Alumni volunteering
Join our friendly community of alumni volunteers and use your skills and expertise to make a difference to the lives of the next generation of Leicester graduates. We have a diverse range of volunteering opportunities, with flexibility in mind, to work around your existing commitments.
Hear from some of our volunteers
Lynda Wight has volunteered at the University of Leicester for over 9 years, previously holding the position of Vice-Chair for the Alumni Association Committee.
Being a volunteer for the University has been a great way to maintain a relationship with the institution and the city where I simply had the best time. The greatest satisfaction I had was playing a part in establishing the Alumni Awards to acknowledge the wealth of talent and achievement in our alumni community. If you have fond memories of your time at University, or feel gratitude for the opportunities your Leicester degree opened up; or if you have a passion for helping young people to become ‘Citizens of Change’ for good in the world, then you are the sort of person the University will want on their volunteer team! All kinds of skills are valuable, so you don’t have to be world-famous. Everyone can have something to contribute from their life experience!
What are the benefits of volunteering?
- Access our exclusive alumni benefits
- Make a difference to the lives of current University of Leicester students
- Share your expertise and develop new skills both for professional and personal development
- Meet new friends and expand your network
- Receive a copy of the ‘Your Impact’ report and get a behind the scenes look at the impact our supporters and volunteers have
- Receive a reference for your volunteering on request
Current opportunities
Submit an alumni profile
Submitting an alumni profile takes around 15-30 minutes depending on how much detail you want to add. This is a great way to let us know where your journey has taken you since studying at the University of Leicester.
When filling in your profile, you can also register your interest in further volunteering such as giving a guest lecture or filming a video of your career journey for example.
Alumni Chapters
Our international alumni are part of a 200,000 wide community of former University of Leicester students based in 197 countries globally. Our Alumni Chapters help us to create a powerful network of changemakers and citizens of change. Alumni are our biggest stakeholder group to the University and invaluable in supporting us succeed. The University of Leicester is always looking to maintain a strong connection with our graduates and a global way of doing this is through Alumni Chapters and bringing Leicester to you!
What is an Alumni Chapter?
An Alumni Chapter is a social and/or professional networking group organised by and for Alumni. They help to bring Alumni in a specific geographical area together to participate in local activities and events in a fun and friendly environment. Chapter aims needed to align with the University of Leicester Strategic Plan.
The University of Leicester currently has Chapters in:
Benefits of joining a Chapter
- Networking opportunities - Chapters can be a great way of meeting those local to you and developing your connections, building both professional networks and lifelong friendships.
- Stay connected to the University - Chapters can keep you connected to your university and help you feel part of the institution by contributing to the university's strategic aims.
- Free membership - Being part of a Chapter is free and a membership that you can promote to your network.
- Give back and help others - Collaborate and support other members with projects they are working on or by just being a friendly face to bounce ideas off.
- Expand your skills - Committee roles always look good on a CV and can open up other opportunities.
- Exclusive events – Access or organise exclusive Chapter events such as lunches, drinks receptions or even sporting events where you can socialise, make friends and reminisce on your shared experience studying at the University.
What support can alumni networks expect from the University
We can commit to:
- Ensuring all Chapters have a dedicated point of contact at the University.
- Providing a toolkit which gives advice and support on the running of a Chapter and branded assets.
- Official recognition for your network and a presence on our website.
- Communicate to the alumni community on your behalf promoting any Chapter news, activities, and events.
- Support in sourcing alumni speakers for your events.
Joining an existing Chapter
If you would like to join one of our existing chapters, or start a new international Chapter please email alumni.relations@le.ac.uk. If you are unsure and would like more information, please get in touch and we can set up an informal chat.
Archives and Special Collections: Sounds for the Future Project
Special Collections and the East Midlands Oral History Archive (EMOHA) are running a new project, 'Sounds for the Future'. The project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and will run from May 2022 to October 2023. The project will secure the future of the collections of the EMOHA.
Sounds for the Future will preserve all EMOHA's collections in a new digital preservation system and bring the cataloguing up to date. The project will also create lots of opportunities for volunteers to learn about oral history, audio preservation, and how to use oral histories to explore local history and heritage.
Alumni in Residence
The Alumni in Residence programme brings talented alumni volunteers and final year University of Leicester students together so that alumni can share their career experiences and advice. Through a combination of one-to-one appointments and small interactive networking sessions, the programme is designed to inspire students at the start of their career journeys, support their career development, build their commercial awareness and increase their confidence.
This is a one-off volunteering opportunity that runs at different points throughout the year (although you are welcome to sign up for further sessions). Time commitment is approximately 4 hours and can be completed virtually or in person.
Attenborough Arts Centre opportunities
Attenborough Arts Centre is a socially and civically-engaged public cultural venue based at the University of Leicester, producing visual arts, live performance, learning, community and research programmes. Volunteers are important members of the Attenborough Arts Centre front of house team. They are people who share a love of the arts, giving their time to contribute to the continued success of the centre.
The Centre is currently looking for Gallery Assistant Volunteers for their next exhibition. As an AAC Volunteer, you will be part of an organisation with decades of experience in providing performances, courses, workshops and activities for children and families. You would be a public face for the AAC, providing support and assistance within our gallery spaces. Ensuring our customers and visitors have a positive and enjoyable experience during their visit and aiding in their desire to return.
Inspirational career talks
Deliver a presentation or workshop on your career and get the opportunity to meet motivated students who are keen to develop their skills to enhance their applications and prepare for life after university. There will also be a Q+A session after the presentation.
The time commitment is approximately one to two hours per talk and this can be completed virtually or in person.
Mentor a student
Mentoring a student is a fantastic way to utilise your skills and experience to support a current University of Leicester student with their career goals. We are currently working on a new mentoring scheme for the academic year 2023/2024.
If you are interested in being involved when the scheme launches, please email alumni.relations@leicester.ac.uk to register your interest.
Museum Studies Connect
Are you a Museum Studies graduate from the University of Leicester? This exciting initiative provides professional development opportunities and networks for all of our graduates and now boasts over 450 members. On joining, members can access a range of bespoke volunteering opportunities.
Governors for Schools
The University of Leicester has partnered with the charity Governors for Schools to offer exciting and rewarding opportunities for alumni to apply to be school governors within Leicestershire and Rutland as well as the wider UK. School governors offer strategic guidance and work to challenge existing processes to drive school improvement. Governors for Schools offer great training and support to help you succeed in the role meaning that you don’t need to have prior experience of being on a board to apply.
Learn more about how to get involved. Or email alumni.relations@leicester.ac.uk if you would like a further chat about the role.
Volunteering documents
If you have any other volunteering ideas that you are interested in, such as giving a guest lecture, please do contact us (alumni.relations@leicester.ac.uk) and we would be more than happy to discuss this further with you.