Track Plenary 

Supercharging Student Transition and Employability: Unlocking the Potential of Authentic Partnership to Transform the Student and Alumni Experience
Professor Jessica Vanderlelie, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Student, La Trobe University

The changing industrial landscape poses a challenge and an opportunity for universities as we prepare students for the world of work.  Much work has taken place across the sector to support student transition and employability, however, we are yet to realise the full potential of our alumni in the student experience, employability and transforming how we teach.

Through the work of Australian Learning and Teaching Fellowship, we are one step closer to having the tools we need to reset our operating paradigm and maintain authentic engagement with our alumni to support student and graduate outcomes. This session will explore approaches for strong alumni communities that draw upon the strength of the student experience and explore a framework for the integration of alumni perspectives into the curriculum to support student employability and successful transition.

All levels

Concurrent Sessions

Getting the Job Done: Getting and Keeping the Critical skills for success in Alumni Relations
Anthea Cuddihy, Deputy Director – Advancement Services and Alumni Relations, CQUniversity Australia

Alumni Relations is growing in importance within institutions, so we need to attract, train and retain expert personnel who can deliver complex engagement programmes.

Based on recent Australian research, this session provides an evidence-based profile of the skill set required of Alumni Relations practitioners, and we’ll also examine the professional development opportunities that provide genuine value.

You’ll gain insight into the skill set you bring to your role and/or the skills you need to ensure are represented across your AR team. You’ll take away talking points and knowledge to help identify what professional development is right for you and/or your team to ensure high performance.

All levels

Alumni Data: Engagement and Privacy!
Rami Abi Jomaa, Director of Advancement Services, American University of Beirut
Soha Hmaidan, Associate Vice President for Advancement Services and Special Events, American University of Beirut

This presentation discusses the utilisation and application of data at the Alumni Relations front. It highlights the type of data gathered from multiple sources to serve the alumni engagement efforts of the institution. This presentation clearly displays the evolvement of data to information and then to knowledge within the framework of the alumni database. We give detailed examples on how some data pieces are pulled, massaged and utilised to maximise our segmentation and thus build a strong and engaged alumni body. The session also discusses the significance of data privacy in a global world. It especially highlights the implementation and maintenance of GDPR in Advancement, and demonstrates how we tackled the challenges pertaining to obtaining alumni consent and how we turned these challenges into opportunities.

All levels

A Milestone Anniversary - How To Maximise Engagement With Alumni
Nicole Walker, Head of Alumni Relations, Bond University

In 2019, Bond University celebrated its 30th anniversary. Hear how the Alumni Relations team leveraged this milestone to achieve record engagement with alumni, including a sell-out Gala Ball for 1,000 people, a 30th themed annual fund ask, record merchandise sales and more! Using Homecoming as a centrepiece, along with a commemorative sculpture, learn how Bond University maximised their alumni engagement and how they hope to extend this increased engagement into the future.  

Beginner - Intermediate

A Young University Engaging Alumni through Innovative Activities and Communication - SUSTech Case Study and Looking to the Future
Dr Jun Geng, Deputy Secretary-General of Alumni Association, Southern University of Science and Technology, China

Southern University of Science and Technology Alumni Association (SUSTechAA), an independent legal entity, was founded in 2017 with a mission to serve and support alumni, and strengthen the connection between alumni and the alma mater. As a young university, SUSTech has been engaging alumni through innovative working models with primary activities to keep alumni up to date with the latest developments and initiatives of the University, and engage them in year-round activities around five core themes - Connecting, Caring, Boosting, Sharing and Gathering.

A media communication mode of “One website, One journal, One album, Two WeChat public platforms and Multiple WeChat groups” has been initially established to aid in alumni and SUSTechAA outreach.

All levels

Track Plenary 

The Philanthropic Landscape – what is happening around us and are we ready?
Ricky Cheng, Executive Vice President, United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia
Alex Furman, Director, Development, The University of Melbourne
Siôn Lutley, Partner, More Partnership

[Synopsis to be updated]

All levels

Concurrent Sessions

Worth It? How to Build a Service Culture in your Advancement Services Team
Rachael Dalton, Deputy Director, Operations, Advancement, The University of Melbourne
Alex Zadoyanov, Head, Business Operations, Advancement, The University of Melbourne

Does your Advancement Services team struggle to get on the same page with their front-line colleagues?

Does your Advancement team feel overwhelmed by the number and complexity of competing requests?

Do you experience a high turnover of Advancement Services staff?

In an environment where fundraisers, donor and alumni relations professionals expect seamless and hassle-free technical support and customer experience from Advancement Services, it becomes necessary to recognise different ways of working and to know what a good service culture looks like.

Drawing on their experience in developing strong service cultures before joining Advancement, the presenters will share their success story of implementing revamped practices that raised the profile of Advancement Services and enhanced relationships.

