September 2009: it is quite a while ago, but that is when the first cohort of Creative Technology was formed. As a pilot group they had to start with a program that had not proven itself before. I don not think it was even “accredited” yet by the Dutch government. When I started in 2010 the study had grown in amount of students but also maturity. However CreaTe was still looking for what it really is. Six years have gone by now since

the start and a lot has changed. We have Proto (at the time we did not), we said good bye to Anton Aliens (check his notorious site), Job van Amerongen, Gerrit van der Hoeven, and we welcomed a gigantic bunch of new staff. But most importantly, and finally the subject of my column, students started graduating. A constant stream of graduates is starting to flow into their masters, start-ups, businesses or generally out into the world. This is why Proto just started thinking about how and with what we can optimally support our alumni and keep us all connected as one big Creative Technology family in some sense. To look into these opportunities and to manage our connections, Proto has recently formed the Alumni Society. We are looking into different ways to bond those who once studied CreaTe and maybe see how we could use that network. We are looking into arranging several different things for our alumni ranging from drinks, activities and reunions to networking events, internship opportunities and more. However, that is all for the future. For now I wanted to introduce to you, the reader of Proto.ink, to the intention to jump start the alumni network of our beautiful study. Expect from us an invitation for an alumni drink in the near future (27th of November 19:00) and join our

LinkedIn Alumni group if you haven’t already! Sign up for the alumni drink! So if you have any input or questions don’t hesitate to contact us (alumni@proto.utwente.nl) with any questions or suggestions.