What EPFL Alumni does

EPFL Alumni is the official, institutionally integrated alumni network of EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), a Swiss federal institute of technology. Founded in 2014, the organization serves over 49,000 registered graduates through a digital platform built on AlumnForce technology, providing a searchable member directory, job board, structured mentoring programs, lifetime email service, news feed, and event management infrastructure spanning 30+ geographic chapters and thematic clubs including the Women's Club (10,010 members) and the Sustainability Club. The lean operations team is based at the Rolex Learning Center on EPFL's Lausanne campus, and governance was restructured with the establishment of an EPFL Alumni Council in 2024.

The business model combines three revenue streams: tiered individual memberships (free standard access, with a paid Gold contributing tier offering premium benefits), corporate sponsorships (Rolex as Gold sponsor, Logitech as Silver sponsor, plus event sponsors including EY, Mirabaud, and Kellerhals Carrard), and B2B services for companies seeking to recruit EPFL talent via the job board, CV/resume database, and Companies Directory. EPFL Alumni operates as a nonprofit association under EPFL's institutional umbrella, with corporate-sponsor relationships prominently featured as a primary monetization lever. Pricing signals include Gold-member event ticket discounts (CHF 30 vs CHF 50 standard) and free admission for EPFL students, PhD candidates, and postdocs.

Distribution and engagement are driven by approximately 190 events per year, including flagship programming such as Startup Champions Seed Night (15th edition in 2026, co-organized with Venturelab and EPFL Startup Launchpad, featuring 20 startups pitching to 600+ guests) and the Garden Party for Gold members (12th edition in 2026). Strategic partners include Nexthink (diversity and mentoring), Venturelab and Venture Kick (startup ecosystem), and EY, Mirabaud, and Kellerhals Carrard (event sponsorship).

Name

EPFL Alumni

Legal name

EPFL Alumni

Website

https://epflalumni.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EPFL Alumni is the official nonprofit alumni network of EPFL, serving 49,000+ graduates via a directory, job board, mentoring program, and 30+ global chapters and clubs. Revenue derives from Gold memberships, corporate sponsorships, and recruitment services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Alumni Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro primary industry

Alumni Relations & Alumni Engagement Programs (EDALAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alumni Career Networking & Mentorship Programs (EDALAOAL), Student & Alumni Communities (BPAMABAK), Alumni Benefits, Membership & Affinity Programs (EDALAOAM)

Keywords

• Alumni network services
• Alumni engagement platform
• Career networking services
• Higher education alumni
• Alumni community management

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Contributions (Gold): EPFL Alumni operates a tiered membership model. Gold contributing members receive premium benefits including access to the annual Garden Party at Domaine de Bois Chamblard and discounted tickets to events like Startup Champions Seed Night (CHF 30 vs CHF 50 for non-members). The organization highlights contributor benefits on its site.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors (Rolex as Gold sponsor, Logitech as Silver sponsor) provide financial support. Sponsorship tiers are prominently displayed on the EPFL Alumni website. Additional sponsorship programs include EPFL Alumni Sponsor packages for companies seeking access to EPFL talent.
3. Services for Companies: Companies can access services including posting job offers on the Job Board, accessing the resume/CV database, and participating in the Companies Directory. This creates a talent-sourcing revenue stream connecting employers with EPFL alumni.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

EPFL Alumni operates the official alumni network of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), providing a global directory of more than 49,000 alumni, a job board, a mentoring program, lifelong learning resources, 190 annual events, 30 chapters and clubs, alumni awards, and corporate sponsorship programs. Its core purpose is to connect EPFL graduates for networking, career development, and continuing education worldwide.

Product overview

EPFL Alumni is a membership-based alumni network organization providing a comprehensive platform for EPFL graduates worldwide. The offering consists of a unified portal combining professional networking tools (Directory, Job Board, Companies Directory), career development services (Career Support, Mentoring Program, Lifelong Learning), community building features (Chapters and Clubs, My News Feed), and recognition programs (Alumni Awards). The organization also hosts flagship events including Startup Champions Seed Night and Garden Parties. EPFL Alumni operates as a not-for-profit association within the EPFL ecosystem, offering tiered membership benefits (Gold contributing members receive special event discounts) and corporate sponsorship programs connecting employers with EPFL talent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EPFL Alumni Women's Club: A club dedicated to providing female EPFL graduates with development opportunities and supporting women in science and engineering careers.
• Trust Valley

