A first for the London club: more than 100 graduates and students gathered at the Welcome Party which took place this year at the Happenstance bar near St Paul's Cathedral and not far from our beautiful campus in the City! 

Among the graduates, it was a pleasure to welcome the usual suspects from the Alumni UK board but also graduates who had just started a job in London or even those who had taken the plunge to an Alumni event for the first time. 

On the student side, in addition to those doing an exchange in London at a partner university for a semester or a year, there were those who were in London that week to visit banks and other financial players as part of the annual treks organized by the EDHEC Career Center. 

The Country Manager for the UK and Ireland, Audrey Haverkamp (EDHEC 2012), launched the festivities by making several announcements including the new lifelong learning platform, Edflex available to all Alumni, and the launch of the investment fund from EDHEC, “GENERATIONS”. 

Then several members of the UK Alumni Board including Marileen Koppenberg (EDHEC 1997), Estelle Levacher (EDHEC 1999) and Nicolas Marco (EDHEC 2003) came to present the upcoming activities in London, notably the launch of a “Women Circle”, the future Sustainability program conferences in partnership with Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Nord France Invest, and the year's range of social events.

Keeping the crowd still in suspense before the arrival of the burgers and fries, the EDHEC foundation in the UK also took the floor in the presence of Helene Brichet (EDHEC 1992) and Jerome Anselme (EDHEC 1997) to recall the importance of the culture of giving and how everyone can help young talents from modest backgrounds to make a great school like EDHEC. With a draw and two bottles of champagne up for grabs, more than twenty Alumni and students made donations to support the foundation's cause! #ProudlyEDHEC!

The speeches then gave way to exchanges, new encounters, laughter and ideas of collaboration, in short, to the EDHEC spirit in all its forms! 

The success of the Welcome Party testifies to the great dynamics of the UK ∣ London club thanks to the mobilization of the members of the UK Alumni Board who, under the presidency of Cedric Petitpas (EDHEC 2002), continues to offer rich and varied activities to the largest EDHEC Alumni community abroad!

Whether you have been in London for decades or only several months, do not hesitate to join the new What's App group of the UK ∣ London club, the UK ∣ London club on the Alumni site, the LinkedIn group or even Facebook to stay informed of the upcoming events and make them even more friendly with your presence!