The café on campus was buzzing. In a reserved area, a vibrant crowd of young UTS alumni chatted, networked, and shared their insights about the masterclass they just attended, “3 financial hacks I wish I knew sooner.” The expert tips and connections acquired at these events can be game changers—and word is getting around. Nearly every recent UTS Young Alumni function has shown a pronounced increase in participation.
Young people can often feel that their ties to university are lost after graduation, but this is a conventional trend that UTS, as a nexus of creative and innovative thinking, was not willing to settle for. To inspire its young alumni to stay connected to the university and to each other, UTS developed a program of early engagement to build a sense of community and belonging.
The world’s best universities that are 50 years old or younger are listed on the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings—and in Australia, UTS has maintained the top spot on that list since 2021. As a virtue of being a young university of technology, UTS has a high percentage of graduates under the age of 35, comprising 36%—100,000 young alumni.
UTS Young Alumni Program
12 young alumni on the UTS Young Alumni Committee (UYAC) focus on creating opportunities for recent graduates to connect, collaborate, and empower each other to grow.
UYAC members showcase the diversity that reflects the UTS global community. They come from different backgrounds, graduated with different degrees, and grew up in different areas—from throughout Sydney to interstate to overseas. And while each member of the UYAC works in a variety of industries and is at a unique stage of their career—they have all forged meaningful, lifelong connections to UTS.
Theresa Winters, Alumni Programs Coordinator, works with the UYAC in the recruitment of its members. “When we asked the Committee members why they applied,” Theresa explained, “every single person I interviewed, it was the same answer—they all had an amazing experience at UTS, and they wanted to give back, not just to UTS as an institution but also to fellow alumni and recent graduates.”
Engagement and connections
UYAC holds an event every quarter—presentations, masterclasses, or fireside chats. Featured speakers are mostly UTS alumni or those with a connection to UTS that serves an area of strong interest to the alumni community.
In addition to “3 financial hacks I wish I knew sooner,” recent UYAC event topics have included “Mastering your taxes,” “Future-proof your career with LinkedIn,” and “Pitch any idea to anyone.” Every event includes a lively networking session, and frequently guest speakers spend extended time chatting with the attendees, offering individual advice and referrals.
“They're great for networking because you get people from many different areas of expertise. You’ve got people who studied IT, people who studied business, and you can all come together and collaborate,” noted Harshinder, a recent grad who attends many of the events. “There have been people who I know working on startups and they have made connections through these young alumni events... We’ve created a WhatsApp group as well.”
Events can include other benefits such as exclusive discounts on consultations, and a professional photographer on site to take free photos for attendees’ LinkedIn profiles. The increasing popularity of the events has required UYAC to find larger venues to meet the demand—which has attracted the right kind of attention for impactful growth. “We're having brands start to approach us and companies that want to start working with our community,” Theresa said, “which is a really cool place to be in.” The Young Alumni Committee has recently lined up a well-known recruitment agency to host a “How to turbocharge your career” event, which is progressing to be another sold-out success.
UYAC also encourages philanthropy, including support for the UTS Equal Access Scholarship, and members have joined the UTS team at City2Surf.
Extending its reach
With 26% of young alumni residing internationally in over 120 countries, the Young Alumni Committee is incorporating virtual options, so more young alumni who reside outside of Sydney can be involved. The “3 financial hacks I wish I knew sooner” event, featuring financial services luminaries (and fellow alumni), is on YouTube so everyone can benefit from the learnings.
Additionally, UYAC supports UTS students through an online event for UTS student orientation called “What I wish I knew when I was at university,” where hundreds of new students can ask members of the young alumni community questions about how to get the most out of their time at UTS. In 2025, UYAC plans to launch their first LinkedIn Live sessions, where young alumni from across the globe can attend one of the increasingly hot-ticket UTS Young Alumni masterclasses over livestream or watch the recordings later.
If you are a UTS graduate 35 years old or younger (or over 35 but you have graduated from UTS within the past five years), we invite you to get connected, inspired, and engaged with your active UTS Young Alumni community.
Update your contact details here for future invites.
Interested in becoming a part of the UTS Young Alumni Committee? Register your interest here.
Want to share your experience with other Young Alumni? Register your interest here.
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