Case Study: University of Bath

Context

The University of Bath initially wanted to increase its visibility in competitive international markets, particularly initially in Southeast Asia, where more universities were opening regional hubs.

Bath needed more in-market presence to run school talks, exhibitions, seminars and webinar sessions — but without the cost and complexity of adding full-time regional recruitment staff.

Solution

Bath partnered with Alumnify to activate trained alumni ambassadors across priority countries. Alumni who had completed their studies at Bath were recruited, trained and deployed to represent the university in-person and online, supporting recruitment and conversion activity.

The partnership initially launched in three key markets:

  • Thailand

  • Vietnam

  • Indonesia

With trained alumni now active across Southeast Asia, Bath instantly gained additional recruitment capacity — enabling more school engagement, more exhibition attendance, and more conversion touchpoints with prospects and offer-holders.

“We suddenly had access to trained representatives, fully committed to promoting Bath across the region”

Farman Kaveh, International Recruitment Manager

Expansion driven by early success

After strong performance in Southeast Asia, Bath expanded the partnership to Pakistan, activating ambassadors in:

  • Karachi

  • Islamabad

These alumni-led conversion activities delivered:

  • faster and more confident decision-making among offer-holders

  • deeper real-time market insight

  • increased visibility at critical points in the recruitment cycle

Encouraged by results in both regions, Bath expanded again in the next cycle: this time into Nairobi, Kenya, a long-priority market where the university had historically lacked resource for in-market representation.

Outcomes

Across all markets, Bath reported:

  • Stronger market presence through alumni participation in talks, exhibitions, seminars and webinars

  • Increased conversion driven by peer-to-peer conversations with offer-holders

  • Faster access to market insight directly from alumni on the ground

  • Better alignment between recruitment, agents and in-market activity

In Nairobi, Bath’s first alumni ambassadors have now:

  • launched a school outreach programme to support undergraduate pipeline growth

  • strengthened agency relationships through local collaboration

  • geared up to support conversion in one of Bath’s most strategically important African markets

Authenticity Drove Conversion.

Through Alumnify’s managed local calling and messaging campaigns across Southeast Asia, almost 300 offer-holders received personalised guidance from trained Bath alumni at the moment it mattered most. More than three-quarters indicated they were now far more likely to choose Bath as their first-choice destination.

Why it worked

Bath saw results quickly because alumni:

  • already understood the university’s strengths and character

  • could speak credibly and authentically about the student experience

  • were based in-market and available for frequent activities

  • required no full-time hiring or infrastructure investment

Alumnify facilitated the process from end-to-end: recruitment, vetting, training, deployment, supervision and reporting, meaning Bath gained reach without increasing headcount or workload.

“The evidence is clear: alumni voices are driving results but, it’s the quality of connection that matters. We’ll continue training and supporting our graduates through our partnership with Alumnify to ensure that authenticity scales with us.”

Patrick Cosh, Deputy Head, International Recruitment