Edward Pitchford, International Events Officer in the Division of Development and Alumni Relations
Please can you tell us a little about your role and how you work with the Faculty of Humanities?
My role involves connecting alumni all over the world with traveling academics and inspiring them on how they can become part of our global community through volunteering, networking and philanthropy. The University of Manchester has one of the largest networks of volunteers with over 8,000 alumni throughout the world giving up their time on a variety of projects such as mentoring, careers advice and much more.
One of our flagship international events is our Coffee House Connections programme, which allows us to connect academics with groups of alumni in a small, intimate environment and provides our alumni with the information on how they can help to be a part of our global alumni community as well as providing academic staff an opportunity to share the work that they are passionate about.
Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of working with colleagues in the Faculty of Humanities to host Coffee House Connections in Nairobi with Professor Diana Mitlin, in Los Angeles with Professor Alessandro Schiesaro and in Colombo with Dr Lara Bianchi. The meeting in Los Angeles went really well, Alessandro spoke passionately about Manchester to a wide range of Manchester alumni. In addition as a result of our first ever open alumni event in Sri Lanka we now have the foundations for an Alumni Association in the area.
What’s do you think is the most exciting part of your role?
The most exciting part of my role is travelling overseas, seeing the genuine passion and enthusiasm our alumni have for the University, and listening to them speak with such conviction about their time at Manchester. I also get to meet with influential alumni who hold senior positions in their industry who are still very much connected to the University. This year I am travelling to New York in May for an open alumni reception and will be in Hong Kong and Singapore in September.
What are you most looking forward to over the next few months at work?
We have alumni events planned in Toronto with Alessandro, and also more events in New York, Beijing, Singapore and Hong Kong, and a number of on campus events. In April we’re hosting our Celebration of Philanthropy event here at the University. Donors are invited for the day back to campus to attend a series of exciting events that showcase how their philanthropy makes an impact at the University. This is an exciting, engaging opportunity to directly share the research and opportunities on a first hand basis with the people who help to fund them. In May we are also welcoming our alumna Dorothy Byrne, Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4, back to campus to deliver our Annual Cockroft Rutherford Lecture.
I am also really excited to meet our overseas alumni in person and to use their ideas and passion to help shape our vision for our global alumni. We’ll be hosting more Coffee House Connections throughout the world over the coming months. If anyone in the Faculty of Humanities would be interested in hosting or attending an overseas alumni event then I would be happy to meet with them and discuss possibilities.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you most like to visit and why?
I’d love to go to Argentina and spend a few weeks drinking wine and eating steak. Probably wouldn’t come back!
Get in touch with Edward:
If you would like to host a small event and meet members of our alumni community on your next overseas trip please email Edward. All logistics for the meetings are handled by his office and hosts are comprehensively briefed on key messages prior to any meeting.