Delhi University has nurtured countless bright minds over the years. Beyond the realm of classrooms and lecture halls, lies a hidden gem that holds immense potential for personal and professional growth: the Delhi University Alumni Network. There are a huge number of benefits of Delhi University Alumni Network including an extensive network of accomplished individuals that spans industries, continents, and generations, offering a plethora of benefits to its members
From unparalleled networking opportunities to mentorship programs, and philanthropic initiatives to lifelong learning avenues, the Delhi University Alumni Network is a powerful catalyst for success, connecting past, present, and future members in a tapestry of shared knowledge, experiences, and opportunities.
In this article, we delve into the captivating realm of the benefits of Delhi University Alumni Network and uncover the multitude of advantages it bestows upon its fortunate members and decode how DU alumni can help the students.
What is an Alumni Network?
An alumni or alumnae network is an association of graduates or, more astronomically, an association of former scholars. These alumni associations frequently organise social events, publish newsletters and raise finances for the association.
Most educational institutions offer an alumni network to encourage ongoing engagement among former students. Alumni networks exist for high schools, colleges, universities, and even programs like research fellowships.
Alumni guidance is one of the essential aspects that provides any graduate and undergraduate student with promising career possibilities. Delhi University Alumni networks may provide instant solutions for problems which are also beneficial for students in the long run.
Delhi University – India’s Best Alumni Network
Delhi University is India’s largest Institution of higher studies. It was established in 1922 with just three colleges and 750 students, but now it has more than 90 constituent colleges. And its alumni network is so huge that every student dreams of studying at DU. Delhi University alumni association is necessary for both, the students as well as the students. Let’s talk about these benefits one by one.
Benefits of Delhi University Alumni Network
The Alumni Network of Delhi University has huge significance for the colleges and departments of the University of Delhi as mentioned below –
Build up a Mutual Affinity
A good relationship with alumni is important for students and the Institution. The Delhi University alumni network plays a very important role in the marketing of the institution by promoting its brand. For instance, just by posting anything positive regarding the Institution on social media, a successful alumnus boosts the number of applicants for that Institution.
Institutions like Delhi University are very well aware of the benefits of an alumni network because they are the ones who guide, mentor, and give insights regarding internships and other career opportunities to students.
Any educational institution needs to build a strong, supportive, engaging, and influential alumni network because it is the only connection between the graduates and institutions after they leave. Communication is the key to any relationship. That’s why both alumni, as well as institutions, need to have a strong alumni network.
Contribution of Alumni
Alumni help students in many ways as they have already been through all of this, whatever other undergraduates are going through. They are very familiar with all the scopes, possibilities, and opportunities one might grab in their college, and they know how to tackle every problem any undergraduate faces. Listed below are a few contributions by an alumni network –
- Help in acing the interview to fetch the dream job in the desired organization.
- Mentoring students in respective areas of expertise.
- Providing insights regarding scholarships and other fee waiver schemes in colleges.
- Providing references to deserving candidates so that they can get good jobs.
Involvement in Career Development
Alumni associations involve and associate with students and institutions for the development of the career of students by helping students in exploring various career paths, participating in and organizing internships, and mentoring and connecting students with their future.
A community built up by alumni, students, and institutions fosters the growth of all careers and benefits the Institution in maintaining its reputation.
Strong hold on Social Media
Nowadays, everyone knows the internet, its usage, advantages, and significance. It is omnipresent in our lives. No one in today’s world can deny its usage. We use it now and then, especially the youth, who spend hours on various social media platforms.
If any institution wants to build strong relationships with its students, they need to have a strong presence and hold over the internet. Alumni help in building strong networks over social media platforms.
A good social media strategy and quality content are essential ingredients for any institution to maintain communication with students after graduation.
Alumni also help students by posting about various jobs and internships. They can assist with the best job opportunity, creating a healthy relationship chain between Institution, alumni, and graduate students.
Benefits of Alumni Networks for Students
When it comes to benefitting students, DU alumni associations play various roles. Mainly they act as the students’ mentors and the university’s ambassadors. When there is time for placements, top companies often consider alumni before visiting a college, and a good alumni network creates hype among companies which helps universities in getting good placements.
Here is a comprehensive list of benefits of Delhi University Alumni Network to students and the answer to the question “How Delhi University Alumni can help students?”:
Networking
Just after your graduation, it’s hard for everyone to get placed in the desired company. Still, if you have good connections and contacts with seasoned professionals, things become a lot easier for you. The best way to make a network is by communicating and seeking help from the DU alumni networks.
DU alumni associations may directly introduce you to some professionals, or they might organise virtual networking sessions, and sometimes they might organise employment fairs. On LinkedIn, none might easily find DU alumni groups where you can chat, communicate, learn, and grow.
Events
DU alumni networks organise and conduct various seminars, activities, events, and internship fairs. Organising these seminars and alumni talks helps in creating a stronger community and builds great relationships with college friends and alumni. Alumni gatherings are great for networking and interacting with famous alumni of Delhi University.
Career Counselling
Alumni associations guide careers to recently graduated individuals as well as experienced alumni. If you are planning just to fetch your first job or juggling between thoughts of changing or not changing your career path, the DU alumni association can always be relied upon.
By attending the DU alumni meet and seminars, you get insights about different career options, and you can easily get your first job and easily transition into other career options with the correct guidance.
Mentorship
It is so true that you can never forget your college days. The life you spend in your college remains with you forever, those who are part of the DU alumni association in an attempt to relive their college life want to take up mentorship opportunities at colleges, and they come and mentor students.
