New Functions at the Alumniportal Deutschland
Three years ago, the Alumniportal Deutschland began offering a forum to people all over the world who have studied, researched, worked, been educated or done advanced training or taken a language course in Germany or at a German institution abroad. Here, you can network with one another or with institutions and businesses, find jobs, browse alumni networks, find out about study, advanced training or support programmes or practice your German online.
Now, the homepage has been redesigned so that users can find the information they are looking for more easily. Using a choice of buttons, the various categories of the editorial section can be accessed directly. A box provides a constant stream of information about the community’s latest activities, groups and content. Updated announcements refer to ongoing bid invitations and other news for alumni.
Enhanced spectrum of topics: Culture, Society, Business
The editorial section of the Alumniportal, the Infopoint, has added enhanced categories in the areas of Culture, Society, German Languages, Education, Science & Research, Business and Jobs & Careers. This is where interested users can regularly find new articles on current topics that put the focus on Germany while always building a bridge to the alumna’s’ home countries. In the Community, users can discuss these topics in groups or blogs and share their viewpoints and experiences.
Personalized Community
The entranceway to the Community, the Dashboard, has also been revamped. New functions now enable every user to set up their personal profile page to reflect their own interests. For instance, you can conveniently have the latest matching jobs displayed from the jobs board, follow the most recent activities of your contacts or communicate via your personal message board.
Virtual professional dialogue in free webinars
In addition to groups, blogs and the news function the Community expands the possibilities for alumni to interact and virtually share professional information in a number of webinars. A function has been established that no other social network offers in this form. 
During these free online seminars various professional topics are discussed in weekly meetings of invited experts and alumni. The renewable energies webinar Talents in Renewables has already begun its second session and focuses on career opportunities in the fields of wind, bio and solar energy. The Facets of Science webinar explores the role of science in development policy and sustainable innovations.
The interest of Germany alumni in the growing range of offers on the Alumniportal is reflected by its rapidly growing numbers of members. After three years, the mark of 35,000 registrations has been exceeded – almost doubling the number of members since last September.
The Alumniportal Deutschland is a cooperation project by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, CIM (Centrum für internationale Migration und Entwicklung), DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and Goethe-Institut under the direction of the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit). More than a dozen strategic partners provide their content and networks, including the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Deutsche Welle and a number of foundations. The portal is funded and provided free to users by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
