At the beginning of November the International Office welcomed ex-students, -lecturers, and -researchers of the University of Bremen to the first alumni meeting to be held in Shanghai. Seventeen alumni made the most of this opportunity to reminisce about their experiences in Bremen, as well as to explore possibilities for pursuing common interests in research and business. The Bremen organizers, Dr. Annette Lang and Dr. Petra Westhaus-Ekau, are convinced that this initiative will result in the development of an active alumni group.

The oldest participant had studied in Bremen in the 1980s. Today he is Professor of Computer Sciences at the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunication. Others had studied Economics or Social Sciences, Chemistry and German Studies, or obtained a PhD in Bremen. Members of the group of Germanists from the German Faculty of the University of Tongji regularly visit Bremen as doctoral candidates or visiting researchers.

The onetime “Bremer” share fond memories of their alma mater and want to maintain contact, so the meeting presented a valuable opportunity for networking. The University of Bremen pursues goals of its own: enthusiastic alumni are the University’s best ambassadors. They are contact points abroad, can assist in exchange projects, provide competent advice, and mediate business contacts. Returning Chinese students can also benefit from the support offered by members of this group.

The benefits of networking

The meeting in Shanghai is one of the first tangible results of an alumni project funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) that the International Office is carrying out in close cooperation with the Bremen alumni network “community bremen e.V.”. Thanks to a dedicated database and online platform, the group can network online and stay in contact. As soon as several alumni start to meet at one place, additional sub-groups are set up within the region. These meetings tie in neatly with the University of Bremen’s internationalization strategy. Another group of alumni in China, this time in Beijing, is already very active.

The Shanghai group will meet again very soon. In future it will be possible to organize one or the other specialist event or mutual project with funding from the DAAD. The International Office is able to count on the support of the Bremen Liaison Office of the State of Bremen in Shanghai and takes this opportunity to thank the staff there for their excellent on-the-spot assistance.
You can find out more about the University of Bremen’s alumni network under:
www.uni-bremen.de.