Global alumni impact study report

Written By !Ala Al-Mahaidi Australia !Contributors !Ala Al-Mahaidi Australia Wilfried Assoko Côte d’Ivoire Caio Donini Brazil Darko Gazibara Bosnia & Herzegovina/ Croatia Viktor Karevski Republic of Macedonia Agata Lowkiet Poland Olga Tsygankova Russia

April!2014

AIESEC enables leadership development in young people to make a positive impact in society. The AIESEC Global Alumni Impact Study uses primary data to explore the leadership development and impact of AIESEC’s alumni. The study involves an analysis of survey responses of over 1000 alumni from 107 countries and a range of different generations and professional backgrounds.!!To explore this, the study focuses on three key questions: !!

• What is the extent of AIESEC’s influence on the leadership development of its members?!• What are the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni?!• What impact have AIESEC alumni had in society?!!

The analysis is based on the leadership development model of AIESEC, which consists of the following three elements of leadership development:!!

I & Myself! Self Aware – Aware of my strengths and weaknesses; Know my values and purpose in life!!

I & The World !Responsible to the World – Aware; Take ownership and action!!I & Others ! Effective Communication – Engaging others with one’s purpose and

values; Communicate effectively and build networks!!The study was conducted by a global team of AIESEC members in 2014. !!This report presents the findings of the study.

Introduction

Report StructureIntroduction! ! ! ! ! ! ! 1!Data Overview! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2!AIESEC’s Influence on Leadership Development! 3!Leadership Traits of Alumni! ! ! ! ! 7! - Personal Development! ! ! ! 7!! - Professional Development! ! ! ! 9!! - Skills Development! ! ! ! ! 11!! - Personal Values! ! ! ! ! 14!Alumni Impact in the World! ! ! ! ! 16!Conclusions! ! ! ! ! ! ! 21

Legend TMP: Team Member Program!TLP: Team Leader Program!GIP: Global Internship Program!GCDP: Global Community Development Program

1

37%

18%

20%

7%

7%

11% Multinational company

Small or Medium Company

Entrepreneur

Government or Government Institution

Not-for-Profit Sector

Other

27%

23% 18%

16%

9%

5% 2% Central & Eastern Europe

North America

Western Europe

South America

Asia Pacific

Africa

Middle East & North Africa 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 73

Per

cent

age

of R

espo

nden

ts (%

)

Age (Years)

Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected through a survey involving questions that are based on the three key questions of this study.!!In this report, the quantitative data is reported in the form of graphs and statistics. The qualitative data that is reported is based on examples of typical comments made by alumni in the surveys. Those typical comments were determined by examining multiple sets of samples from the total data and identifying the most common themes.!!Survey responses were collected from 1087 alumni with the following characteristics:

Data Overview

Region

Current Organisation

Age

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Psychology Media & Communications

Science Law

Social Sciences Political Science

Computer Sciences Marketing

Engineering Finance and Accounting

Other Management

Economics Business Administration

Percentage of Respondents (%)

Academic Background

AIESEC Program Participation Number of AIESEC Experiences

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Other

GCDP

GIP

TLP

TMP

Percentage of Respondents (%) 0% 5%

10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Less than 2 3 to 5 5 to 10 10 to 20 More than 20

Per

cent

age

of R

espo

nden

ts (%

)

Number of AIESEC Experiences

107 countries in total

2

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Self Aware

Effective Communication

Responsible to the World


I communicate effectively with other people and engage them with my vision

I understand and attend to needs of others

I developed new insights about other cultures

I am accepting diversity

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses

I know my purpose in life and live according to it

I know my values and live according to it

I set and accomplish goals for my own development

I consider continuous learning as part of my everyday life

I developed new insights about Leadership


I am aware of my responsibility for the world (country, city) and feel ownership towards it

I enjoy taking responsibility

Responsible to the World

Effective Communication

Self Aware

3

AIESEC’s Influence on Leadership DevelopmentThe vast majority of alumni respondents (84%) consider themselves to be a ‘leader’. This section of the report examines the extent to which AIESEC and its programs has influenced this leadership development.

