By Francesco Bortoluzzi, Project Coordinator for Academic Relations
With the start of a new academic year in Boston comes time for our annual Back to School event, where local Swiss and Swiss-linked students and researchers come together to connect while playing some lighthearted yard games.
Following on the fun and nimble stride of last year’s event, themed around the Olympics, this year’s edition was also held on the Cambridge Public Library’s lawn, across the street from swissnex Boston.
More than 80 Swiss-linked people or friends of Switzerland (a record attendance!) competed against each other for the honor of taking home Emmi cheese, and gift cards to Switzerland and swissbäkers, a local, family-owned Swiss bakery. Thank you very much to these sponsors for providing these prizes!
This year the game participants were divided into eight teams of roughly ten people: two EPFL Alumni teams (with twenty alumni and current students, EPFL was again the most represented Swiss university), ETH Alumni, Friends of Basel & Switzerland, HSG Alumni, Great Geneva Area, SNSF & Researchers, and UZH Alumni & Friends.
Alas, however, the fun in the park was short lived. In a sudden and unexpected turn of events, rain and thunder barreled in, just as the games were in the thick of the action, requiring a quick (and quite athletic!) break down of the games, followe by shelter-seeking inside swissnex.
Safe from the torrential rain, in the cozy event space of swissnex Boston, the more than 100 competitors and other guests engaged in swissnex’s favorite discipline: networking, with the help of a tasty reception and drinks.
The swissnex team whipped up a raffle for the sponsored prizes after briefly introducing themselves.
Most importantly, attendees connected with past contacts from before summer, others made new ones in a land far from home.
New arrivals to Boston could also learn about the many Swiss alumni and social chapters in the area, thanks to a series of posters detailing activities and contact information for each organization. The evening ended on a high note despite the weather-related interruption.
The swissnex team would like to thank sponsors Emmi Switzerland and swissbäkers, Boston’s Swiss alumni and social chapters, and all of the guests that joined us to celebrate yet another exciting start of the academic year.
There's a slice of strawberry cake inside this box that I can't wait to get my hands on! #sundaytreat #strawberrycake #swissbakers #sweettreat (at Swissbäkers)
Over 100 people packed into the swissnex office for Back to School 2012.
To mark the official start of the Fall 2012 semester, swissnex Boston welcomed students and faculty to the Back to School 2012 networking reception. Guest mingled over traditional Swiss cuisine from the swissbäkers while getting to know the swissnex team. Also, local Swiss student and alumni organizations, SwissLink Boston [1], the Harvard Swiss Society [2], and the ETH Alumni New England Chapter [3] presented their initiatives. These presentations served to inform potential new members of the fun activities that they organize, such as hiking trips, brewery visits, or Jass games.
Dr, Felix Moesner, the new swissnex Boston Director, welcomed the guests to Back to School 2012.
As a networking ice breaker, the guests did two activities that facilitated conversation and connection. When each guest entered they were given a set of stickers and instructed to give a sticker to the person whom they had talked to for the first time. The other activity involved a “color by number” painting where participants could color in their own square to make a mosaic for everyone to see. Guests chatted over traditional buendnerfliesch while expressing their creativity and meeting new contacts.
Later in the evening, the swissnex team launched a brand new concept: the swissnex Connector Award. The swissnex Connector Award is a new campaign in which swissnex Boston will reward one person in our community who had a significant impact on our activities and opened opportunities between Switzerland and Boston.
The event was a huge success and brought many new faces to the consulate! We are very excited to keep creating new connections and working with our new community members in the future!
Did you attend Back to School? What did you think? What would you like to see at our next community event? Tell us what you think!
Connect with other Swiss groups in the Boston-Cambridge area!
- SwissLinkBoston- Harvard Swiss Society- ETH Alumni New England Chapter
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