Dear former students,
it is with great pleasure and some trepidation that, at the beginning of 2021, I have taken up the Direction of the School of International Studies (SIS). While the task is daunting, I find great comfort in the awareness that the School is first and foremost a community of people. And although our numbers are small in several dimensions, students, staff and faculty members, together we have made a long journey and reached some important milestones. In early 2021 the 500th Master student will graduate from one of our programs, and every one of you has a remarkable story to tell.
Many of you hold important positions in the private or the government sectors, work in international institutions or have moved on to further post-graduate studies and landed a job in academia or in research centers scattered around the world. We are sometimes amazed by the degree of success among the former students that have graduated from our master of PhD programs.
The sense of belonging and of commitment that has always marked the School of International Studies had led us to set up the School of International Studies Alumni Network (SISAN) well before the University recognized the important role played by former students as ambassadors of our activities and trait d’union between current students and the outside world. Now that the University has launched a comprehensive Alumni strategy, the activities of SISAN will be able to thrive further.   
Keeping track of the professional development of our former students is not just a matter of personal involvement and curiosity, but provides us with critical information to monitor and evaluate the appropriateness of our educational offer and to check whether the skills and knowledge we focus on are useful and relevant in the job market.
Moreover, we are convinced that our current students can greatly benefit from getting in touch with you and take inspiration from your own experience and career path. Over the years many of you have signaled us internship and job opportunities arising in your companies or institutions, and in several cases current students of the School ended up being selected for those positions.
All in all, we hope to build a large network of former students in order to organize both virtual and in-person meetings during which you will be able to share your experiences with faculty members and current students, and to provide us with up-to-date feedbacks on the skills that are more important in the various areas of work you are engaged in.
We look forward to having all of you on board, receiving news and updates, and hearing your ideas about possible new activities for our Alumni network. Take care!
Stefano Schiavo