Connecting the King's community across the world during COVID-19

Continuous lockdowns, social distancing and the shift to remote learning and working environments had a significant impact on a sense of belonging among the King’s community and the ability for students, staff and alumni to make connections.

To facilitate togetherness within our community during these difficult times, the International and Alumni teams collaborated on developing initiatives that could help create connections between students, staff and alumni. King’s Let’s Chat was launched in March 2021 as an opportunity for students studying remotely to informally connect with alumni volunteers.

With 345 participants from over 37 countries, the Let’s Chat initiative connected members of the global King’s community for an informal 30-minute virtual chat through King’s Connect, the alumni mentoring platform, with participants paired with a fellow student or alumnus.

Let’s Chat aimed to provide a virtual solution to the challenge of limited social interactions and networking opportunities caused by the pandemic. It also aimed to boost the participants’ wellbeing and sense of belonging. The initiative was successful in achieving these aims as participants were able to build new connections, exchange knowledge and experiences, and discuss innovative ideas and diverse perspectives.

Participants who shared feedback said Let’s Chat helped them feel less isolated and improved the remote student experience, with 80 per cent of participants stating that they would engage in this activity again and many students saying they were likely to recommend Let’s Chat to a friend or colleague.

Let’s Chat also provided a way for alumni to give back to the King’s community, many of whom volunteered to participate in the initiative as part of King’s Global Day of Service. This annual event, which officially takes place on 25^th March, brings alumni, students and staff together to volunteer and make a difference in their local, national and international communities.

Sign-up to King’s Connect to find out how you can connect with members of the King’s community.