The British Council is committed to take a structured approached towards its alumni activities The British Council aims to create and lead a UK-wide Alumni network, enhancing our relationships with people all around the world and keeping them connected to the UK. The British Council is building a global network of alumni from UK universities to increase UK influence and strengthen evidence of the impact of UK engagement on individuals and their societies. In UUKI’s ‘International Graduate Outcomes 2019’ report (https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/igo), 77% of UK graduates say they are more likely to do business with UK; more than 80% would recommend studying in UK; and more 81% intend to build professional links with organisations in the UK. Consequently, the UK government is considering how best to foster life-long engagement of alumni with the UK, with all the mutual benefits that can bring to national prosperity.

In 2020-21, The British Council in India have been in close connections with various alumni networks and associations both at organisational and individual levels. We involved alumni in our programmes and have also participated in activities initiated by alumni. Through the challenges of the last year, it has become important for alumni to up-grade or re-skill their knowledge and passion to continue to have a competitive edge in professional world. Our survey confirmed growing anxieties among alumni and recently returned alumni around employability through the pandemic years.

The aim is to support UK alumni and enable them with the right skills to give them more confidence and make them true ambassadors of UK education. The initiative will create new opportunities for alumni and UK higher education providers.

UK Alumni Professional Development Workshop

The UK Alumni professional development workshop is for UK alumni who studied in UK for an undergraduate degree and higher qualification. The programme will offer 2-4 short-term courses which would allow them to learn a new skill and enhance their professional and entrepreneurial opportunities. This will allow UK education providers to re-connect with alumni networks.

The objective behind this program is:

• provide opportunity to alumni to build their employability and professional skills
• build capacity of UK alumni while sharing professional development information and opportunities connected to the UK
• establish and re- establish connections and foster a long-term relationship between the UK alumni and the UK

Short term course topics:

• Business Analytics
• Data Visualisation
• Digital Marketing
• Leading and Managing Change & Innovation
• Project Management for professionals/ entrepreneurs etc
• Mentoring and Coaching
• Academic writing development and research.
• Any other suggested topic you would like us to consider

Duration and Delivery Modes

• Trainer led Online programme
• Length: 24 hours trainer led over 4-8 weeks on weekends and holidays (e.g 3 hours per week over 4 weeks or 4 hours per week over 6 weeks)
• Time: 6:30-8:30 PM IST (approx. 2:00-4:00 pm UK time)
• Modules: Designed and delivered by the UK HEI on university online portal
• Expected months: October end - November 2021 and February-March 2022
• Certification: Candidates should be provided co-branded E-certificates upon successful completion of the course.

Expression of Interest (EOI) from UK higher education providers

UK HEI EOI should cover the following points:

• Your interest in this opportunity and why.
• Your previous experience, if any (aligned with what is being sought)
• List of topics you can deliver from the above suggested topics.
• Cost per course per cohort with certification of participation. Each cohort will not exceed 30 students
• An outline of your methodology and approach on the topics you would deliver (you can share internet links to share images, sample materials etc. to support if needed).

Please note that the EOI should not exceed 5 pages.

Selection Criteria

Refrerences

In 2020-21 Coventry University and Academy of Leadership & Management delivered the courses over 2 weeks. We had received 155 registrations from alumni across areas of study and the sessions were attended by 143 participants.

Feedback: As a pilot project and a capacity building programme for the alumni, we have received positive feedback from participants.

·I am writing to thank British Council for sponsoring my presence on the Project Management Course, our instructor was one in million. Had you never to give me the second opportunity to enroll for the course, I would honestly miss such a life-changing experience. This week I feel like I am back in India after a short trip to the UK and I feel more energetic than before. The skills developed in the course will help me in my current job as Project Scientist and I'm very grateful to you and your team for organising this platform for us Alumni. I will share my learning with family and friends here in Goa.

·Thank you so much for the efforts you are putting in for Alumni like ourselves to get the benefit of upgrading ourselves in these tough situations. Of course, sincerely thanks to our Mentors and all the team members who have put in even their slightest efforts to organise these workshops for us. I sincerely appreciate all your inputs for organising the events so well.

·Keep organising such workshops which gives us the opportunity to upgrade ourselves and create bigger network. Thank you so much!

·Great initiative by British Council as this serves not only a knowledge sharing session, but also an excellent networking session.

EOI will be assessed according to compliance with the terms of reference above. British Council will issue a time bound contract with details of delivery dates, amount, and future opportunities.