Fishbowl session
This is a session for the alumni-curious. How can alumni support your work in international education? How do you get started? Has your boss suggested you work strategically with alumni? What’s the value of involving alumni? This session will navigate through these waves of questions to help find solutions to build and sustain alumni engagement as part of your international education programme. Take the opportunity to ask your questions to an expert panel in a dynamic, energetic format.
Karin Bennmarker is the Alumni Coordinator at SLU- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Sweden. Before the taking on the role as alumni coordinator, Karin has developed many exchange activities and has been responsible for the process of outgoing students with all that comes in the area, agreements, scholarships, reporting. As a Senior International Officer, Karin has gained experience of most of the EU funded mobility programmes as well as non-EU cooperation on a strategic level and hands-on mobility work as well as has taken part in national campaigns in the field of mobility. Karin has 25+ years of experience of internationalisation in higher education.
Since 2017, Karin’s responsibilities include developing strategies for alumni organisation and activities. Karin has in-depth experience from all fields within alumni work as she initiated the strategic alumni work at her institution, strategic planning, events, employability, alumni engagement, starting a CRM, and marketing and recruitment.
Karin has a part of the Expert Community Alumni Relations for the 2020–2024 term.
Karin is an alumna of Uppsala University in the field of English, Spanish, HR, pedagogy and educational planning. As a student long time ago, she developed the work with international students at Uppsala University. A hobby that became a career.
Karin is creative, innovative, pragmatic and problem-solving!
Sule is the founder of Schulee Consulting.
With over 20 years of experience in higher education, Sule specializes in career development, internship and mobility programs, and alumni relations. Before founding Schulee Consulting in 2023, she led transformative national and international initiatives as Head of Career Development and Alumni Relations at Sabanci University, significantly enhancing student career paths.
Sule's expertise extends beyond Sabancı University. She has forged partnerships with higher education institutions and companies across Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Her leadership spans diverse sectors, including aviation and information technology. Through the Erasmus Plus Internship Program, she facilitated international internships by establishing collaborations with 624 institutions in 40 countries.
From 2019 to 2020, Sule served as a consultant for the Presidential Human Resources Office of Turkey. During this time, she was the chief editor of the "Career Centers Handbook," a "Best Practice Guide" distributed to 131 State and 78 Foundation Universities in Turkey.
Now, Sule continues her professional journey with her own company. She brings her experience, knowledge, enthusiasm, and energy to help young people chart career paths they're passionate about, encouraging them to embrace innovation and lifelong learning.
Carolyn Russell, Vice-President Students, at Vancouver Island University (VIU) primary focus lies in supporting VIU students' academic achievements, mental health, personal development, and global connectedness throughout their entire educational journey with VIU. She is accountable for the Strategic Enrolment Management Plan and responsible for implementing strategies to increase enrollment and support the persistence of students at VIU. Her portfolio includes the Office of the Vice President Students, Office of Future Students, Office of the Registrar, Division of Student Affairs, and VIU International.
Carolyn has over twenty-five years of experience as a senior university administrator and for the past 3 years held the position of Associate Vice-President International Education at VIU. Prior to joining VIU, Carolyn worked with the University of Victoria for 10 years and held a number of senior positions, including the Executive Director Global Engagement. Before joining UVic, Carolyn spent 14 years at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in a variety of roles related to international education and student success. Carolyn is an accomplished leader in organizational change and renewal, always keeping the student experience central to her approach to managing change in the dynamic post-secondary sector. She has led the development of many successful student recruitment plans and the development of international plans for VIU, UVic, and UNBC.
Carolyn received the 2012 BC Council for International Education Award for Service Excellence in
International Education. She holds a Bachelor’s in International Studies from UNBC, and a Master of
Public Administration from UVic.