Three Elements of Leadership DevelopmentThe alumni surveyed were asked to rate the extent to which AIESEC had an influence over the different leadership characteristics related to the three leadership development elements mentioned in the introduction of this report. The results are in the graphs below.!

It is quite clear that all three areas of the leadership development were at least significantly influenced by AIESEC, and a large portion of the alumni said that they would not have those characteristics without AIESEC. Although a large portion also said that AIESEC only somehow influenced their development in these areas, very few respondents said that AIESEC had no effect.!!More particularly, there were more alumni indicating that, without AIESEC, they would not have characteristics of effective communication than there were for the other two areas. However, there were also more alumni indicating that AIESEC only somehow had an influence on their self awareness. The next subsection goes into more detail regarding which programs develop which characteristics.

4

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%













0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%













0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Percentage of respondents (%)

GIP GCDP

Influence of Each ProgramThe following graphs present a breakdown of the data per program. Each graph takes into account those respondents who had only participated in that respective program and no other program. Because of this restriction on the data, the sample sizes for each graph are very low, and hence, the conclusions made here are done so with caution.

TMP TLP


5

TMP !For TMP participants, the characteristics that AIESEC seems to have the most influence on are related to effective communication. In particular, the characteristics that had the highest proportion of respondents select ‘Without AIESEC, wouldn’t have it’ are: ‘I am accepting of diversity’; ’I developed new insights about other culture’; and ’I communicate effectively with other people and engage them with my vision’.!!Characteristics related to being self aware seemed to have the most respondents selecting ‘Not at all’, such as: ‘I know my purpose in life and live according to it’ and ‘I know my values and live according to it’. This indicates that perhaps TMP does not offer as much opportunity for self reflection and self awareness as desired.!!Characteristics relating to responsibility to the world do not have very extreme responses, but a fairly large number of respondents selected ‘Significantly influenced' for ‘I enjoy taking responsibility’ and ‘I am aware of my responsibility for the world (country, city) and feel ownership towards it’.!

TLP !Respondents who participated in TLP show very similar trends as TMP participants. However, it is further worth noting that a particularly higher proportion of TLP participants than participants of other programs selected 'Significantly influenced’ for ‘I developed new insights about leadership’. This suggests that this program may be particularly influential in allowing participants to explore their leadership abilities.

GIP !For participants of GIP, AIESEC seems to have the most influence on characteristics related to effective communication. The characteristics that had the highest proportion of respondents select ‘Without AIESEC, wouldn’t have it’ are: ‘I am accepting of diversity’ and ’I developed new insights about other culture’. The latter is substantially higher for GIP participants than participants of other programs, indicating that this program is particularly valuable for enhancing cultural awareness.!!Characteristics related to being self aware also seemed to be more influenced by GIP. A larger proportion of respondents selected ‘Significantly influenced’ for characteristics like: ‘I know my purpose in life and live according to it’; ‘I know my values and live according to it’; ‘I consider continuous learning as part of my everyday life’; and ‘I set and accomplish goals for my own development’.!

GCDP !It is difficult to draw conclusions from the data of GCDP participants, since the sample size is particularly low. However, one important observation is that, similar to GIP participants, for ‘I developed new insights about other cultures’, a substantially large proportion of respondents selected ‘Without AIESEC, wouldn't have it’. This suggests that GIP and GCDP seem to allow for greater opportunity to develop cultural awareness than the other programs, and this is consistent with data presented later in this report which suggests that participants of these programs develop cultural sensitivity skills.

In summary, it appears that AIESEC does have a substantial influence on the leadership development of its members. TMP and TLP seem to particularly influence characteristics of effective communication, while GIP seems to provide more holistic development. Along with GIP, GCDP seems to be specifically influential on its participants’ cultural awareness.!!The next section provides more insights into the leadership traits that participants of each program develop.

