Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter and Local Groups

International Alumni Chapters serve as centres of alumni activity and a link to the Hertie School, offering opportunities for socialising as well as networking and professional development. Each Chapter represents one metropolitan area. The Chapter is led by one or ideally more alumni of the Hertie School.

The Chapter Leads of the Washington DC Alumni Chapter are your main point of contact for organising networking events and contribute your own ideas for future activities. They contribute their free time to expand and strengthen the alumni community in Washington and keep you professionally and personally connected both with each other and the Hertie School!

What is the role of a Chapter Lead?

The number and variety of events and services offered by Chapters can vary greatly and depend very much on the capacities and interests of the Chapter Lead(s). Examples of events and services include:

• Professional development-related events: A meeting to sharpen the professional skills of alumni, e.g., a support group for social entrepreneurs, a workshop on career advancement, a group attending a jobs fair.
• Policy-related events: E.g. a lecture at a local think tank, a weekend-long workshop, a group discussion with a visiting Hertie School professor.
• Recruitment activities: E.g. a coffee chat with prospective students or representing the Hertie School at a trade fair.
• A “Stammtisch”: A regularly scheduled meeting of alumni in a restaurant or bar. Typically every four weeks, at a set location, time and day of the week.
• Cultural events: E.g., attending a concert, an art exhibition, a street festival or a documentary screening.
• Field trips: E.g., a day-long hiking trip, a weekend-long camping trip, a multi-day trip to meet up with members of another Chapter.
• Additional services: The Chapter can offer services such as helping new arrivals settle into the local community, organising one-to-one mentorships between new alumni and more established alumni, as well as advocating local interests to the Alumni Council.

Who can lead a Chapter?

• Any Hertie School alumni with time to organise two events per year or more
• A minimum commitment of one year is desirable
• A group of two to three alumni leading each Chapter is preferred

What support can I expect?

The Hertie School and its Alumni Council support the work of the Chapters and actively strive to establish additional Chapters.

• We organise a yearly Chapter Lead gathering to exchange experiences and for us to update you on important happenings at the Hertie School. This meeting takes place during the reunion. The Hertie School covers the costs for the flights to Berlin.
• We can also help you organise speakers, inform you about travel plans of the faculty and, occasionally, offer limited financial support for some events.

The Alumni Mentoring Programme brings together students and alumni in order for them to learn from each other’s experiences, inspire each other and for the mentor to offer advice, support and guidance. During the process, both students and mentors become equal partners in a professional relationship and benefit from each other’s input and feedback. The programme takes place during the first year of study and is designed to help students orient themselves in a new phase of their lives – not to provide them with job opportunities.

In a nutshell, the Mentoring Programme:

• Is a 12-month programme from September 2019 - September 2020,
• Entails 3 - 4 meetings (min.) over the course of the year (in person, via telephone or Skype)
• Starts with a webinar on the guidelines of the programme

For more information, please contact Career Development

What can an Ambassador offer?

Hertie School alumni can be found all over the world. The Hertie School Ambassadors programme helps prospective students connect with alumni close to home. As an Ambsassador there are various ways to get involved:

Networking with prospective students
Many prospective students would like to connect on LinkedIn and other professional networks or ask questions via email. You should be willing to have your profile published on the Hertie School website and allow the school to pass on your email address to prospective students who might have questions on life in Berlin, your experience at the Hertie School and so forth. You can either answer all questions by email, have a skype call or meet in person – that is entirely up to you. Please note that you can always refer the people to our Recruitment Team if you are uncertain about very specific questions regarding the study programme.

Coffee Chats
Meet prospective students in a casual setting; reserve a table at a cafe or restaurant for a couple of hours and we’ll take care of organising and doing marketing for the event.

Support the Hertie School team at fairs and recruitment events
If you would like to help out at one of the grad and career fairs we attend world-wide, let us know your current city of residence and we’ll approach you if we’ll be at an event nearby.

Represent the Hertie School at the Open Day
Meet prospective students and answer their questions or join a panel discussion on your time at the Hertie School.

Who can become an Ambassador?

Any alumna/us can become an ambassador, just drop us a line: alumnirelations@hertie-school.org. You would have to be willing to provide us with your contact details so that we can reach out to you.
Times for volunteering are flexible. They depend on queries of prospective students and dates of recruitment fairs etc.

What support can I expect?

If you agree to network with prospective students, the Hertie School will update and manage your online profile. To avoid spamming, we will forward requests to you on an individual basis.

Become a speaker in our Professional Perspectives Series. By sharing where your career path has led you after your studies at the Hertie School, current students will have the opportunity to broaden their understanding of possible career options.

Offer a Professional Development Course (PDC). If you have some skills that you would like to share with our students you can apply to host a PDC.

If you work for a consulting firm, join our yearly Consulting Fair. Meet our current students and tell them about your path into consulting, share your insights and give advice about working in this field. Take the opportunity to spread the word about upcoming internships or job opportunities in your organisation amongst the students.