Shortlisted for THE leadership and management award

The University has been shortlisted in one of higher education’s leading national awards for best practice for the way it engages with its alumni.

Kent is one of three universities shortlisted in the Alumni Engagement Award in the annual Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards (THELMAs).

The award for alumni engagement will be given to the institution that ‘can best demonstrate innovation, creativity and success in encouraging alumni engagement with, and philanthropic giving to, an institution’.

The University’s submission centres on its innovative Kent Experiences of Work Network (KEW-NET), which is a partnership between the Careers and Employability Service and the Development Office. This is an e-mentoring platform which brings together its global alumni community in support of current students and young alumni through mentoring and networking.

Members can be both a mentor and a mentee and develop their own skills and opportunities while supporting others using their individual experience. The intuitive and easy to use platform enables members to search for mentors based on location, course/time studied, job title or sector, and mentors can tailor the support they offer depending on their availability and expertise.

Alumni engagement with KEW-NET has also helped the University tailor its employability and stewardship activities and facilitated the identification of new donor and volunteering leads.

The other universities shortlisted for the alumni award are Aston University and City, University of London. The THELMA winners will be announced on Thursday 22 June 2017 at a ceremony in London.