Summary

6

AIESEC gave me a platform to do so many things. I travelled the world. I was a minority, I was the majority. I failed, I succeeded. I take these lessons with me into life every day and now look to push further in everything I do. I run marathons and do ironmans, I continue to study and volunteer around issues that move me. AIESEC is with me always.!!

Jennifer Harwood!Standards Australia Ltd.!

Sydney, Australia

Leadership Traits of Alumni

Personal DevelopmentThe alumni were asked to indicate which personal characteristics most apply to them. The following graph shows the results.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Other

I am creative and innovative

I am consistent with my words and actions

I have risk-taking attitude

I am emotionally intelligent

I am persistent and result-oriented

I learn proactively

I believe in myself

I am adapting fast to new/challenging environment

I think globally

I am open minded and accept diversity


Personal Characteristics

As shown in the graph, the majority of respondents (approximately 67%) indicated that they are open-minded, accept diversity, think globally and adapt to different environments. Repeatedly, alumni mentioned in their comments how their exposure to different people and places allowed them to broaden their perspective and understanding of the world, which relates to the ‘Effective Communication’ aspect of the leadership development model. Often, alumni described themselves with phrases like “global citizen” and “globally-minded”. These sentiments are summed up in the comment on the right of this particular alumnus from Canada.!!While appreciation of differences was a major theme in responses, many alumni also seemed mention how they learned to appreciate the similarities that bring people together. An example is this comment on the right of an alumnus from New Zealand.!

This section of the report focuses on the second key question of the study which aims to explore insights into the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni. These traits are presented in terms of personal and professional development, skills development and personal values.

“I am a more empathetic person because of my connection to the people I met in AIESEC and the issues facing people all over the world. I feel connected to global events and believe I can make differences locally that relate to global situations.” !

Alumnus from Canada

“It reinforced my existing belief that we live in a small world and people of all different cultures are fundamentally the same and equally valuable.” !

Alumnus from New Zealand

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Another dominant theme that recurred in responses was personal confidence and drive, which relates to the ‘Self Aware’ aspect of the leadership development model. This is reflected in the graph by, for example, the selection of ‘I believe in myself’, ‘I learn proactively’ and ‘I am persistent and result-oriented’ by around 45-55% of respondents. The respondents often mentioned becoming empowered to take untraditional paths and gain the skills and experience to be able to achieve goals. This is summed up by the comment on the right from an alumnus from Canada.!!!!This comment of this alumnus from the United States is another example how AIESEC can help people develop the personal confidence to make significant life changes.!!

0% 10% 20% 30%

1 (None) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 (Extreme)


Deg

ree

of In

fluen

ce

The alumni surveyed were asked to rank the degree to which AIESEC influenced their personal development on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being no influence, and 10 being extreme influence). !As can be seen in the graph, most respondents indicated a high to extreme degree of influence.

Degree of AIESEC’s Influence

“AIESEC’s international opportunities and the many talented people I met through its global network gave me the confidence to follow an untraditional career path and contribute to fixing some of the world's problems rather than settle for a typical existence based on the expectation of others. I'm very pleased to have my AIESEC experience as a foundation for whatever challenge I choose to tackle.” !

Alumnus from Canada

“I am not afraid to live or work in a different country - despite all the obstacles living and working abroad inevitably entails. In fact, this year, I moved from Miami, FL - quitting my job as a successful attorney - to Brussels, Belgium to pursue a career in international public policy. Without my experience with AIESEC, I highly doubt I would have the drive and confidence to make such a drastic change!” !

Alumnus from USA

8

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

I develop innovations at my work

I am regularly getting rewarded for the quality of my work

I develop or implement new projects in an organization

I am coach or mentor

I lead a team(s) at my work

I work abroad or with multicultural teams

I am proactively bringing new ideas at my work

I get along well and easy with diverse employees at my work

I work effectively without much supervision

I effectively set goals and timeline for my duties

I set career goals for myself


Professional DevelopmentThe alumni were also asked to indicate which professional characteristics most apply to them. The following graph shows the results.

