Alumni Freiburg e.V. is the University of Freiburg’s largest booster association. Our membership of more than 1500 consists primarily of former students and former employees. However, it also includes some current students and employees, our future alumni, who benefit from the advantages offered by our network.
Our members make up a network that extends across the world: Many countries have their own alumni clubs or individual alumni who serve as ambassadors for their alma mater. The clubs and representatives help on the one hand to bring together the alumni on a local scale and function on the other as local contacts for anyone interested in learning more about the University of Freiburg.
Besides networking between the university and its former students as well as among the alumni themselves, our association also has the goal of providing funding and support for the University of Freiburg. Our booster association focuses on raising funds for students and student projects according to the principle “former students support current students.” For example, we provide funding for the alumni prizes for students, through which the faculties recognize special academic achievements or outstanding student involvement at their graduation ceremonies. To make lasting improvements in the conditions for students, we support the faculties in purchasing teaching materials. In addition, we subsidize field trips and finance student travel for research purposes or to present papers at conferences. Support for cultural involvement at the university is also among our funding priorities. For example, we support student music or theater groups. We report regularly on our funding projects here on our blog, in alumni’aktuell, in our annual alumni magazine uni’alumni, and in our alumni newsletter, as well as on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn).
We provide around 30,000 euros per year to the faculties for the aforementioned causes from our annual membership fees and donations. In addition, we organize central funding projects like the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship program and the Studienstarthilfe financial aid program for students. Our alumni have been the most important sponsors for Deutschlandstipendium scholarships at the University of Freiburg for many years. In 2018, the association succeeded in raising enough funds for 34 Deutschlandstipendium scholarships from alumni donations, amounting to more than 120,000 euros in scholarship money for outstanding students.
To secure a long-term foothold for our funding activities, the booster association Alumni Freiburg e.V. set up the Freiburg Alumni Endowment in 2007. The income from this endowment fund is a further important pillar for financing our association’s funding projects.
The booster association Alumni Freiburg e.V. is a core component of the university’s alumni strategy, which is managed by the Alumni Office in the Central University Administration. The Alumni Relations Department (at the Office of Public Relations) maintains contact with all former members of the university, including former students, teachers, researchers, and administrative and technical employees.