All levels

What Everyone Ought to Know when Working with a Non-Mainstream Database System for Alumni Engagement and Fundraising
Anneke Burlinson, Manager, Advancement Operations, Office of Advancement, Murdoch University
Alireza Rahbarnia, Information Management Analyst, Office of Advancement, Murdoch University

Are you worried if working with a with a well-known and widely-used platform is not an option? Or are you looking into the possibility of working with a different one? Discover how Murdoch’s team, in collaboration with their IT colleagues, prepared and implemented their solution for alumni engagement and fundraising. Learn about how business analysis supports our work, the importance of having a well-defined project team and, most importantly, the challenges and opportunities of the project as well as the system. And if you’re not looking into a new system’s implementation, take home the tips and trick that may help with the continual improvement of your processes, data or technology.

All levels

Annual Giving vs Major Giving: Never The "Twain” Shall Meet?
Justyna Ng, Assistant Director, Annual Giving, Development Office, Nanyang Technological University
Kally Ooi, Deputy Director, Development Office, Nanyang Technological University

The fundraising pyramid has long been the gold standard in the advancement industry. However, the evolution of philanthropy is rarely seamless. Development programmes by different fundraising teams often foster competition rather than collaboration. Such competitive “silo” system breeds a territorial work culture, inhibits donor retention and hurts overall fundraising for the institution. Hear how one university navigated the “pain points” to achieve a win-win solution through a joint Fundraising project. Through carefully-devised and coordinated efforts, both MG and AG teams strived to work harmoniously to achieve a common good and along the way, demonstrated that a healthy MG-AG partnership is not just possible, but opens doors to mutually beneficial outcomes.

All levels

The Art of Corporate Fundraising
Rami Jaber, Manager of Corporate Relations, Office of Advancement and Alumni Affairs, American University of Sharjah

Fundraising from corporations require much more than just believing in the mission of your institution. Today, companies are more critical and strategic about establishing the ROI of their support and engagement. During this session, we will examine some of the principles, opportunities and challenges that an advancement corporate relations officer should consider while cultivating companies and making asks.  

All levels

The Quiet Millionaires: The Gradual Reveal of a Remarkable Bequest From the Donors, to the University, to Their Family, to the World
Jock Gavel, Head of Advancement (Science, Health and Medicine), The Australian National University
Sarah McCarthy, Senior Manager - Gifts in Wills, Advancement, The University of Melbourne
Moderated by Bernard D Y Lee, CFRE, Director of Institutional Advancement at Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education

In 2019, ANU announced the largest bequest in its history – a $10 million gift to support research into a rare autoimmune disease. The magnitude of the gift and the circumstances of its gifting surprised both the University and the donor’s family. This is the story of Jenny and Bruce Pryor, their family and the team it took to realise and announce this remarkable bequest. In this presentation, we’ll explore the donor’s motivations; our approach to working with family members; how we operationalised the bequest in a complex environment; and the story of sensitively announcing a bequest in unique circumstances.

All levels

Increasing Giving: Different Ways to Engage Donors
Florence Tan, Senior Associate Director, Advancement, Singapore Management University
Ray Villarica, Annual Giving Manager, Office of Advancement, Western Sydney University
Laurelle Vingoe, Annual Giving Manager Advancement, The Australian National University
Moderated by Dr Ross Coller, Acting Executive Director, Engagement & Government Relations and Director, Advancement, Victoria University

[Synopsis to be updated]
 

Concurrent Sessions

How an Important Change to Your Fundraising Messaging could be the Difference between Success and Failure
Mark Schroder, Development Strategist, The University of Queensland

While observing market research focus groups talk about why they would or would not donate money to a university, UQ’s Advancement marcomms team quickly realised their messaging needed a bold shake-up if their first philanthropic campaign was going to be successful. In this session, Mark Schroder will dive into what UQ learned from their extensive market research, how compelling evidence helped them to flip their intended communications message, and will demonstrate how it was applied across a range of materials.

All levels

Communications Leadership – What is it and how does it look in action?
Callista Thillou, Executive Director, Office of Communication & Engagement, Flinders University

[Synopsis to be updated]

Doing More with Less: Optimising Brand Experience on Lean Resources
Lisa Williams, Senior Manager, Campaign Communications and Events, UNSW Sydney

Wondering how to ensure your audiences have consistently positive and meaningful experiences of your organisation’s brand?  Not sure how to make the most of lean resources to get the best results? By understanding your constituents and their journeys, you can create the most relevant and engaging experiences for them, regardless of available budget, time or team capacity. This session will share examples, ideas and practical tips for you to apply to ensure your alumni, prospects, donors and friends continue to invest in their relationship with your institution.   