Professional Characteristics

Similar to the results on personal development, much of the professional development related to diversity and new perspectives. !!A large proportion of respondents (approximately 58%) indicated that they get along well and easy with diverse employees at work, which, again, relates to the ‘Effective Communication’ aspect of the leadership development model. The comments from alumni seem to indicate that this may stem from the exposure to diverse people that alumni experienced in AIESEC. The comment on the right from an alumnus working in a multinational bank is one example of what many respondents expressed.!!A large proportion of alumni (approximately 47%) indicated that they proactively bring new ideas and new projects in their organisation. The respondents’ comments also seem to indicate that this may relate back to the diversity of experiences and perspectives that alumni encountered in AIESEC and its effect on their ability to generate innovative ideas and projects in diverse teams. One example is the comment on the right of an alumnus from Germany, who related his diverse AIESEC experiences to “humbling co-creation, innovation and strategic thinking”.

“Working in a company with a vast amount of cultures has proven challenging to so many people – but I seem to thrive in that arena and I believe it is due to the exposure AIESEC has given me.” !Alumnus working for TD Bank in

Canada

“Living and working in several AIESEC countries and interacting with members nation-wide in several languages truly built my language and cultural understanding within varying workplaces and improved my relationship building. Dealing with complexity in multiple teams enabled humbling co-creation, innovation and strategic thinking.” !

Alumnus from Germany

9

The professional development of alumni also seems to be reflected in the following data, which shows how long AIESEC alumni received a job promotion after leaving AIESEC.

0% 10% 20% 30%

1 (None) 2 3 4 5 6 8 7 9

10 (Extreme)


Deg

ree

of In

fluen

ce

0% 5%

10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Less than 1 year Between one (1) and two (2)

years

Between three (3) and five (5)

years

More than five (5) years

I have not been promoted yet

I became an entrepreneur P

erce

ntag

e of

Res

pond

ents

(%)

Timing of First Promotion

Job Promotions

Forty-three per cent (43%) of respondents were promoted within one year of leaving AIESEC, while 30% were promoted between one and two years after leaving. This speed of promotion may be partly due to the organisational skills and experiences that are gained from participating in AIESEC programs, as indicated by repeated comments from the alumni respondents. For example, the comment on the right is what one alumnus from Australia said regarding his internship in Switzerland.!!!Also, this career progress may be partly due to AIESEC enabling its members to discover career paths that they are truly passionate about, and therefore more motivated towards, since this is a very common recurring theme in the responses. The comment on the right is an example of this from an alumnus from Bangladesh.!!

Degree of AIESEC’s InfluenceThe alumni surveyed were asked to rank the degree to which AIESEC influenced their professional development on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being no influence, and 10 being extreme influence).!!As can be seen in the graph, most respondents indicated a high to extreme degree of influence.

“The AIESEC experiences prior to my internship prepared me to enter a commercial environment post undergraduate study with real value to my employers. The internship provided relevant commercial experience to jump-start my career in a management role.” !

Head of Business Development and Planning at Syngenta in

Australia

“AIESEC made me realize who I am and who I want to be … It taught me how to perfect what I was good at, and how to work with what I wasn't good at. It gave me my true passions – PR, communications, leadership, innovation, and a world of social causes to fight for.” !

Alumnus from Bangladesh

10

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Other

Innovation

Teamwork

Coaching

Personal effectiveness

Negotiation skills

Sales skills

Ability to work virtually

Time management

Oral and written communication skills

Planning

Foreign language skills

Dealing with complexity

Problem solving

Networking skills

Strategic thinking

Collaboration

Co-creating and brainstorming

Project management

Relationship building

Ability to see the big picture

Cultural sensitivity

Public speaking


The alumni were asked to select from a list of skills that they felt they gained the most from their AIESEC experience. The following graph shows the results:!

Skills Development

11

The graph shows that the skills that are most commonly developed (greater than 40% of respondents) are public speaking, cultural sensitivity, ability to see the big picture, relationship bulging and project management. The skills that seem be to least commonly developed (less than 25% of respondents) are teamwork and innovation.!!For this data to be more useful, though, it is worthwhile segmenting it according to each program.

