The Van Deventer Maas Stichting (VDMS) recently established an Alumni Association (AA) for graduates who attended a university or professional education institute with a scholarship of the VDMS. Registration is open for all former VDMS students.

Profitable networks

The purpose of the AA is amongst others to build networks and to support each other, to stay in contact with the educational institutions and with their students and also to follow their progress for e.g. potential future employment or referral. It is in a way a platform for continued learning and special courses. It will organize part of the financial support for such courses and it will activate alumni to act as tutors for students in their own field.

Mutual benefits

The reason why the VDMS wanted to launch an AA is because the alumni have formed a bond with VDMS and vice versa. This special group can be active in passing on a creative spirit, with a sense of social responsibility and with an urge to hand on their skills and knowledge to their fellow alumni and to the VDMS students, as a tutor (for these students). Moreover it is considered honourable to function in the AA, because the alumnus gives something back to the Indonesian society as a whole and to the university community specifically.

Decentralized operations

The AA will have one central Board (AB) and several regional branches, managed by Regional Alumni Officers (ROA's). To start with an Alumni Committee is installed, a commiitte of the Official Representative of VDMS in Indonesia. Its main goal is to prepare and create an independent and autonomous VDMS Alumni Association, a.o. by active membership recruitement and by building a network of representatives, supporters and co-workers.

Inspiring activities

The activities that are foreseen for the alumni are amongst others: regional alumni meetings, perhaps even one annual alumni meeting, workshops to enhance knowledge and skills, such as 'How to Start a Business' and 'Train the Trainers', E-learning activities, English courses and Leadership Courses. The AA will also organize activities of this kind for current grantees of VDMS. The membership of the AA might be even more worthwhile in the future because of certain membership benefits which will be developed.

Start with a registration of the Alumni Association

If you are a VDMS alumnus and you want to become a member of the Alumni Association and/or you would like to be useful in this organisation of VDMS alumni you are requested to apply via our Alumni registration form. After you have sent this form you will get a confirmation and a registration form.