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From campus to community: Amplifying alumni pride and engagement through the University of Sydney’s Alumni Festival
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
9
(4),
298-308
(2025)
Abstract
The University of Sydney’s Alumni Festival represents a transformative approach to their alumni engagement, driven by a strategic vision to reignite alumni pride and foster deeper connections. Spearheaded by a dedicated team of advancement professionals, the festival was conceived in response to challenges such as a significant number of ‘lost alumni’ and disengagement among the 30–49 age group. The festival aimed to create a vibrant, inclusive event that resonated with diverse alumni demographics. Key strategies included leveraging Sydney’s cultural affinity for festivals, securing broad institutional support and designing unique, interactive experiences. The festival featured exclusive tours, family-friendly activities and nostalgic events, all tailored to re-engage alumni. A comprehensive marketing campaign, emphasising inclusivity and leveraging internal partnerships, successfully raised awareness and drove participation. The inaugural festival exceeded expectations, achieving high registration numbers, reconnecting with lost alumni and fostering a renewed sense of community. Post-event surveys indicated strong alumni satisfaction and a desire for future participation. This paper analyses how festival’s success underscores the importance of innovative, data-driven approaches to alumni engagement and sets a new standard for future initiatives.
Keywords: events; strategy; engagement; alumni relations; campaign
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Kate May has more than 20 years of experience working in marketing, sales and advancement in the corporate, not-for-profit and higher education sectors. She has spent the last 10 years at the University of Sydney, where she led the Advancement Marketing Team during the university’s AUD$1bn INSPIRED Campaign. As the Director of Alumni and Supporter Experience, Kate now works with an incredible team of advancement professionals spanning alumni relations, events, community giving, marketing and campaigns to engage the university’s more than 440,000 alumni and donors around the world. She holds a BA (public communication) degree from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Anna Herbert graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts — Communication (PR and organisational communication) degree and a Bachelor of Business degree and later went on to complete her Master of Marketing degree in 2013. Anna has worked for leading Australian charities, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Autism Spectrum Australia, before moving into the education sector. She is a strategic marketing leader with 15 years of experience leading and delivering marketing, communications and engagement campaigns to both domestic and international audiences. As a campaign specialist, Anna was integral in the execution of marketing and communications for the University of Sydney’s last philanthropic campaign, which raised AUD$1bn.
Scott Bellingham , the Special Events Project Manager within Alumni and Supporter Experience at the University of Sydney, has over 15 years of experience designing events to achieve specific outcomes and foster community. Scott’s expertise lies in developing strategic events with ambitious goals, executed meticulously and creatively. He prioritises collaboration and places the audience at the heart of event design. Notably, Scott orchestrated the closing event for the INSPIRED Campaign, the first billion-dollar fundraising initiative from an Australian university. In his time at the University of Sydney, he has forged a highly successful event programme that builds alumni pride and inspires donors. He graduated from Western Sydney University in 2004 with a BA degree in industrial design and was drawn to events while working in the UK due to the affinity with design principles and collaboration with diverse specialities to create a product (or experience) that people interact and respond to.