Dealing with complexity 64%

Time management 60%

Foreign language skills 55%

Problem solving 54%

Relationship building 53%

Teamwork 51%

Project management 51%

Collaboration 49%

Planning 48%

Networking skills 47%

Public speaking 67%

Cultural sensitivity 60%


Ability to see the big picture 55%


Strategic thinking 53%Co-creating and brainstorming 52%

Collaboration 49%

Problem solving 47%

Networking skills 47%

TMP TLP


Public Speaking 65%

Ability to see the big picture 57%Relationship building 56%Foreign language skills 56%

Project Management 52%

Dealing with complexity 50%

Collaboration 49%

Strategic Thinking 49%Co-creating and brainstorming 48%

GIPPublic speaking 59%


Strategic thinking 51%


Ability to see the big picture 46%Co-creating and brainstorming 44%

Collaboration 42%

Foreign language skills 42%


Planning 40%

GCDP

The tables below show the top 10 skills developed by participants in each program.

12

There are a few interesting observations from this data.!!‘Cultural sensitivity’ is substantially higher for participants of GIP (76%) than the other programs. This may be due to the intense cultural immersion for an extended period of time that is usually experienced in GIP, which alumni respondents have repeatedly mentioned. For example, in the comment on the right, an alumnus from Austria describes the value of his internship experience.!!Although ‘Foreign language skills’ does not appear within the top 10 skills of the total respondents, it does for GIP and GCDP participants (fifth and eighth, respectively). Again, this may be due to the exposure to a different country and culture. However, this skill also ranks highly for TMP participants (third). This may be because many AIESEC members in non-English speaking countries valued their membership in AIESEC as an opportunity to enhance their English language skills. The comments to the right are a few of many similar ones.!!‘Project Management’ is a skill that appears higher in the rankings for TLP and GCDP participants than the other programs. This indicates that these programs may be more suitable for gaining this particular skill development, especially since managing projects is a common part of the job description of many TLP and GCDP roles.!!‘Teamwork’ and ‘Time management’ appear only in the top 10 list for TMP. This suggests that perhaps TMP is more effective in developing these particular skills than the other programs.!!Certain skills do not appear in any of the top 10 lists, including ‘Oral and written communication skills’, ‘Ability to work virtually’, ‘Sales skills’, ‘Negotiation skills’, ’Personal effectiveness’, ‘Coaching’ and ‘Innovation’. This indicates that perhaps none of AIESEC’s programs are particularly effective in developing these skills. It may be relevant for AIESEC to explore how its programs can be enhanced to better deliver this skill development.

“My internship in South Africa during times of change … This traineeship outside Europe influenced my views on the world and Africa heavily and definitely changed me as a person.” !

Alumnus from Austria

“Knowledge of my English became better and I'm thankful to all my AIESEC international friends because of that.” !

Alumnus from Croatia !“I gained the ability to speak English and work with multicultural teams.” !

Alumnus from France

13

The alumni were asked to list their personal values. The word cloud below visually depicts the commonality of words used by respondents to describe their values.

Personal Values

The list below shows the top 10 most common sets of values mentioned by alumni and their frequencies.