Products and services

• Alumni Directory

Quantifiable outcome

• 49,000+ alumni and alumnae in the network
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• NexthinkflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 5 July 2023Nexthink partnered with the EPFL Alumni Women's Club to support gender diversity in tech. Nexthink, founded by EPFL alumni Pedro Bados and Patrick Hertzog in 2004, employs 1,000 people across Europe, UK, USA, Middle East, and India. The partnership includes internship programs, knowledge exchange, and mentoring support for female EPFL graduates.
• RolexcoreOthersRolex serves as the Gold sponsor of EPFL Alumni, prominently featured on the organization's website. As a prestigious Swiss luxury brand with deep ties to EPFL (Rolex Learning Center), the sponsorship signals high institutional credibility and provides financial support to the alumni network.
• LogitechcoreOthersLogitech serves as the Silver sponsor of EPFL Alumni. Logitech was founded by EPFL alumni and maintains ongoing collaboration with EPFL through initiatives like the DevStudio Challenge, which engaged 1,500+ developers globally. The sponsorship connects Logitech to the EPFL talent pipeline.
• VenturelabflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenturelab co-organizes the annual Startup Champions Seed Night with EPFL Alumni and EPFL Startup Launchpad. Venturelab is a key partner in the Swiss startup ecosystem, running programs that support EPFL spin-offs from inception through growth.
• EYminorOthersEY is a sponsor of the Startup Champions Seed Night 2026, supporting the flagship startup event organized by EPFL Alumni.
• Mirabaud GroupminorOthersMirabaud Group is a sponsor of the Startup Champions Seed Night 2026, supporting the EPFL startup ecosystem.
• Kellerhals CarrardminorOthersKellerhals Carrard is a sponsor of the Startup Champions Seed Night 2026, contributing legal/expertise support to the EPFL startup community.
• InnovaudminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovaud sponsors the Startup Champions Seed Night and represents the innovation ecosystem of the Vaud region, strengthening ties between EPFL and the local business community.
• In ExtensominorStrategic or Co-development Partnerbangr. (formerly Aubep), an EPFL spin-off and member of the EPFL ecosystem, formed a partnership with In Extenso — a major accounting services provider with 7,300+ employees and 280+ offices across France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg — to support its European expansion.
• Trust ValleyminorStrategic or Co-development Partnerbangr., an EPFL spin-off, participates in Trust Valley — an initiative associated with the EPFL ecosystem focused on cybersecurity and digital trust — which has helped strengthen the company's digital and cybersecurity capabilities.
• EPFLcoreOthersEPFL Alumni is institutionally integrated into EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), operating from EPFL campus. The organization celebrated its 10th anniversary of integration into EPFL in 2024, with the EPFL President and leadership participating in Alumni events and programs.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stanford Alumni Association: Official alumni association of Stanford University, a globally recognized university particularly strong in technology and entrepreneurship. Operates a similar program of regional chapters, clubs, mentoring, career services, and corporate engagement, with comparable institutional brand-driven value proposition for tech industry recruiters.
• ETH Zurich Alumni: Official alumni network of ETH Zurich, the other Swiss federal institute of technology and EPFL's closest peer institution. Operates a similar model of geographic chapters, mentoring, career services, and corporate partnerships for a STEM graduate base, making it the most directly comparable alumni network to EPFL Alumni.
• Imperial College Alumni Network: Official alumni network of Imperial College London, a leading European STEM university. Comparable to EPFL Alumni in serving a science and engineering graduate base with mentoring, events, chapters, and career services, and competing for similar European corporate sponsorship opportunities.
• MIT Alumni Association: Official alumni association of MIT, a leading global science and technology university. Comparable to EPFL Alumni in serving a large STEM graduate base (150,000+ alumni) with chapters, clubs, mentoring, career services, and signature events, though at significantly larger scale and geographic reach.
• University of Cambridge Alumni: Official alumni network of the University of Cambridge. Comparable to EPFL Alumni in operating a global chapter structure, mentoring, career services, and event programming for a prestigious European university, though broader in academic scope than EPFL's STEM focus.
• University of Oxford Alumni Community: Official alumni community of the University of Oxford. Comparable to EPFL Alumni in operating a global chapter network, career services, mentoring, and institutional event programming for a leading European university with broad international reach.
• Caltech Alumni Association: Official alumni association of the California Institute of Technology, a top-tier global STEM institution. Comparable to EPFL Alumni in serving a focused, high-credential STEM graduate community with chapters, events, mentoring, and deep tech-industry employer engagement.

Broad incumbents

• LinkedIn: Global professional networking platform owned by Microsoft that serves as a broad incumbent in the alumni and professional networking space. While not an institution-specific alumni network, LinkedIn competes for the same networking, recruiting, and career-services use cases EPFL Alumni addresses, and is integrated as an SSO option for the EPFL Alumni platform.

Emerging players

• Hivebrite: Community management and alumni engagement platform offering branded networks for educational institutions and associations. Competes with AlumnForce in the alumni management software category that EPFL Alumni relies on for its directory, events, and job board.
• Graduway: Alumni engagement platform provider serving universities and organizations with branded alumni portals, mentoring, job boards, and events. Comparable to EPFL Alumini's chosen AlumnForce platform as an alternative alumni-management software vendor competing in the same niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/epflalumni

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about EPFL Alumni