Session Description: In the land of alumni engagement, what can you do to re-ignite pride, find lost alumni, engage multiple generations and make it scalable? This is the question that USYD sought to answer when it proposed its inaugural Alumni Festival. Learn how in the space of 8 months USYD built, publicised and delivered its first ever Alumni Festival, surpassing 10,000 registrations and putting alumni experience on the university map. This is a behind the scenes look at what worked, what didn’t and what the team plans to do in 2024.

Learning Outcomes : - Taking an idea from a concept to delivery
- Engaging stakeholders in a complex organisation
- Getting the marketing and channel mix right
- Using data-led decision making
- Capturing alumni data
- Evaluating success and failures

What is the key takeaway from this session?: Session attendees will learn what ingredients contributed to the success of the Alumni Festival. This includes:
- getting buy-in from senior leadership about the concept
- assembling a project team and designing a critical path timeline for delivery
- involving stakeholders from across the University
- marketing and publicising the event to maximise registrations
- the most popular and well-attended sessions on the day
- evaluating community responses

This session will also take a candid look at what didn't work, including:

- the marketing elements that we wouldn't use again
- how to create more 'buzz' on campus
- how to make the registration process more seamless
- how to find more lost alumni