia alumni in Geneva (Rodolphe, Melanie, Fanny), joined forces with Tiphaine from GEM alumni.

“The two alumni networks have always been close but this is the first time that they have joined forces to offer more events and more networking opportunities”, says Tiphaine.

They shared the tasks from writing the brief to finding the conference room, and most importantly, the speakers and the content!

“We want to renew the experience every 6 months. There are some amazing initiatives in Switzerland focusing on digital topics but not a lot of opportunities to connect through events with real content. ‘Meet & Learn’ is the opportunity to build up a dynamic and share experiences. The source of knowledge through networking is massive!” says Fanny.

With 41 alumni from both schools already registered, we are sure that this will be an inspirational kick-off to the first of a series of ‘Meet & Learn’ conferences. Tiphaine adds a final message to announce the second edition, which is planned for October 2018.

 

Katie François, on behalf of Audencia Alumni’s team

Volunteers Academy

Together one year on

Together, Audencia’s collaborative website for graduates from the school, has just celebrated its first anniversary.  This is the perfect time to look back over this past year with you, our dedicated Audencia Alumni volunteers, who remain key players in the development of this tool.

 

Audencia Alumni’s most visited social networking site

With almost 8,000 active accounts to date at the end of May 2018, Together has succeeded in uniting the networking core of Audencia Alumni. In comparison, our other communication channels have proved less popular: 6,854 members signed up to our LinkedIn group, 3,938 fans on Facebook and 2,821 followers on Twitter.

Outside peak periods (launch phase, new academic term, graduation ceremonies, etc.), the average rate of platform adhesion fluctuates between 150 and 200 accounts per month. A rate we need to speed up to reach the threshold of 12,000 graduates connected to Together, which will enable users to get the greatest benefit from this tool.

 

Enhancing content sharing, a major stake for Together

The other challenge Together is striving to rise to – in addition to the setting up of accounts – is that of reconnecting users to the site. With over 4,300 unique visitors per month, statistics related to visits are more than satisfactory. However, it is also necessary to build up user loyalty with the aim of encouraging them to come back regularly to the site in a spontaneous manner – without always having to be reliant on an email link.

This demonstrates how vital it is to develop the creation and sharing of Together content: on our home page, in the newsfeed but also within clubs and communities. Chats and forums are in the main under-exploited. No doubt we’ll need to consider how we can transform these sections into real micro-blogging spaces, so enabling the graduates to share personal information “births column” (class year communities), recent news and specialist content (clubs, themes), local subjects (geographical communities), and lots more besides.

 

Together needs YOU!

So then, three challenges remain for us to continue developing Together, in addition to technical progress and ongoing feature-related improvements. We invite you to get involved in coming up with solutions to:

  • Facilitate the very first connection of graduates to the tool, via the use of our “Alumni Wanted” feature but including other connections too (LinkedIn campaigns, and the like),
  • Step up reconnections, thanks to the incorporation of more appealing content,
  • Work towards improving the tool’s ergonomic aspects, browsing and technical features.

 

If you’d like to share your ideas with us or get involved in a focus group (in Paris, Nantes or remotely), please get in touch with Emilie. 

 

Florence Alix-Gravellier, on behalf of Audencia Alumni’s team

Volunteers Academy

Together : key figures

Florence Alix-Gravellier, on behalf of Audencia Alumni’s team

Volunteers Academy

Christophe Germain: the challenges facing Audencia

Exclusively for Audencia’s alumni ambassadors! A few days after his appointment as Dean of Audencia, Christophe Germain shares his vision of the School's development over the coming months and years.

 

How do you place Audencia in the business school landscape?

Over the past 15 years, Audencia has evolved in an increasingly competitive, national and international environment and remains among the best schools in France and the world. Being one of less than 0.7% of schools worldwide to hold the triple crown (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS) is a testament to this.

The School aims to pursue its development while maintaining the quality of its programmes. This requires constant innovation and reinforced differentiation, while staying true to the values that are at the heart of our mission.

 

What are the main challenges that Audencia must prepare for?

