National Engineering College, Kovilpatti has been running a highly structured alumni mentoring program under the name Alumni Lecture Series, with over 100 sessions and counting since 2023. Each department hosts one session a month where expert alumni engineers share insights on emerging technology and industry trends. On average, 80+ students participate in each session, making it a consistent and high-impact initiative.
To keep running things smoothly, NEC has laid out a clear framework from identifying the right alumni and planning quarterly schedules, to promoting the sessions and collecting feedback from the involved parties.
Idea Behind the Initiative
The NEC Alumni Association (NECAA) has always aimed to build a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with its alumni engaging them through networking events, expert talks, career services, and reunions held across India and abroad.
As part of its mission to support student development, the association wanted to make alumni involvement purposeful. With the institution’s backing, this led to the launch of the Alumni Lecture Series, a structured initiative where alumni could contribute to student learning by sharing their professional knowledge and experiences.
Procedure Followed by NEC
To ensure smooth execution, the NEC Alumni Association and college leadership designed a comprehensive framework for the Alumni Lecture Series, covering every detail from sourcing topics and identifying speakers to scheduling and execution.
The planning committee designs a 4-month rolling calendar for each semester that takes into account student and mentor availability, academic timelines, and exam schedules. Contingency plans for common challenges like speaker cancellations or student dropouts are also well-documented, ensuring the program remains resilient and reliable.
Planning & Execution
The alumni portal plays a major role in identifying the right mentors. Based on the topics suggested by students via request forms, alumni coordinators from all seven departments shortlist and finalize speakers at least a month before the session.
Alumni profiles rich with designation, professional history, skills, and expertise are carefully reviewed, and outreach is done personally through calls and emails. Additionally, an alumni registration form is circulated through the alumni portal, social media, and internal channels to invite interested alumni to contribute.
Once the speaker is confirmed, the team goes all out on the planning and promotion. Specially designed promotional posters are shared on the alumni portal and social media for maximum reach. The webinar event is created on the portal and the student registrations are accepted a week from the webinar. Reminder emails are sent to the attendees and alumni a couple of days before the webinar.
Post – Session Engagement
The effort doesn’t end with the session. Session recordings are shared on the portal and photos on the social platforms to encourage wider participation. Feedback forms are sent to both students and speakers, and a post-event report is published on the alumni portal.
Regular review meetings are held to reflect, learn, and improve. To keep motivation high, NECAA rewards the most active student in each session and recognizes the best webinar speaker each semester based on participant feedback.
Conclusion
By turning alumni into mentors, NEC has built a win-win model one that not only drives student development but also allows alumni to showcase their expertise and grow as subject matter experts. While Vaave has provided the platform and operational backbone, it’s NEC’s well-thought-out strategy and consistent execution that truly power the success of the Alumni Lecture Series.
For institutions looking to move beyond reunions and newsletters, NEC’s approach offers a clear path: engage alumni not just as mere members, but as active drivers of academic and professional growth.