A key pillar of the Flinders University’s strategic plan, Making a Difference: The 2025 Agenda, is to ‘Engage our alumni as powerful advocates for the University and as role models for current students.’ And that is precisely why we’re lucky enough to have Jane partnered to the College!
Briefly describe your current role: I am one of three College Alumni Business Partners appointed last year to build and deepen engagement with Flinders alumni, and to develop ways in which they would like to engage with the University. This is part of a longer-term strategy of developing a lifelong learning model where alumni move along with Flinders throughout their lives, from student, to graduate, to short courses and postgraduate study.
One of the key ways we support the Flinders brand is by telling stories about our alumni who are doing amazing things all over the world, and by running the Alumni Awards program. When possible, we also facilitate networking events, and support and promote class reunions.
What’s it like working at Flinders? Flinders is friendly and more laid back that other more corporate workplaces and unis I’ve worked with. I enjoy the camaraderie, the campus, and being surrounded by nature and big skies.
How does the Business Partner role work? It’s very much a relationship management role. We broker relationships with alumni as ambassadors that support other functions of the University through the Colleges, for example with Marketing and Communications and International Partners in domestic and international student recruitment, with the Careers and Employability team, WIL Partners, Student Experience and Teaching Program Directors, the Graduations team and student clubs and societies.
We need to have eyes and ears everywhere … and be good at prioritising! It’s a very exciting job, because even though I have a strategy and KPIs to work towards, I often don’t know what is going to be thrown at me in any given day – which I love!
What is your professional background? I’m a Flinders graduate! I hold an Arts degree majoring in Asian Studies and Indonesian language, and a Masters in Communications Management from UniSA.
Before moving into education I did lots of things, including a stint as a producer for ABC Radio, producer and publicity roles in the arts industry, including working on a couple of Adelaide Festivals and the Fringe. I also worked in communications at the SACE Board then in Alumni communications at UniSA before coming to Flinders.
Is anything exciting happening with Alumni and CMPH? Yes! The second College Alumni magazine is currently at the printers and will be available in hardcopy and online from next week. And there are so many more stories in the pipeline.
Also, this year we are celebrating 20 Years of Paramedics graduates at Flinders. We postponed the event due to the pandemic, but now we’re going ahead with it as a virtual celebration. Watch this space!
How has the pandemic changed the ways you interact with our alumni? When this pandemic hit I had to postpone several planned face-to-face alumni reunions and events. I was still in contact with many of our alumni though, and it really brought home the fact that College graduates are represented in so many COVID-related leadership roles locally, nationally and in the Asia-Pacific. When I was researching stories for the College alumni magazine, I heard some harrowing tales from health professionals facing the pandemic in countries with poor health systems or divisive political leaders.
So like many others, the way that we do our usual business is pivoting! The era of canapes and clinking glasses may not be over forever, but if we want to gather graduates together to network and to expand our reach nationally and globally, we have to come up with some creative ideas for online and hybrid networking events.
Tell us something about yourself others may not know. I am a committed Francophile and have been to France several times, living there for a year a long time ago. I used to be quite fluent and my goal is to regain that status.
What’s one thing you couldn’t live without? My yoga classes.