Unicamp's new Alumni Platform was launched this Thursday (6). The tool, in addition to stimulating the engagement of alumni, allows current University students to participate. In this way, in addition to tracing the trajectories of former students, the platform will encourage the establishment of contact networks for mentoring, internships and jobs. The Alumni Platform is now available at unicamp-alumni.org.br/ and can also be accessed via an application on a mobile device.
The objective of the platform, according to professor Dora Maria Grassi, leader of the Partnerships with Graduate Graduates (PEG) project, linked to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (PRG), isand engage University alumni in partnerships with current students and encourage voluntary contributions to the support fund for ongoing students. The professor also highlights that other initiatives had already taken place at Unicamp in a similar vein, but the new tool takes a leap forward by seeking involvement from the entire academic community. “One of the details that prevented the platform from moving forward is the need to keep it alive.” That's why, she says, the idea of engaging current students, as well as teachers, on the platform came up.
Features
Other features are also added to the Alumni Platform: feed with news, campaigns and university highlights; directory with alumni and current students, allowing you to connect your class or other contacts in this community; space for academic and professional mentoring, in which each member can offer or request this type of support; panel of opportunities in companies linked to members of this community; group conversations, allowing you to engage in topics that interest you; repository of photos, images and articles from the university's significant moments.
The rector of Unicamp, professor Marcelo Knobel, notes that the initiative is important for the University due to the connection between former and current students and the potential to function as a database. “The important thing for it to be successful is that people use it. We will be able to carry out research, once the database grows, to understand where the graduates are and how they are acting. Students who are at university can join to connect with alumni and this will bring extra mobilization to the platform itself. It is something unprecedented and very important for the university, in all aspects”.
The dean of Undergraduate Studies at Unicamp, Eliana Amaral, also highlights the relevance of the platform, stating that the views of former students can even contribute to improving course curricula. “The Dean of Undergraduate Studies thought about how important it would be to get closer to undergraduate graduates, concerned with understanding what paths our students have taken and how part of their university experiences contributed to this path.”
Registration and engagement
Before the official launch of the platform, data from around 110 graduates had already been collected for pre-registration. To complete registration, you must log in via Linkedin (which already carries professional information) or Google.
Professor Daniela Gatti, who also worked on the Platform, highlights the importance of community engagement and the role of facilitators in this. “The facilitators are the people who will really enter into this process of promoting the platform and will be the strategists so that it continues and has a life of its own.” Each Unicamp unit already has its facilitator or facilitators, who are undergoing training related to navigating the Platform with Denis Clayton Alves Ramos, from the Unicamp Computing Center (CCUEC), and with professor Dora Maria Grassi.