All Levels

Note: Registered delegates of the Main Conference are invited to the APAC Reception on 21 April to be held at SKAI Suites, Level 69, Swissotel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Road.

Grand Hyatt Singapore
10 Scotts Rd, Singapore 228211

7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
CASE Registration and Hospitality Desk

9 a.m.
Opening Ceremony
Grand Ballroom, Level 3

9:30 a.m.
Opening Plenary: Cultural Intelligence: Why Advancement Needs It  
David Livermore, PhD, President, Cultural Intelligence Center

As our institutions serve a growing diversity of students who will go on to study, live, and work all over the world, cultural intelligence is essential. Many approaches for working across cultures are ill-suited to the 21st Century world but cultural intelligence (CQ) offers a better way. Rather than teaching outdated stereotypes, CQ can be applied to any situation. In this plenary session, Dr David Livermore, one of the leading experts on cultural intelligence, will inspire us to prioritise cultural intelligence, share how leading organisations like Harvard, Tencent, and BMW are using CQ, and describe why it’s uniquely suited to advancement professionals working in APAC and beyond. 

Grand Ballroom, Level 3  

10:30 a.m.
Coffee and Conversations

11 a.m.
Track Plenaries

• Alumni Relations
• Fundraising and Advancement Services
• Marketing and Communications

12:30 p.m.
Networking Lunch

1:30 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions 1

• Alumni Relations
• Fundraising and Advancement Services
• Marketing and Communications
• Leadership

  Developing Cultural Intelligence
  David Livermore, PhD, President, Cultural Intelligence Center

  The history and diversity of APAC make it the ideal context for cultural intelligence. In this seminar, David Livermore will lead an interactive session on how to apply and improve cultural intelligence individually, organisationally, and across the educational sector. If you prefer to sit back and listen to a lecture, this isn’t the session for you. Instead, we’ll learn from one another’s firsthand experiences working across cultures to develop some best practices for how to develop and implement CQ in our institutions and advancement profession.
  
  All levels

2:30 p.m.
Coffee and Conversations

3 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions 2

• Alumni Relations
• Fundraising and Advancement Services
• Marketing and Communications

4 p.m.
Break

4:15 p.m.
Presidents’ Plenary: The Future of Education
Professor Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor, University of Canterbury
Professor Margaret Gardner AC, President and Vice-Chancellor, Monash University
Datuk Ir. (Dr.) Abdul Rahim Hashim, Vice-Chancellor, University of Malaya
Chaired by Sue Cunningham, President and CEO, Council for Advancement and Support of Education

The Presidents’ Plenary will look at the future of education, where the panel members will be invited to address questions around change and transformation of the educational enterprise, from technological change to demographic change, and how such change forces our institutions to be more responsive to all our constituencies. We will look at the topic from leadership perspectives and also with an advancement lens: how will advancement need to change in order to advance the institutions of the future.

Grand Ballroom, Level 3

5:30 p.m.
End of the day

CASE reserves the right to change the programme without prior notice.

Note: The Deep Dive Session will run concurrently with other sessions at the Main Conference on 23 April. 

Grand Hyatt Singapore
10 Scotts Rd, Singapore 228211

7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
CASE Registration and Hospitality Desk

8:30 a.m.
Roundtable Discussions

Take part in these informal sessions to discuss current topics in the profession and share experiences and best practices with other delegates.

Grand Ballroom, Level 3

10 a.m.
Coffee and Conversations

10:30 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions 3

• Alumni Relations
• Fundraising and Advancement Services
• Marketing and Communications

11:30 a.m.
Awards Luncheon

1 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions 4

• Alumni Relations
• Fundraising and Advancement Services
• Marketing and Communications

2 p.m.
Break

2:10 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions 5

• Alumni Relations
• Fundraising and Advancement Services
• Marketing and Communications

3:10 p.m.
Break

3:20 p.m.
Closing Plenary: Industry Leaders’ Panel: Advancement and Disruption
Jimmy Robinson, Co-Founder and Director, PingPong Digital
Viswa Sadasivan, CEO, Strategic Moves Pte Ltd and Former Nominated Member of Parliament, Republic of Singapore
Chaired by Ovidia Lim-Rajaram, Chief Communications Officer, National University of Singapore

A panel of industry leaders will discuss what disruption means for the advancement of education - for institutions, alumni, volunteers, fundraisers as well as marketing professionals, among others. The session will also address how institutions can adapt and synergise across different areas and disciplines in the face of disruption. The panel will engage in a dialogue on the knowledge, attributes and skills that are needed to thrive in Education 4.0.

Grand Ballroom, Level 3

4:35 p.m.
Closing Ceremony

4:45 p.m.
Closing Tea Reception

5:30 p.m.
End of Main Conference

CASE reserves the right to change the programme without prior notice.