Event highlight
04.12.2020

Alumni network reunites virtually during Hertie Alumni November

This year, the pandemic pushed all of us to seek different ways to engage, learn and stay connected!

In order to keep our vibrant community spirit ignited, we dedicated the entire month of November to showcase our alumni and bring together our growing community from all corners of the world. Through the first edition of Hertie Alumni November we hosted a variety of exclusive events and workshops meant to connect alumni not only with each other, but also with our current MPP and MIA cohorts.

In cooperation with our chapters in New York City and Washington DC, we delved into the US Elections with Mark Hallerberg (Deputy President, Dean of Research and Faculty at the Hertie School), Terry Hurlbutt (Vice President and Executive Director for ABC News Digital), Welby Leaman (Senior Director for Global Governmental Affairs at Walmart) and Jodie Gedddes (international speaker on restorative justice and the co-author of the Little Book of Racial Healing).

During our Entrepreneurial Mondays sessions, we talked about the professional journeys of Hannes Klöpper (CEO and co-founder at HelloBetter, the Berlin Chapter), Ricardo Salas (Founder at Codeyssay, the Mexico City Chapter) and Claudia Müller (CEO and Founder at Female Finance Forum, the Frankfurt Chapter). Our alumni connected with current students during the Alumni Career Fair, providing their perspectives on navigating the job market post-graduation. Members of the MPP 2010 cohort kicked off the fair by reflecting on the past ten years since their graduation from the Hertie School.

For the very first time, we organized an alumni workshop within the CIVICA network on “The Future of Work: AI, Data Science and Digital Transformation”. Alumni from our eight CIVICA partners came together to talk all things data science with Hertie School professors Joanna Bryson, Slava Jankin and Simon Munzert and to connect with each other on the impact of data science on public policy.

We stayed faithful to our traditions and awarded the Alumni Achievement Award during our first-ever Digital Alumni Reunion. This year, the award went to Damian Boeselager (MPP 2018), Member of the European Parliament and co-founder of the pan-European movement Volt. “Damian’s election to the European Parliament in 2019 is an impressive achievement, even more so considering that he represents a party that he himself had co-founded only two years earlier” said Deputy President Mark Hallerberg. “His election was a stand-out moment for our alumni community, and demonstrates the kind of drive, innovation and public engagement that we hope to see in our alumni.” During a fireside chat with alumni, Damian encouraged all of us to become politically engaged and shared his experiences from his first year in Brussels.

Hertie Alumni November provided us with an opportunity to learn, engage and connect with our growing community – and share some of that magical #hertielove. Save the date for next year’s edition and stay tuned to the exciting plans our Alumni Affairs team has for the 2021 Alumni Reunion in Berlin.