One Big Family of 100,000 People
NO LONGER AN ASSOCIATION, BUT A COMMUNITY: THE ORGANIZATION IS CHANGING FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE BOCCONI ALUMNI COMMUNITY. AS EXPLAINED BY RICCARDO MONTI, ELENA GELOSA AND BRUNO BUSACCAFrom a small group to one big family of 100,000 Alumni in 110 countries around the world. This key step marks the establishment of the Bocconi Alumni Community, first presented at the Leaders Conference in October. After the BAA association, Bocconi alumni are now starting over, focusing on one crucial aspect: a community, just like a family, is for everyone. Anyone who has graduated from Bocconi or completed a major SDA Bocconi program is an alum of the University. And always will be.
This evolution highlights the close connection with the University. The Rector, Gianmario Verona, reaffirms this idea that the alumni are a crucial asset for a team like Bocconi, which aspires to always play in the Champions League. They are Bocconi’s 12th player.
Though its form is changing, the new Bocconi Alumni Community’s goal remains the same: to work side by side with the University to bring the world to Bocconi and Bocconi to the world. Lots of projects are already underway or will be expanded or introduced with this shift, with a focus on the three pillars at the foundation of being a Bocconi alum: lifelong learning, career and giving. In the first area, the work of Topic Groups will be increasingly important, with more events offered in streaming and more Bocconi faculty as guests at events organized by Chapters. The area of careers has been one of the most requested and appreciated over the years, and it will be further developed, especially through job search, career development and self-employment initiatives. In the last area, giving, the numbers speak for themselves: there have been 1,780 donations so far from more than 1,600 donors (almost 1,300 of whom are alumni). These are tangible, concrete gestures, which have supported more than 1,000 students.
Bruno Busacca, Dean of Fundraising and Alumni Engagement
“Implementing change is not easy, people are needed to help achieve the goal. We need people with several specific characteristics: people who can match the location’s needs with Bocconi’s, who are clear, and therefore able to work transparently, and reliable, i.e. able to meet expectations without opportunism. Determined people are needed, who are able to transform intentions into concrete projects, who move fast and can make small changes quickly, producing bigger changes downstream. Authentic people, who are able to take on challenges with honesty, who are enthusiastic, which is often missing, and who are eclectic because they can make the many tradeoffs that community life requires. All these characteristics can be found in the Bocconi alumni who are building this great community project together.”
Riccardo Monti, President of the Bocconi Alumni Community
“With this step, we are concluding the expansion of the community and reaffirming a concept that is more important than ever: anyone who studies at Bocconi is an Alumnus for the rest of their lives. Keeping in close contact with its more than 20,000 Alumni abroad is in Bocconi’s DNA. In recent years, we have taken important steps, but you fall behind if you don’t make progress. To develop the new Bocconi Alumni Community project, we listened to the members of our community and were inspired by leading universities around the world. We have integrated our assets with the University’s in order to operate as one single entity, working in full coordination. We would like to expand and strengthen the services that Alumni have used over the years even more, and we would like to have a very international board elected online at a global level, a decision that highlights the community’s global reach. When completed, the board will be inclusive, have 20 members and represent the community’s diversity, with at least 5 women, 4 residents abroad and 2 alumni that have graduated in the past 5 years.”
Elena Gelosa, Director of the Bocconi Alumni Community
“We have launched a long-term project for change, which has a very strong message that we would like to include in our communication campaign as well: ‘#everyonematters’. People are the focus of our thoughts and actions. The Bocconi Alumni brand is active, with a strong sense of identity and community. It is a way of being, of working, of feeling part of a group, of guaranteeing excellent standards. It is a brand that generates value for each individual alum, while at the same time evolving, regenerating and succeeding thanks to the contribution of each of us in our professional lives and life within the association. We all have the Bocconi brand on our résumés and, I’m sure, in our hearts. It is a brand that exists because of how much the University is able to do, and how much Alumni around the world do for it. We are working on various projects to develop the community in sync with the University. A few examples: sharing the travel agenda of Bocconi faculty to organize Chapter events; mentoring for students and JobGate; creating biennial events in various areas with community leaders to share ideas and best practices; the assessment tool B-Aware developed with SDA Bocconi and offering livestreamed #Mine events. The Bocconi Alumni Community is made up of people connected by a relationship of trust, who don’t want to disappoint or be disappointed. This is what gives us the strong sense of responsibility that inspires us.”
by Andrea Celauro
Translated by Jenna Walker
