The Mastercard Foundation Scholars at KNUST is committed to developing a Scholar Alumni Community that would continue to remain connected for impact through a resourceful network.The office is assiduously engaging Scholar Alumni to be part of the Mastercard Foundation Alumni Community, to contribute to making Africa and the world a better place. Most Scholar Alumni have manifested the training, knowledge, and skills they have acquired in transformational leadership and profession within their respective communities, and countries across the globe.

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Alumni community at KNUST was established after the first Cohort of fifty (50) Scholars graduated in 2018. Currently, the Program has graduated seven (7) cohorts with a population of nine hundred and eighty-one (981) Scholar Alumni. The Secretariat facilitates correspondence with the Scholar Alumni and continues to support their development towards securing jobs, establishing enterprises and pursuing further studies in Africa and worldwide.

Goals
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at KNUST has set out three main goals with its Alumni Engagement, and they are tracking, connectivity and support services. Tracking Alumni: This is to continually trace Scholar Alumni after school. Tracking involves the development of effective tools to trace progress as well as to identify transitional challenges, which inform the provision of support services for Scholars and Scholar Alumni. Tracking helps to know the locations of Scholar Alumni to facilitate interactions and networks. It also helps us to know the number of Alumni who have transitioned into the three main pathways, which are employment, entrepreneurship and further studies. Alumni Connectivity and Networking: The office provides platforms (online and face-to-face) for Scholar Alumni to build a strong and resourceful network. This involves facilitating interactions between Scholar Alumni, Scholars, Secretariat and Alumni of Partner Institutions, among other stakeholders. The Alumni Community connects on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and the Baobab platform.

Transitions Support: The office develops impactful interventions to support Scholar Alumni in ensuring smooth transition, to secure dignified and fulfilling engagements (employment, entrepreneurship, and further studies). Scholar Alumni are encouraged to utilize the services of the Career Development Center. The Center provides career assistance in terms of job search strategies, mock interviews, review of application documents and provide information on organizations in Ghana, which will help the unengaged Alumni to secure dignified and fulfilling jobs.

Some Events and Activities
» Transitions Ceremony: This is a ceremony to induct newly graduated Scholars into the Alumni Community. The Executive Board of the Mastercard Foundation Scholar Alumni at KNUST Community welcomes the graduates and introduces them to the activities of the community. The Ghana Chapter of the Mastercard Foundation Alumni Network Committee is invited to such events to introduce the graduates to their activities. Some Scholar Alumni also share their experiences with the transitioning Scholars to motivate them for the new life after school. The Program Team at KNUST addresses the graduates.

» Alumni as Resource Persons for Seminars/Workshops: The Program invites some of the Alumni to be resource persons and moderators at some events implemented for Scholars and Scholar Alumni. Some Alumni have facilitated programs like summer camp skills training sessions and workshops. This provides the platform for Alumni to share their expertise and get the exposure to develop themselves to take up roles as resource persons for events. The resource persons become examples to inspire the participants to take the training sessions and seminars seriously. It has been observed that Alumni who become resource persons continue to engage more with the Scholars Program secretariat and participate more effectively in the activities of the Alumni community.

» Campus Connect Meeting (CCM): Most of the Alumni connectivity and networking events are held online due to the spread of Scholar Alumni all over the world. Alumni tend to miss the feelings of in-person meetings except at homecoming which is held bi-annually. However, due to the academic prowess of the Scholars, a greater number of the Scholar Alumni are retained as teaching and administrative assistants in the University, whilst some continue to
pursue their postgraduate studies at KNUST after their one-year mandatory national service.

Impacts
1. Information Sharing: Alumni share internships, national service placements and other opportunities in their organizations with the Program, which subsequently shares these opportunities with the Scholars community at KNUST.

2. Employment Opportunities: Some Alumni Entrepreneurs and         others in senior-level positions help facilitate the recruitment of   some Scholars into their organizations.

3. Mentorship and Role Modeling: Some Alumni mentor Scholars on academic work, transitions, undertaking community projects and serving as role models. Some Alumni have served as resource persons, and many continue to exhibit leadership and serve as role models in their communities to inspire the younger ones.

4. Project Implementation: Alumni undertake projects and support events in their communities.