Values (Keywords) Count

% Responses Containing Keywords

1 Honesty, integrity, sincerity, genuinity, authenticity, ethics, trust, reliability 389 36%

2 Respect, diversity, inclusiveness, tolerance, peace, harmony 200 18%

3 Family, friendship, relationships 178 16%

4 Kindness, generosity, compassion, care, altruism, love, empathy 136 12%

5 Enjoyment, fun, humour, positivity, optimism, happiness, joy 121 11%

6 Hard work, proactivity, excellence, progress, achievement 92 8%

7 Personal growth, development, fulfilment, learning 72 7%

8 Perseverance, reslience, determination, commitment, boldness, courage 69 6%

9 Work-life balance, health, well-being 67 6%

10 Equality, fairness, justice 56 5%

14

The majority of alumni respondents (36%) identify with values related to honesty, integrity, sincerity, genuineness, authenticity, ethics, trust and reliability. Values relating to diversity, respect, inclusiveness, tolerance, peace and harmony are also common, which is consistent with the personal and professional characteristics related to diversity that many alumni have developed (discussed earlier).!!The personal values of the alumni are generally aligned to the organisational values of AIESEC. For example, Set 1 relates to ‘Demonstrating Integrity’; Set 2 relates to ‘Living Diversity’; Set 5 relates to ‘Enjoying Participation’; and Set 6 relates to ‘Striving for Excellence’.!!!!!This indicates that AIESEC may attract like-minded people who share similar values because they are aligned to the organisation’s set of values. This is reflected by the comments of some of the alumni respondents, such as the comment on the right of an alumnus from Nigeria.!!AIESEC also seems to allow members to achieve greater clarity in their personal values. Some alumni respondents made comments like the one on the right.!! !

The

AIESEC

Values Living Diversity!

Demonstrating Integrity!

Striving for Excellence!

Enjoying Participation!

Acting Sustainably!

Activating Leadership

“My closest friends where cultivated through AIESEC because our values and beliefs are aligned.” !

Alumnus from Nigeria

15

“The values that drive my life were defined during my time in AIESEC and the original learning plan I developed when I was still in AIESEC still influence my life and who I am as a leader in the corporate world.” !

Alumnus from Brazil

“Until death, we are too young to have preconceived notions.”!!

Pratyush Sureka!Alex Astral Power Private Limited!

Kolkata, India

Alumni Impact in the World

Life PurposeWhen asked about what they believe their life purpose to be, the majority of the alumni’s responses generally related to three common themes: !

• ‘Become the best I can be’ • ‘Help others be the best they can be’ • ‘Help make the world a better place’ !

Examples of typical responses include:

The vast majority of alumni (76%) said that they feel they are currently making a positive impact in the world. This section of the report focuses on the third key question of the study, which aims to explore what kind of impact this is. The section looks at how alumni describe their life purpose, the kinds of impactful activities that they are involved in, and the ways in which AIESEC has enabled its alumni to lead impactful lives.

“Being useful to people, to society, to my country, to the world. Because that's what we're here for. Ultimately, our mission, as a human being is to be useful for the world.” !

Alumnus from Armenia

“I aim to have positive interactions with those I cross paths with. To learn from others to improve myself and to inspire and support others to have a positive impact. In future, I hope to utilise my (hopefully) greater influence in political, business and social terms to support the issues and values important to me and my society.” !

Alumnus from Australia

“Broaden people's horizons, make them know that there is more to what they see daily. Create tools to make education reach everybody everywhere. Education can give opportunities and create better leaders.” !

Alumnus from Peru

“My goal and dream is to build a big global company by the age of 29, which makes a positive impact on society on a big scale (millions of people), innovates and operates in different countries.” !

Alumnus from Russia

16

These insights suggest that AIESEC’s alumni tend to have a mindset and willingness to lead lives that are impactful to themselves, to others and to the world, which is related to the ‘Responsible to the World’ aspect of the leadership development model. The next subsection examines what kinds of impactful activities alumni are actually involved in.

Impactful ActivitiesThe alumni were asked to select from a list of activities that apply to them in their lives. The following graph shows the results.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Other

I have gained recognition for my social work

I am a social entrepreneur

I am a project leader/manager of a project in an NGO

I promote politics that help the development of my/other community

I develop initiatives that solve problems in my community

I promote peace in my nearest circle

I constantly promote information about global issues

I am encouraging/participating in Corporate Social Responsibility activities

I am supporting NGO(s)

I volunteer for social causes

I donate for charities

I have environmentally friendly consumption habits


Many alumni who selected options such as ‘I volunteer for social causes’ and ‘I am supporting NGO(s)’ seemed to specifically mention supporting young people in different ways, such as through career advice, mentoring and specific projects focused on youth issues. The following are a few examples:!

“As a lecturer, I'm empowering youth to have an innovative and personal approach in life based on facts and values.” !

