What are alumni and alumni network?

Networking is a skill, a process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts. Networking is probably the best thing that can help one grow. Thus, more and more people, organizations, and institutions are realizing this very well, and our Alma mater NIH (National institute of Homeopathy) is one of them. One of the best institutions to pursue Homeopathy, NIH stands committed to the cause of its students and makes constant efforts for achieving excellence. One such effort of NIH is its strong alumni network.

With its alumni spread all around the globe including India occupying influential positions, the NIH has built a strong alumni network or better to say a community with the NIH being in the centre of it.

The strong network of NIH’s alumni is a student-institution-student relationship, which enhances the learning process among all, everyone learns from each other and improves themselves, the alumni learn from their colleagues/college mates, the students learn from their seniors, and sometimes the institution also improves itself through some suggestions by these both.

How does the alumni network work?

So, an alumni network is a formal or informal network or community of the passed-out students of an institution and the present student’s generation of the institution. In most cases it is held by the institution itself to help their students learn and grow from the experiences of their senior. An alumni network can function like a backbone and also the face of the institution.

The alumni network of an institution is helpful for academic purpose as it helps their students to learn, improve and grow.

The Alumnis also serve as the face of the institution as their employment status, position in the society and involvement in various projects serve as the face of the institution as students are motivated by accomplishments of their seniors.

Several Colleges and Institutes of great reputation are well aware of the importance of a strong alumni network. Hence endeavours are being made in encouraging, and improving the quality of their alumni network because they have very well realized the fact that this in long turn will represent the institution at different sectors, and may significantly improve the reputation and success of the institution. If the quality and efficiency of students passing out from an organization is maintained these successful graduates- having a high level of intellectual and innovative mindset will uphold this reputation and multiply it exponentially with time. NIH has been successfully doing this since past many decades now.

Importance and benefits of an alumni network

An alumni network works as a community and this community is an important asset for the students, alumni, and institution, as it contributes to all. There are many benefits of this alumni network which has been helping these young homeopaths, which are like

• Providing a platform to know people: This is one of the best things an alumni network will provide, it provides a platform to meet new people, especially the people who know what would it be like to be who you want to be and who have been in your shoes and helping you in every best possible manner and providing others with real-life solutions to those problems, they are like mentors to their juniors and guide them in best possible manner, after all, we are talking about medicine as a career in which not everyone can help with the solutions to your problems and only good homeopaths can help, which are not that easy to find, which are easy to locate in the alumni network community of the NIH.
• Providing people with opportunities they need: The NIH alumni network is very useful to all the concerned parties as they provide them with what they need, they provide students with many opportunities in multiple fields like

  -job opportunities and internship.

  -the opportunity to be a clinical assistant to your seniors etc.

  -an opportunity for further higher studies.

  -the opportunity to join a start-up.

  -learn and many more.

By regular interactions and actively working alumni networks the college is able to track the progress of their alumni and identify those who could be reached out for guidance and mentorship. With placements/jobs being one of the biggest draws of applicants for a college, alumni engagement will prove to be a good strategy.

An alumni network is very important to the students especially, it provides you answer to your question and guides you towards the upcoming challenges in the field, they are the alumni, the best-suited people to help you learn and improve and guide,

As there is a saying: –

“An idiotic man learns from none,
a normal man learns from his own mistake,
but a wise man learns from the mistake of others”

Recommendations for better functioning of the NIH Alumni networks

– To improve the functioning of alumni networks, primarily there should be a sense of gratitude in the alumni towards others and towards the institution, and they should be ready to work towards betterment of the alumni network, and the NIH institution as a whole.

– Alumni network should have an offline as well as an online/digital presence like linked in, WhatsApp, Instagram etc. Building a community which is actively functioning, where the alumni can communicate.

– Alumni meetup should be arranged at least once a year, on some auspicious day like the foundation day of NIH i.e., 9th December, alumni meet could be possibly arranged on 2nd Sunday of December for the convenience of all alumni, for maximum participation.

-The alumni network could be divided into different groups/clubs where the alumni with their expertise could guide the students in entrepreneurship, job search, private practice, research and teaching etc.

–  Deep connection between the alumni and institution management is very useful for both the parties, alumni of the NIH should be actively participating in the management of the alumni network and the institution.

 – Actively working alumni network is immensely beneficial for the students currently studying in college as well, so young alumni should volunteer their time to and take ownership of chapter level initiatives. this is an excellent opportunity for them to build their leadership skills.

CONCLUSION

We have now known almost everything about the alumni network and how it works and how is it been relevant and useful to a premier institution like the NIH, and now as all have realized the vast use and importance of the alumni network in the NIH, we must now pledge to empower this network in the NIH and make it the largest medico alumni network before the 50th foundation anniversary of the NIH, not only NIH it should be open to all to learn from those who know more for the betterment of homeopathy and mankind.

Note: This article was adapted from an article published on the first edition of “Sapere Aude” by Dr. Sandeep Kumar Mishra, BHMS, M.D.Homoeo., Homoeopathic Consultant, IIT-Kanpur.