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Alumni N etwork 2nd Annual Alumni Conference In the year since the 1st Annual Alumni Conference the Alumni Network has grown and grown. The membership has more than doubled and activity increased across the board. With these improvements and developments, expectations have also been increased, so it was clear that the 2nd Annual Alumni Conference would have to be even better than the last. Despite challenging economic times, 26 alumni from 18 different countries arrived in Belfast for a weekend of fun and professional development. The group even included several alumni that were at the first alumni conference in Skopje, FYR Macedonia. Despite coming from countries as diverse as Brazil, Pakistan, Poland, China, Tunisia, Jordan, USA, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Serbia, Turkey, UK and Switzerland, it was clear from the beginning that what everyone brought with them was the IAESTE spirit! Heavy snowfall meant that not all the participants could arrive in time for the welcome event that took place at the Europa Hotel alongside the participants from the 66th IAESTE Annual Conference. Those that were there enjoyed drinks, some traditional fish and chips and a warm welcome from the conference organisers. By Saturday morning nearly all of the participants had arrived and the conference got underway with the formal welcome and conference opening. After a series of inspiring speeches and a bit of lunch, it was time for the first Alumni Conference session. Feedback from last year’s conference suggested that participants would like to have the opportunity for some professional development. Thanks to 4
former General Secretary, Pauline Ferguson, we were able to find the IAESTE Alumnus Enda Young who is a leader in his field of conflict resolution. Enda agreed to host a workshop for participants focussing on dealing with conflict in the work place and in life generally. From the feedback we received after the event, Enda’s workshop was a real highlight of the conference. Not only was it engaging and fun, the participants also felt like they learned a lot that they could take back into their lives and use. After the intensive morning session and a nice lunch with the AC participants, the afternoon was spent hearing from the Alumni Relations Manager about the current status of the Alumni Network and gave the participants the opportunity to provide feedback and develop new ideas to take forward. It was a really excellent session and lots of great feedback and ideas were received. The enthusiasm shown by the participants clearly showed how firmly they hold IAESTE in their hearts. IAESTE Alumni are very keen to stay involved with the organisation and are a huge resource for the organisation with the experience and knowledge they bring. In the evening the participants attended the gala dinner which took place at the Titanic Signature Building. The dinner was a truly memorable experience, not just in terms of the excellent food, but also the atmosphere and setting. At the end of the evening participants were treated to a concert from the Belfast Community choir which was incredible and a wonderful way to finish the first day’s programme. It was going to be hard to top day one but we had to try. The day began with a bus tour of Belfast, taking in all the famous sites including the Peace Wall, Stormont, Queen’s University, Belfast and many more. We were lucky enough to have Pauline Ferguson as our tour guide and she was an excellent source of local information and very entertaining. Despite the snow and difficult driving conditions, everyone had a great time and learned a lot about the wonderful city of Belfast. After warming up and some lunch, it was time for the afternoon sessions, The History of IAESTE, once again delivered by Pauline Ferguson, Fundraising activities, delivered by Eleftheria Karydi and then an opportunity to hear from the participants themselves. Listening to the participants tell their own stories was very inspiring and showed just how much IAESTE impacts on people’s lives. The willingness of those people to want to give back to the organisation by staying involved with IAESTE was amazing and really showed the benefit of hosting a conference for Alumni. The final event left for the weekend was the famous International Evening where over 300 delegates shared food and drink from their home countries. The Alumni Conference participants had their own table and brought together many different flavours from all over the world. A great time was had by all and it was a wonderful way to end the conference for the alumni. We are already looking forward to the 3rd Annual Alumni Conference which will take place next January in Ecuador and we hope to see many of our alumni there! s Photo taken by Anli Tang For lots more photos from the 2nd Annual Alumni Conference, log in to the Alumni Network! 5
Page 1 and 2: the IAESTE alumni magazine A N lumn
Page 3: Message from the General Secretary
Page 7 and 8: A lumni N etwork IAESTEs Annual Alu
Page 9 and 10: ‘Përshëndetje’ means ‘Hello
Page 11 and 12: Interview with Board Members A lumn
Page 13 and 14: Annual Conference IAESTE Peru and I
Page 15 and 16: Careers International Top Engineers
Page 17 and 18: Do you want to gain any internship
Page 19 and 20: A lumni IAESTE Alumnus Thomas Hughe
Page 21 and 22: Ali Khan on his traineeship in Toky
Page 23: Contacts Contact Details: IAESTE Ge

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