Alumnus from Republic of Macedonia

“As a mentor, the inspiration I am driving among other youth helps them see the way they can change themselves, and most of them apply some tips I am sharing during my ‘Sharing Experience’ sessions and they work well.” !

Alumnus from Cameroon

“I started my own youth environmental NGO (Go Green) that educates and activates young people to take an active role in environmental projects.” !

Alumnus from Republic of Macedonia

“I help organize a youth festival and other social initiatives focused on the problems of youth in my hometown.” !

Alumnus in Bulgaria

17

Although not reflected in the graph, another common trend in the alumni’s responses relates to creating impact through good business practice, whether i t be through ensuring business sustainability, better management of people or creation of wealth and jobs. A few examples are on the right.!!The recurrence of these kinds of comments suggests that perhaps ‘positive impact’ should not necessarily only refer to achieving direct social outcomes, but also to enhancing the way that business is conducted in order to create indirect social impact.!!For most alumni, creating impact does not seem to necessarily mean creating change in broader society or the world. Most alumni describe their impact as simply creating a loving family and spreading positive values within their inner circle. Many comments are similar to the one on the right.!

“I help my company to deliver better results and this means to produce food to the world in a more sustainable way, by giving the right guidance to my team (developing them).” !

Alumnus from Brazil !“As a Human Resources leader I have the capacity to drive practices that ensure engagement, satisfaction and fairness. I support leaders behave based on ethical standards.” !

Alumnus from Mexico

“I have a daughter and a family that I care and love and I try to teach the values that AIESEC helped me define.” !

Alumnus from Brazil

18

“From a professional perspective, we facilitate worldwide commerce through risk mitigation - which is absolutely essential for progress and the reason our corporate tagline is ‘Make your world go’.!!However, I feel a person’s most important contribution is in their community and in their home, and that no success can compensate for failure in the home. My biggest contribution to this world happens within the walls of my home for my wife and children.”!!

Michael Yeats!XL Re Latin America Ltd.!

Bogota, Colombia

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

1 (None)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 (Extreme)


Deg

ree

of In

fluen

ce

TMP

TLP

GIP

GCDP

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

1 (None)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 (Extreme)


Deg

ree

of In

fluen

ce

The alumni were also asked to rate the degree of AIESEC’s influence on their ability and willingness to achieve positive impact in the world (1 being no influence, and 10 being extreme influence). The following graphs show the results for the total respondents and for respondents who participated in each AIESEC program.

AIESEC’s Degree of Influence

Total Respondents Breakdown of Program Participants

The results suggest that AIESEC does have a significant influence on its members’ ability and willingness to achieve positive impact in the world, since almost 60% of respondents selected a rating of 8 or above.!!There are also different trends depending on the program of participation. A rating of 8 or above was selected by higher proportions of GIP and GCDP participants (70% and 64%, respectively) than participants of TMP and TLP (50% each). Also, a rating of 4 or less was selected by higher proportions of TMP and TLP participants (19% and 18%, respectively) than participants of GIP and GCDP (5% and 4%, respectively). !!This suggests that alumni who intern or volunteer abroad through AIESEC tend to be more influenced by their experience in terms of ability and willingness to make positive impact in the world. This may be due to the new perspectives gained from being in another culture and exposed the issues of other countries, as discussed throughout this report. One example (on the right) comes from an Australian alumnus who participated in an internship in Poland.!!Examples like this demonstrate how the influence of AIESEC programs on participants’ perspectives can also impact their career goals and inspire them to lead more impactful lives.!!It may be worthwhile for AIESEC to explore why it is that TMP and TLP tend to have less influence on participants in this regard, and how the programs can be enhanced to empower more of their participants.

“I did an internship in Poland teaching English to the long term unemployed. Here I realised the impact of assisting others to develop their self confidence/esteem and wanted to have a more social impact on society rather than a material impact (of being an accountant). After this I decided to change careers into HR from Accounting.” !


