King’s College London: Digital credentials programme launched to recognise alumni volunteers
The Alumni Office has launched a new programme that allows eligible alumni to receive a digital certificate and badge for their volunteering efforts.
The scheme, which will see over 500 alumni volunteer receive their awards this month and up to 5,500 new alumni volunteers receive theirs over the next 12 months, provides ‘verifiable information about an alumni volunteer’s achievements, which can also be shared with their wider network on LinkedIn,’ says Natalie Balchin, Alumni Volunteer Manager at King’s College London.
An example of the volunteering certificate alumni receive for their volunteering efforts. It is a white A4 sized certificate, with two yellow overlaid boxes upon which Reggie, the King’s mascot, sits. Inside the yellow boxes, it says: In deep appreciation of your generously given time supporting the King’s community. Thank you for your commitment to King’s ethos of service to society and making a positive impact in the world.
As well as being able to include their certification as part of their LinkedIn profile, alumni can also print the certificate themselves. This printed version comes with a QR code that can be scanned to show the digitised version of the certification.
Alumni can receive digital certification in three separate categories: as an alumni volunteer; as an alumni mentor; or as an international alumni representative, whilst students can receive certification as a mentee. Once they have registered their activity with the Alumni Office and the certification has been issued, alumni can add their award to their LinkedIn profile under the ‘Licenses & certifications’ section, allowing them to ‘showcase the credibility of their volunteering achievement not just with their LinkedIn network, but also with prospective employers,’ explains Natalie. She added: ‘I hope our alumni will be inspired to give time to King’s with the knowledge that they will be recognised in this official capacity. Volunteering matters, so it is great to be able to recognise and celebrate our alumni volunteers in this way.’
Nevin Abraham (Mathematics, 2015) was one of the first to receive the digital certificate and badge. On receiving his certification, he said ‘It’s been very rewarding providing support to our students and it’s a really lovely gesture to be recognised for it as well.’
‘I think volunteering gives you a great opportunity to not only give back to the community, but enables you to have a bigger perspective on the wider world. You can connect to all sorts of causes that you feel passionate about and in doing so, you will help others and make a positive contribution to society. You’ll also be able to meet new people and continue to develop transferable skills which are applicable in all aspects of life.’
– Nevin Abraham (Mathematics, 2015)