Alumni and corporate partnerships: The benefits of a never-ending story

AUTHOR: Deborah Tarrant   DATE: 02.09.05   ISSUE 2, 2005

Beyond learning and leading edge research, arguably the most exciting and valuable aspect of a business school is the scope and connectedness of its community. Alumni and corporate partners bring far-reaching influence, expertise and contacts across the business world, locally and globally.

AGSM has 10,000 alumni in 68 countries, a pool of highly talented individuals whose diverse backgrounds and experiences provide a rich resource for one another.

Illustration: Gregory Baldwin

Underscoring the continued success of a top business school, such as AGSM, is a cycle that operates in perpetuity where a well-connected school community interrelates in a continuous round of mutually enriching activities and experiences.

The outcome is a high-energy dynamic of benefit to all. It works for the School, individuals and their businesses – and the key to making it work is the active participation of corporate partners and alumni, insists Angela Chapman, AGSM Director of Development and Alumni whose role focuses on facilitating relationships and business partnerships.

Keeping members of that broad community in easy access to one another is vital, says Chapman, not only in terms of the fusion of ideas and wealth of knowledge created but also in an introductory context, by bringing together individuals through mentoring, recruitment and the formation of deal-making professional relationships.

“We provide chances for people to connect that inevitably result in exchanges of ideas, important contacts or business opportunities. Deals often come together through alumni and corporate partner interaction,” notes Chapman. “Essential to this process is encouraging people to give back to the school by sharing their time and experiences in programs or events, and through donation or sponsorship.”

Benefits flow both ways, and this happens only through two-way involvement between AGSM, alumni and corporate partners. As with any effective relationship, value comes from becoming and staying actively engaged, Chapman observes. A formal program of engagement was recently introduced to facilitate involvement of all stakeholders.

Corporate partnerships offer the advantages of delivering financial support for AGSM to further its commitment to top-ranking research and management education, while the companies receive the benefits of tapping into the school’s extensive resources.

"The high achieving alumni network not only draws candidates to the MBA program but also delivers a halo effect to the AGSM brand."

Corporations and academic researchers establish common goals, unleashing a source of funding for cutting edge research, important to the school and the business community at large. A recent example is the Centre for Real Estate Research that explores trends and delivers information back to the industry. AGSM’s Centre for Corporate Change is driving a number of research projects with industry partners such as a project about rural consumers which is being partly funded by Telstra and Toyota.

Finding value in the network

Networking is just one element in the value proposition of a business school – and the opportunities to expand networks are ongoing. They begin at AGSM with enrolment in an MBA and continue throughout a person's career via events, executive education and open learning programs, online facilities that provide access to alumni and information on the latest business trends.

“We provide chances for people to connect that inevitably result in exchanges of ideas, important contacts or business opportunities."

PHOTO: GREG NEWINGTON (Angela Chapman)

AGSM has 10,000 alumni in 68 countries, a pool of highly talented individuals whose diverse backgrounds and experiences provide a rich resource for one another. Chapman’s mission is to promote and leverage the relationships. Graduates are encouraged both to stay in touch with immediate cohorts and to widen that sphere of influence by taking advantage of the opportunities of an active association with the school through special events, including the annual conference and regular meetings of AGSM branches in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, London and other centres.

It’s a complex web of interconnected individuals – thought leaders and entrepreneurs – many of whom will bring big picture change to the international business landscape.

In an increasingly global business environment, there’s a clear advantage in being able to readily generate international business contacts. The movement of alumni around the world working in the long-established commercial hubs, along with emerging markets, enhances the ability to tap into and communicate in these areas. (Sourcing of contacts is now delivered through an online AGSM alumni directory, including tools to search by MBA graduation year, job function or industry.)

“A typical example of alumni contacts in action is in the recruitment process where former students who know firsthand the value of our educational process, look to us to find good people for their companies,” explains Chapman. In a global environment where skills shortages are posing a serious threat to business, having access to talented students as they progress through the MBA program provides a clear advantage for alumni, and employers and AGSM corporate partners, she says.

The recruitment cycle presents another continuum. “Alumni are hiring our MBA graduates and the better placed the alumni, the more attractive AGSM becomes as a business school to prospective students.

"It’s a complex web of interconnected individuals – thought leaders and entrepreneurs – many of whom will bring big picture change to the international business landscape."

The high achieving alumni network not only draws candidates to the MBA program but also delivers a halo effect to the AGSM brand. And, as many former graduates become high profile, respected business leaders, they remain actively engaged with the school.

Mentoring is a mutually enriching activity organised through a program run in the final year of the MBA (Executive) program. Alumni are assigned to work with MBA (Executive) teams throughout the year. “Research has shown this raises the satisfaction levels of the teams and makes them more productive, while the mentor also has immediate access to a new group of talented business leaders keen to make an impact,” says Chapman.

Keeping the cutting edge

Business leaders also offer a rare collective intelligence. AGSM taps into this through its recently revitalised Advisory Council. The 40-member council, chaired by Tony Berg, a former managing director of Macquarie Bank and Boral Ltd, meets three times a year to discuss ideas and new directions at the School and within business generally.

Established as a sounding board, the Council offers a thought leadership forum and is a source of relevant information on what’s really happening in the marketplace. Due to the calibre of its high level representation of CEOs and senior executives of some of Australia’s most successful Top 100 companies, the Advisory Council presents the chance for an immediate reality check of market potential. “It’s an opportunity to share the good and the bad about what’s happening in business and to canvas opinions on potential initiatives,” says Chapman. Discussion invariably involves the validity of new concepts for programs and broader trends impacting on business that may require an educational response.

Investing in the future

Maintaining partnerships with the wider business community is critical. Corporate partners not only enable a deeper investment in management education at AGSM, but also deliver opportunities for companies through special access to resources including recruiting, research and a range of information services and special events.

"To make support for research more attractive a number of benefits have been devised including access to talent, knowledge and business leaders through the Business Partner Program."

Levels of business partnership are offered with a full spectrum of benefits including active participation in debate at business roundtables. AGSM business partners are invited to sponsor specific School activities, including the Lifelong Learning event series created to bring fresh perspectives on business and personal development issues. As an open program, the series presents another means of expanding the School’s reach.

AGSM’s national mandate, along with its research focus, has given rise to the misconception that it is government funded, reports Chapman. “Unlike many of the business schools with whom we compete, AGSM cannot rely on large endowments. While tuition fees cover the delivery of educational programs, there’s an ever-present need to cover the costs of research for PhD students, post-doctoral students and faculty members.”

Ironically, apart from the achievements of alumni, it is the world leading research in management, organisational behaviour and other business disciplines, which contributes substantially to AGSM’s international reputation as one of the top business schools in Asia. Yet support for this important function can prove elusive. To make support for research more attractive a number of benefits have been devised including access to talent, knowledge and business leaders through the Business Partner Program.