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AIESEC’s Influence on Different Alumni GenerationsThere is a negative correlation of roughly -0.6 between the age of alumni respondents and their rating of the degree of AIESEC’s influence on their ability and willingness to impact the world. This suggests that the younger generations of alumni tend to be more influenced by AIESEC to lead impactful lives than older generations. A possible reason for this is AIESEC’s increased focus on leadership and global impact since the early 2000s, which may have translated into more personal influence on members.!

How AIESEC Enables ImpactThe explanations of the alumni respondents regarding specifically how AIESEC enabled their ability and willingness to create positive impact can be summarised to six recurring responses:

“The experience has impacted greatly my global desire to work with all cultures to help them improve themselves, especially with regards to the financial sector.” !

Alumnus from Finland

“The global network made me realize that we have the same kind of problems in this world and it is up to us to solve these problems.” !

Alumnus from Indonesia

“AIESEC influenced my ability to make an impact by providing me with the hard and soft skills as well as the confidence to be successful.” !


“AIESEC has exposed me to a plethora of impact-driven people from around the world, which has highly inspired and influenced who I am today.” !

Alumnus from Greece

“AIESEC taught me the importance of sharing ideas and mindful listening.” !

Alumnus from Canada

“Connecting with other cultures gave me a broader understanding of the world and global problems. I felt part of a big community, a global village.” !

Alumnus from Armenia

Developing the passion and drive to impact the world

Helping understand the world and what it needs

Helping develop organisational skills and competencies

Creating a network of like-minded people

Helping become open to different points of view

Creating exposure to new cultures and countries

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Conclusions

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This study aims to create an understanding of the leadership development that AIESEC enables in its members and the subsequent impact that they go on to create in the world. Below is a summary of conclusions, structured according to the three key questions of this study.!!What is the extent of AIESEC’s influence on the leadership development of its members?!!

• AIESEC has a substantial influence on the leadership development of its members through its programs.!

• TMP and TLP seem to particularly influence characteristics of ‘Effective Communication’.!• GIP seems to provide more holistic development in the three areas of ‘Effective

Communication, ‘Self Aware’ and ‘Responsibility to the World’.!• GCDP, along with GIP, seems to be specifically influential on its participants’ cultural

awareness.!!What are the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni?!!

• The most common personal characteristics that AIESEC alumni seem to have developed include broader perspective and understanding of the world, appreciation of similarities, and personal confidence and drive.!

• The most common professional characteristics that AIESEC alumni seem to have developed include the ability to get along with diverse employees at work and proactively bring new ideas and projects in the workplace.!

• The vast majority of alumni surveyed obtained a job promotion within the the first two years after leaving AIESEC.!

• The most common skills gained by alumni are public speaking and cultural sensitivity.!• Cultural sensitivity skills are more particularly developed in GIP participants.!• Foreign language skills are more particularly developed in participants of GIP, GCDP and

TMP.!• Project management skills are more particularly developed in participants of TLP and GCDP.!• The most dominant set of values that most alumni hold are related to honestly, integrity,

respect, diversity, family, friendship and relationships.!• Values held by AIESEC alumni are generally aligned to AIESEC’s values.!!

What impact have AIESEC alumni had in society?!!• Alumni generally define their life’s purpose as being to lead a life that is impactful to

themselves, to others and to the world. • Impactful activities that alumni engage in are particularly in the areas of social/community

development (especially towards youth), creating good business practice, creating loving families and spreading positive values.

• AIESEC has a high degree of influence on its members’ ability and willingness to impact the world, especially through GIP and GCDP.

• The younger generations of alumni tend to be more influenced by AIESEC to lead impactful lives than older generations. !

While this report shows the success of AIESEC in enabling leadership development in young people to make a positive impact on society, it also raises a number of areas in which AIESEC can improve and innovate in its programs to deliver better leadership development experiences. It is hoped that this study provides useful insights to assist the continued growth and development of AIESEC in working towards its mission.

Global alumni impact study report

Documents

aiesec alumni

leadership traits of

professional development

personal development

impact of aiesecs alumni

skills development

quantitative data

qualitative data