HAInews 2023/02New alumni groups launch with many activities
After the Corona-related longer "dormant phase", currently a lot is happening in our alumni groups in the network: Since spring 2023, the new Sociology Group and the new international group Heidelberg Alumni Ukraine (HAUA) have been active.
On the initiative of Stefan Beljean, research associate at the Max Weber Institute for Sociology (MWI), the new group “MWI Alumni” was founded. When he took up his position two years ago, in which he also supervises students' theses, the institute's former active alumni work had meanwhile fallen asleep and that there was also no sociology group in the HAI network, so there was no institutionalized opportunity for graduates to maintain contact after their studies. Thanks to his efforts this now has changed and since March the new group has been established. It organized a first event right away and continues planning further ones: On 23 May, four sociology alumni from different business fields reported on their everyday professional lives and careers as part of the “Career Perspective” event series, organized by HAI together with the university's Career Service for students. Two other events of the institute in the summer semester were also addressed to alumni: the summer party of the faculty on 22 June and the legendary institute barbecue organized by the student council on 26 July. Explicitly for alumnae and alumni, the new group is planning a reunion in the fall.
“Our network is still very manageable with around 30 members, but that is soon to change: We hope that it will grow to several 100 members by the end of the year,” explains Stefan Beljean. In order to achieve this, a membership recruitment campaign is planned, and in addition, new graduates will be made aware of the MWI alumni group directly upon graduation. The alumni network with its free membership offers many advantages to both the alumni and the institute, emphasizes Stefan Beljean: “Graduates can stay in touch with their fellow students and maintain their professional networks, while the institute can draw on the expertise of alumni for its classes.”
For alumni with a link to Ukraine, there is now a dedicated HAI group, Heidelberg Alumni Ukraine (HAUA): Ukrainian students, researchers, and graduates are cordially invited to help build HAUA, exchange ideas and experiences and be ambassadors for Ukrainian culture in the alumni network and locally in Heidelberg. In addition to digital networking, HAUA works on regulars' table evenings, informal mentoring, professional and academic networking, and cultural events in the Heidelberg region. Founded in spring 2023, the new group started with a first meeting in April. This was followed on 13 May by a literary evening with Ukrainian writer and illustrator Hanna Osadko and on 3 June by a visit to the exhibition “Im Osten geht die Sonne auf” ("The Sun Rises in the East") by Ukrainian artist Fevronia Soudia at Haus Cajeth in Heidelberg's old town.
In spring, the author Hanna Osadko, winner of the Hilde Domin Award, lived in an artist's residence in Heidelberg's old town. Thus the reading organized by Lena Botezatu and the HAUA core team could take place there, featuring a selection of short stories and poems from her book “Einfach leben” ("Just Live"), published in 2017 – well before the war. The event was attended by Ukrainians who have lived in Heidelberg for a long time, as well as current refugees from the war. “What connects all the works in Hanna Osadko's book is an ease and, from the present perspective, the absence of the great war that has dominated the lives of all Ukrainians:in since 24 February 2022,” explained Lena Botezatu. “We really enjoyed this journey back in time to peaceful life, but also, above all, Hanna Osadko's acting talent with which she performed her works.” Most moving, she said, was Hanna Osakdo's poem about Penelope – the female character from Greek mythology who waits 20 years for her husband Odysseus to return home. The poet's own life path took a different course from that of Penelope and Odysseus as her husband Oleksandr died at the front in the summer of 2022. Her new book, which she wrote in Heidelberg and which is named “Seven Chocolates from Heidelberg,” is dedicated to him.
In addition to these cultural events, HAUA also organized an info event with the Ukrainian student Mykhailo Kostur on 31 May for young Ukrainians interested in studying German in Heidelberg. Mykhailo Kostur, who is studying Medicine in Heidelberg and was a scholarship holder of the Amirana Scholarship awarded by HAI in 2020 and 2021, presented the German courses at the International Study Center that prepares students for university studies, especially the "Studienkolleg", which he attended himself. About 70 people gathered for the event at the New University – 30 young potential students with family members. The speaker was able to provide them with practical, up-to-date first-hand experience, and at the same time serve as a role model and beacon of hope for the young Ukrainians. HAI welcomed the participants and provided information about the network and the new group at an info booth.
Further HAUA activities are planned – if you would like to participate or actively contribute to the program, register with the group!
