Year-end Get-together (Apéro Riche)

More than twice the number of alumni registered to attend this years’ casual Year-end Afterwork Apéro Riche on December 5^th.

The highlight of the evening was Professor Hui Chen, who recently was awarded the Golden Owl by MTEC students for her excellent teaching. Prof. Chen was delighted to meet her past students and other alumni, many of whom had studied accounting with her predecessors. During a short talk, she shared her insights into the importance of accounting, especially when seen from the lens of being "the language of business", a phrase attributed to external page Warren Buffet. Living in a country where everyone speaks multiple languages, she reminded participants that learning yet one more language should not be a burden. Accounting as a common language offered managers a vocabulary and grammar to communicate more effectively to all their stakeholders.

While most of the evening was spent meeting former classmates, and other alumni – both old and new, it was also an opportunity for the MAS MTEC Alumni to reflect on highlights from the past year, including:

• Two observatories visited as part of the Stargazing & Drinks series:
  – Urania-Sternwarte on March 27^th
  – Semper-Sternwarte on October 14^th
• A flagship event to visit a cracked dam and the Grimsel powerplant with the optional overnight stay at the historic Grimsel Hospiz on July 20^th.
• How to make a city SMART with fellow alumnus Nicolas Lemaitre on September 18^th.
• The Inaugural Alumni Book Club (ABC) kicked off with reading Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner’s How Big Things Get Done on July 24th.
• A Glühwein Apéro for current students sponsored by MAS MTEC Alumni on November 19^th.

A few insights were given into the Time theme designated for 2025. Most notably, it will be the 20^th anniversary for MAS MTEC Alumni. A first event in the new year is already scheduled for January 18^th with a VIP tour to CERN. Additional events are in the planning, including a continuation of the ABC.

From D-MTEC, Isabel Spicker (Alumni Relations & Mentoring) gave some insights into 2025, including the 45^th anniversary of the MAS MTEC program. The MTEC Day is scheduled for March 28^th, and the annual MAS Alumni BBQ is planned for September 6^th at the Forsthaus Waldegg.