Events ideas for an alumnus club

September 17, 2012 5:36 AM

please help me with university alumni club events ideas!

I need to start putting together events for an alumnus club of a major US university- the alumnus club in Istanbul. Any city specific or non-city specific ideas would be appreciated. We don't have a reliable space- so far most events I've been to have been in hotel lounges. a lot of the people in the club were business majors so business-y ideas welcome. touristy stuff not a good idea as most members are locals. I'm not local so I'm feeling intimidated.

Can be as simple as bowling night.

posted by saraindc to sports, hobbies, & recreation (6 answers total)

I'm the regional chair of my alumni group, and I've found that people are more likely to attend when the event is somehow related to a fellow alum in the area. Has one opened his/her own restaurant? Go there for appetizers and drinks. Is someone in a play or musical performance? Buy a block of tickets and have everyone meet for dessert afterwards to discuss the show.

Particularly since you're new to organizing these events, doing something tied to a particular person might narrow down the options while also adding a "support your fellow grads!" layer to the outings.
posted by cranberry_nut at 6:11 AM on September 17, 2012

I've been the Alumni Club president of a local chapter for a major US University, although this was stateside. For us, football (US style) and basketball were the major draws. Given that your base is mostly local I'm not sure if they have same attachment to college sports as the typical US alumni. Also, the time difference could be an issue as I imagine watching US based sports live involved being up rather late, or really really early. Although I have friends here that have no problem getting up at 3 AM to watch cricket live, so maybe that wouldn't be a major issue.

Events that brought together alumni for multiple schools for networking purposes were also always popular. So if your school was part of a major conference maybe try organizing a quarterly "Big 10 networking meetup" or whatever the appropriate conference is.

Along those same lines, reach out to other US University alumni groups in Istanbul and ask them what events work for them. Here is the Turkey contact for Purdue - to get you started. Cultural differences have to be accounted for, but in the end business majors worldwide are probably are looking for the same types of opportunities to connect and advance their careers or businesses.
posted by COD at 6:12 AM on September 17, 2012

Well... if my childhood experience is any indication, you organise some sort of American sporting event (flag football?) and then drop massive hints that children are welcome to play. Then a third of the adults play in the game, plus a couple of kids (confusing the hell out of whatever group you've recruited to field an opposing team), while the other two thirds 'spectate', i.e. chat to each other. Then you go somewhere where you can drink alcohol (assuming you can't drink in the park in Turkey). This is how I learned to play cricket.

Or... you can see if anyone from your university has a job at the embassy/consulate and invite them to dinner and then act like they're some big name guest you've recruited and some guy you've known for thirty years who you would have invited anyway.

To be serious, though, it probably depends a lot on the demographics of your group. Are most of the people who turn up well-established in their careers? If so, then maybe social events/outings are better than networking events. (Or, if you believe me, networking events all suck. As does 'let's watch football'. Which is why I've never gone to an alumni event. Then again, I wasn't a business major.) Do they have kids? Maybe that makes picnics or barbecues a good idea.
posted by hoyland at 6:48 AM on September 17, 2012

and some guy you've known for thirty years who you would have invited anyway.

and NOT some guy...

(They really did this. Invitation: "We're having dinner with the new consul!" Mom: "Wait... half of us know the consul.")
posted by hoyland at 6:51 AM on September 17, 2012

My local alumni club (another overseas chapter of a US university) does
- way too many happy hours. Seriously, please do something besides (only) happy hours!
- talks by well-positioned alumni or alumni from similar type schools
- behind-the-scenes events, recently including one at a classical music concert
- private guided tours on special exhibitions, most recently a photo exhibit
- a potluck dinner when a current grad student was visiting and presenting her research (really interesting!)

Often the events are joined with going out for drinks (more happy hours) or an over-priced meal. A lot of these activities are done with other universities, I suppose to ensure more attendees and more new people.

As someone who rarely ends up going, I want to point out a couple things that would get me going more often:
- diversity of events
- awareness of your demographic: how old are your alumni? do you need to get younger alums involved? what is the expected budget of the participants?
posted by whatzit at 12:17 PM on September 17, 2012

I woke up this morning thinking about your question: another event of awesome was to get together with the alumni (particularly the less-than-10-years-out alumni) and the students who had been accepted for the coming year.

Especially in an international setting, there's added value for the students who may be moving overseas for the first time or visiting the US for the first time. It's scary to move to a place you have never been to, especially if it is your first time leaving home, in a different language, to start a new direction in life!
posted by whatzit at 12:07 AM on September 18, 2012