Two non-local alumni gatherings organized by the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DAO) were received warmly in Shanghai and Beijing on 30 November and 3 December, respectively. Alumni volunteered to assist in the University’s mainland outreach and recruitment endeavours and made valuable contributions to the Alumni Giving Club, a fundraising initiative managed by DAO. 

“A close link between alumni and the University is an important pillar of support,” said Ms Kathy Chan, Director of DAO. “We will do our best to expand our alumni network to all places where our alumni reside.”

There are about 190 CityU alumni in Shanghai and more than 120 participated in the "Alumni Reunion in Shanghai", which was also attended by Ms Alice Chan and Ms

Pheony Tsang, Alumni Relations Officers in the DAO; Professor K K Lai, Associate Dean of Faculty of Business; and Dr John Leung, Director of the Faculty’s Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) programme and Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing. They shared the latest news about CityU and its alumni, and Mr Bryan Chan, Managing Director of TNT International Express (Hong Kong, China) discussed how to be a successful leader in a multinational company. 

“I’m very happy that CityU has organized this occasion to allow us to get together. This will definitely help us build a stronger network of friendship and support,” said one alumnus in Shanghai. 

Meanwhile, the University has been in close touch with Beijing alumni through the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Alumni Club, which was formed in January 2005. On 3 Dec, Beijing alumni got together in the "Alumni Gathering in Beijing" to catch up on the latest news about CityU and offered to help with recruitment on the mainland. “We’re very proud of being part of CityU. We hope there’ll be more programmes for mainland students and we’ll give our full support to our University’s future development on the mainland,” an alumnus said.

Ms Chan said the University would set up a Convocation, an official body for graduates, around the end of 2006. All graduates will automatically become members. Ms Chan hopes that DAO will further promote alumni networking through this channel to unite CityU’s alumni across the world to help advance the University’s outreach endeavours.