This is one of the greatest advantages of the DU alumni network as they impart industrial knowledge and give insights into the true work environment. This increases credibility and trusts for any institution.
Global connections
If any student is benefitted from the Delhi University alumni association, there are higher chances that in the future, when he becomes one of the alumni, he will contribute towards the betterment of other new students and the Institution.
If he got his dream placement because of help from the DU alumni association of his time, he would also reciprocate the same. If he reaches the position of hiring someone, he will hire someone from the institution, due to which he is where he is today; this forms a chain of connections and serves the purpose of everyone becoming part of it.
Delhi University’s Alumni Association
After reading about these benefits, one thing is very clear: a good alumni association has so much to offer to its Institution, fellow alumni, and students. That’s why the Alumni Association becomes a major check mark when deciding on a higher-education university.
In India, there are universities, colleges, and institutions with notable alumni, but none can beat the alumni association of Delhi University. It has notable alumni in almost every field. It has produced the best actors, politicians, and the best cricketers in our nation.
Here is a list of some of the notable Delhi University alumni –
Politicians
Narendra Modi (School of Open Learning), Arun Jaitley(Faculty of Law), Shashi Tharoor(St. Stephen’s College), Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed(St. Stephen’s College), Sheila Dikshit(Miranda House), Sucheta Kriplani(Indraprastha College), Naveen Jindal(Hansraj College), and many more.
Foreign Politicians
State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi(Lady Shri Ram College), third President of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika(Shri Ram College of Commerce), former Prime Minister of Nepal Girija Prasad Koirala(Kirori Mal College), sixth President of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq(St. Stephen’s College) and two former Prime Ministers of Bhutan, Sangay Ngedup(St. Stephen’s College), and Khandu Wangchuk(St. Stephen’s College).
Actors/Actresses
DU is the university that has provided the best-talented actors and actresses to Indian cinema and theatre, which includes Amitabh Bachchan(Kirori Mal College), Shah Rukh Khan(Hansraj College), Sidharth Malhotra(Shaheed Bhagat Singh College), Manoj Bajpayee(Ramjas College), Kabir Khan(Kirori Mal College), Konkona Sen Sharma(St. Stephen’s College), Arjun Rampal(Hindu College), Anurag Kashyap(Hansraj College), Imran Zahid(Hindu College), Sakshi Tanwar(Lady Shri Ram College), Neha Dhupia(Jesus and Mary College), Mallika Sherawat(Miranda House), Huma Qureshi (Gargi College), Imtiaz Ali(Hindu College), Vishal Bhardwaj( Hindu College), Aditi Rao Hydari(Lady Shri Ram College), Nimrat Kaur(Shri Ram College of Commerce), Aditi Arya(Shaheed Sukhdev college) and many more.
Literature
Notable DU alumni include Harcharan Singh, the Sahitya Akademi Award winner, dramatist, and playwright Akhtar ul Iman very prominent and renowned Urdu Poet (Zakir Hussain College). And Amitav Ghosh(St. Stephen’s College), Anita Desai(Miranda House), Upmanyu Chatterjee(St. Stephen’s College), Kunzang Choden(Indraprastha College), Khushwant Singh recipient of Padma Vibhushan(St. Stephen’s College).
Science
Notable alumni in the sciences include Archana Bhattacharyya (Physicist), Pran Nath (theoretical physicist), Jogesh Pati (SLAC physicist), Amitava Raychaudhuri (particle physicist), Vinod Krishan (astrophysicist), Charusita Chakravarty and Anil Kumar Tyagi (chemists), engineer and “father of the Pentium processor” Vinod Dham, Eknath Prabhakar Ghate (mathematician), Sangeeta Malhotra (astrophysicist), Yogi Goswami (engineer), B. K. Misra (neurosurgeon).
Humanities
Notable alumni in the humanities and social sciences include Gita Gopinath (Lady Shri Ram College for Commerce), a professor of economics at Harvard University, and economist and Senior Vice-President. and Chief Operating Officer of World Bank Kaushik Basu (St. Stephen’s College). Historians like Upinder Singh( St. Stephen’s College), Usha Sanyal, and Arundhati Virmani(Indraprastha College). Meera Khanna (gender rights activists) and Geeta Chandran (Bharatnatyam dancer). Etc.
Commerce
Many successful business people who have launched cutting-edge enterprises have graduated from Delhi University. InMobi, founded by Naveen Tewari in 2007, has grown to be one of the world’s largest independent mobile advertising companies; Go-MMT, founded by Dhruv Shringi, Manish Amin, and Sabina Chopra in 2005, operates well-known online travel portals like MakeMyTrip and Expedia, Write by Shailesh Jaiswal & Smridhi Seth is one of the successful AI firms developed by its alumni. In addition to having a big impact on the Indian economy, these startups have also boosted the global economy.
Conclusion
These days, Delhi University alumni gatherings are hugely important and shouldn’t only be limited to once-a-year class reunions. The partnership must go beyond these occasions if it is to be an enduring alliance built on trust and love.
Any institution’s reputation is heavily influenced by its academic standing. The enrolled students, their accomplishments, and the overall alumni network. The reputation of an institution’s educational program is often bragged about by its graduates. In the past, alumni and their alma mater were separate, had fewer ties, and existed on their own.
There were a few selected institutions, like Delhi University, that tried to maintain relationships with former students through alumni associations, like “Delhi University Alumni Association”.
However, the advent of social media has favoured a new degree of engagement between institutions and alumni. By creating groups and profiles on various networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc., institutions can now practically engage with their alumni.
DU Squad is the only one-stop platform on the internet providing updates about anything and everything related to the University of Delhi.