The first challenge are the courses themselves. Audencia must continue to train managers who are able to integrate the changes faced by their companies both now and in the future (AI, digitalisation, multi-skilling, etc.) and meet expectations within the scope of their responsibilities.

To achieve this, we must continue along the path of innovation and differentiation. Manon Meyer, a Grande Ecole student in Entrepreneurship, thought up Audencia's new baseline ‘Never stop daring’ to express this ambition.

Read

Finally, and this is essential to maintain the school's excellence and outreach, Audencia must continue to strengthen its international presence, in lie with the successful launch of SABS - Shenzhen Audencia Business School.

More

 

How can alumni play a role in Audencia's development?

The role of alumni is self-evident and fundamental; they are the first ambassadors of the School. Alumni have “soft power”, which is key for Audencia’s image and reputation.

Alumni also play a major role in the Audencia’s development, through their presence in the school's governance (namely the Foundation's Board of Directors and the school's Programme and Executive Committees), but also through communication, promotion and teaching activities, as well as their involvement in the relationships that Audencia forges with companies and the financial support they provide for projects. Of course, this list is not exhaustive and other avenues are still to be explored – I would like to work on them with you.

 

 

Florence Alix-Gravellier, on behalf of Audencia Alumni’s team

Volunteers Academy

A trip down memory lane…

Ever wonder what your classmates are up to 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years down the line? Maybe just out of sheer curiosity of what they have gone on to achieve? Shared life stories including time spent at the School together… ESC Nantes, Sup de Co, or Audencia. These strong bonds formed during studies live on thanks to the efforts of class year ambassadors. A case in point is that of Michel and Pascale Pelé (GE 78) who are organising their 40th anniversary class reunion event in Nantes on 28 September 2018 for a class year homecoming. Another ambassador, Michaël Marnier (GE 08), is opting for an evening of festivities in Paris next September.

Ambassadors are genuine and special intermediaries playing a vital role in bringing students together, fostering ties between those from the same class year. They regularly set up afterworks as has indeed been the case for Nicolas Gilet and his class of GE 96 and Maxence Baudier-Melon for GE 15. Forthcoming events, scheduled for June, include the reunion of GE 16, thanks to the work of its ambassador Raphaël Brival, and GE 17 thanks to Julien Denis and Nicolas Mallassagne.

Other more unconventional initiatives are also under way. Indeed, thanks to the endeavours of the class of GE 64, on 31 May a commemorative plaque will be unveiled at 12, rue Voltaire in Nantes, the current location of the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle and the former premises of Audencia.

For those geographically far and wide, there is always digital media!  Stay connected to your class year community on “Together”!  It’s the ideal way to have regular, informal contact, share photos from times gone by and keep in touch.

So it’s over to you to start making plans!

 

 

 

Laetitia Caliez, on behalf of Audencia Alumni’s team

Volunteers Academy

RevolutionS: come and get involved!

Graduates have long been calling for this: an event that is both inspiring and convivial; buzzing with people but also a place where you can still engage and network without getting too lost in the crowd;   glamorous and fun at the same time.

We have decided to rise to this challenge by presenting you with our “RevolutionS: inventing tomorrow!” conference. Following this conference, where you’re sure to find plenty of inspiration, we are throwing a Summer Party, which will be held in a prestigious, convivial setting at a central location – you’ll be wowed by the glass rooftop – with friendly and casual entertainment making it easier to mingle and engage with other guests throughout this fun summer evening.

So if this idea has whet your appetite, it’s now up to you to pass on the invitation to your networks.  Make some noise and get things moving! There’s nothing to beat an alumni inviting another alumni:  you are the best ambassadors for this evening gathering… held especially in your honour.

For those of you outside the capital and our international ambassadors, if ever you are passing through Paris at the beginning of July then you are more than welcome to join us.We’ll keep you posted!

REGISTRATION

 

Florence Alix-Gravellier, on behalf of Audencia Alumni’s team

The end

We hope you enjoyed this issue, we look forward to seeing you in July for a new Ambassadors' extra. 

Until then, for any remarks/questions/suggestions, do not hesitate to drop us a line at audenciaalumni@audencia.com ! 

More info on Together

More emags