Creating a Chinese alumni network for Leeds 

There are over 10,000 Chinese alumni of the universities of the Leeds City Region (LCR) and, following a competitive pitch, the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) appointed Guanxi to build a Chinese LinkedIn Group to reach out and reconnect with them. Our brief included delivering credible content, writing articles on the benefits of LCR for inward investment, further education and tourism, and translating them into Chinese, managing the daily interactions on the group, and building the membership by reaching out via LinkedIn and other alumni networks in China. We are also embarking on joint marketing activity with the region’s universities and testing advertising on the LinkedIn platform.

We also assisted with a delegation to China to launch the LEP Chinese alumni network. David Shepherd, Director of Trade and Investment, LEP hosted the launch in Shanghai where introductions to LCR, Leeds Beckett University, the University of Leeds and Visit Leeds were made to the assembled alumni.

The alumni network is funded by the GREAT Britain campaign and forms part of LEP’s active marketing to encourage Chinese investment in LCR. While engagement with Chinese alumni is the first priority, later development of the network will be aimed at maximising commercial and business opportunities with the help of these connections.

Enjoyed this article? Then these may also be of interest to you.

How to reach Chinese millennials? Get online.

First ever Chinese Student Society VIP Fam Trip arrives in Brighton and Hove

An insight into the travel of Chinese students living in the UK