BITC Alumni Network Reflections
Q & A with Sophia Owens, BITC Alumni Project Lead for Sixty7.Green
As part of Business in the Community’s 40 th Anniversary celebrations, Sixty7.Green was commissioned back in November 2021 to help design, develop and deliver an Alumni network which aimed to bring together all those who had worked for and with BITC to connect, collaborate and continue to build on their great work as former BITC colleagues.
Q: Tell us some highlights of the alumni network over the past year?
A: The past year has seen the alumni network really flourish as a forum for sharing best practice, alumni have been reaching out to each other for suggestions of case studies, inspiration for campaigns, sourcing great talent and debating and sharing thoughts on issues from geopolitical challenges facing business to diversity and inclusion in supply chains.
There have also continued to be networking both in person and online, we had a great opportunity during storm Ciarian at the Eden Project in Cornwall, for familiar and not so familiar faces to meet up and share our reflections on 3 days of enlightening debate at The Anthropy conference.
We’ve discussed all things climate and education for those with a particular interest in these areas with regular online lunchtime catch ups and we’ve had socials and meet ups with Christmas drinks and celebrations of colleagues in and around BITC’s offices in Shepherdess walk.
Q: Why do you think the alumni network is important?
A: Part of the vision for founding the alumni network was that it remained simple, open to everyone who has been a part of the BITC story and inclusive. We did a lot of research as to what makes alumni networks work for universities, military, and large companies and tried to apply some of that same logic to building this network, the overriding element we kept of coming back to is a sense of belonging and the network feeling owned by the individuals and not the organisation and I think that’s what makes it so important and why it continues to engage and be of importance. There is a sense of community, people can share as much or as little as they like but there is a shared understanding of values and a genuine desire to contribute and help each other and that’s pretty magical.
Q: What plans do you have for the future of the network?
A: We would love to see the network grow and are looking at opportunities to reach out to more alumni to join the group and provide space for more collaborations and are hoping to plan some more chances to meet up.
We’ve also recognised the huge pool of talent that the network represents and are developing a directory of alumni who now offer services from event organisation, project management, research and accountancy to name a few, we think this will be a great resource as a trusted source to connect with talent and hope it will also grow to include those looking for volunteering opportunities or a skills swap.
We want the network to be really responsive to the needs of the alumni themselves and so always love to hear ideas and suggestions, but ultimately, we are keeping it simple and facilitating a space where the alumni themselves drive the agenda.
If you would like to learn more about the BITC Alumni Network please email Sophia.evans@sixty7.green or if you are an Alumni and would like to join us, you can apply directly via LinkedIn here:
