Verein Alumni BFH-HAFL

What Verein Alumni BFH-HAFL does

Verein Alumni BFH-HAFL (legal name: Alumni-Verband des Departements HAFL der Berner Fachhochschule) is a Swiss non-profit alumni association founded in 1969 and headquartered in Zollikofen, Bern. It serves graduates, former students, and current teaching staff of the HAFL department — Hochschule für Agrar-, Forst- und Lebensmittelwissenschaften — at Berner Fachhochschule (BFH), a public Swiss university of applied sciences. The association operates under the umbrella of Alumni BFH alongside sibling department associations (ELI, MIT, Soziale Arbeit, Wirtschaft, EHSM) and is governed by members rather than external shareholders.

The organization's product portfolio centers on membership services: an annual subscription granting access to networking events (Sommerfest, Kick-Off Mentoring-Programm, Wissen & Geniessen, Impact & Connect, Praktikerinnen der Landwirtschaft), a mentoring program linking current students with experienced alumni, a sector-specific Jobs portal for agriculture/forestry/food employers, an FH Lohnstudie (salary study), and a 5% discount on selected continuing education courses every three years. It maintains thematic and geographic interest groups — including the Alumni BFH Chapter China and the Circular Innovation and Sustainability (CIS) Chapter — and distributes content through a website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook channels.

The business model is membership-fee-driven recurring subscription revenue, augmented by ancillary employer-side job-posting fees. The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: in-person gatherings and digital channels serve as both engagement and acquisition surfaces. In January 2026 the organization participated in the launch of "Alumni direct," a direct-membership pathway via the Alumni BFH umbrella. The association has 13 employees and does not operate a proprietary technology platform.

Name

Verein Alumni BFH-HAFL

Legal name

Alumni-Verband des Departements HAFL der Berner Fachhochschule

Website

https://alumni-hafl.bfh.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Verein Alumni BFH-HAFL is a Swiss non-profit alumni association founded in 1969 for graduates of the HAFL department (Agronomy, Forestry, Food Sciences) at Bern University of Applied Sciences, offering membership-based networking, mentoring, a sector-specific jobs portal, and events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alumni Association Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Alumni Relations & Alumni Engagement Programs (EDALAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alumni Career Networking & Mentorship Programs (EDALAOAL), Alumni Events, Reunions & Regional Chapters (EDALAOAG), Student & Alumni Communities (BPAMABAK)

Keywords

• Alumni association services
• Professional networking events
• Career mentoring programs
• Agriculture forestry alumni
• University membership services

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership dues for alumni of BFH-HAFL. Members receive benefits including networking access, job listings, mentoring program access, and discounts on continuing education courses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Verein Alumni BFH-HAFL operates as a membership-based alumni association for graduates, former students, and teaching staff of the HAFL department (Agronomy, Forestry, and Food Sciences) at Bern University of Applied Sciences. It delivers networking events, a mentoring program, a sector-specific jobs portal, a salary study, and regional/thematic interest groups to support career development and professional community among Swiss agrifood professionals.

Product overview

Verein Alumni BFH-HAFL is an alumni association for the Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences at Bern University of Applied Sciences. The organization offers a direct membership option (Alumni direct), a mentoring program for career development, a specialized jobs portal for the agricultural, forestry, and food sectors, and conducts salary studies. The association maintains several regional and thematic interest groups including chapters for China and Circular Innovation and Sustainability, as well as HKB Encore. The portfolio consists of membership services, career support tools, and networking opportunities through interest groups and events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alumni direct Membership Direct membership option allowing alumni, alumnae, faculty, and research staff of BFH who are involved in teaching to become direct members of the umbrella organization Alumni BFH.
• Mentoring-Programm (Mentoring Program) Mentorship program connecting current students with alumni for career guidance and professional development in the agriculture, forestry, and food sciences sectors.
• Jobs Portal (Alumni Jobs) Job board specializing in positions within the agricultural, forestry, and food sectors, connecting alumni with employment opportunities and allowing employers to post jobs.
• Lohnstudie (FH Salary Study) Salary study providing insights into compensation trends for university of applied sciences graduates, available to alumni members.
• Alumni BFH Chapter China Regional interest group for alumni based in or connected to China, providing networking and community engagement for Switzerland-China alumni ties.
• Alumni BFH Chapter Circular Innovation and Sustainability (CIS) Thematic interest group focused on circular innovation and sustainability topics within the alumni network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5% discount on selected continuing education every three years

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alumni BFH (Dachverband)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent alumni organization for all BFH departments. Alumni BFH-HAFL is one of several department-level alumni associations under this umbrella, including Alumni BFH ELI, Alumni BFH-MIT, Alumni BFH Soziale Arbeit, Alumni BFH Wirtschaft, and Alumni EHSM. The Dachverband offers direct membership (Alumni direct) allowing alumni to join without going through individual department associations.
• Alumni BFH Chapter ChinaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeographic interest group within the Alumni BFH network focused on alumni in or connected to China. One of several interest groups including CIS (Circular Innovation and Sustainability) and HKB Encore.
• Alumni BFH Chapter Circular Innovation and Sustainability (CIS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThematic interest group focused on sustainability and circular economy within the alumni network.
• HKB EncoreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterest group within the Alumni BFH network, potentially connected to HKB (Hochschule der Künste Bern).
• LinkedIn Alumni BFHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media partnership through LinkedIn company page and LinkedIn group for Alumni BFH, providing professional networking platform for alumni engagement.
• Instagram Alumni BFHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media partnership through Instagram for alumni visual content and engagement.
• Facebook Alumni BFHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media partnership through Facebook for alumni community engagement and event promotion.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Swiss Timber Engineers: Sector-focused professional community for Swiss timber engineering graduates, listed as a related Verein in the Alumni BFH-HAFL network. Overlaps with Alumni BFH-HAFL's forestry alumni base, providing an adjacent peer for sector-specific professional engagement.

Direct peers

• Alumni EHSM: Sibling alumni association within the BFH umbrella, focused on EHSM graduates. Operates under the same association model and is listed alongside Alumni BFH-HAFL as one of the official member Vereine of the umbrella network.
• Alumni BFH ELI: Sibling department-level alumni association under the same Alumni BFH umbrella, serving ELI department graduates with the same membership, events and career services model. Operationally and structurally identical to Alumni BFH-HAFL, making it the closest functional peer.
• Alumni BFH Wirtschaft: Another sibling department-level alumni association under Alumni BFH, focused on business school graduates. Shares the same umbrella structure, governance model, and service portfolio (jobs, mentoring, events, salary study) as Alumni BFH-HAFL.
• Alumni BFH Soziale Arbeit: Sibling alumni association for BFH's Social Work department. Same association structure, same umbrella organization, same event/membership/mentoring service mix — only the underlying department discipline differs.
• Alumni BFH-MIT: Sibling alumni association for BFH's Engineering and Information Technology department under the same Alumni BFH umbrella. Directly comparable in operating model, member benefits, and parent-institution dependency.

Broad incumbents

• EPFL Alumni: Alumni association for EPFL Lausanne, a leading European technical university. Comparable in function (career services, networking events, mentoring, interest groups) but with significantly larger scale and broader disciplinary coverage than Alumni BFH-HAFL.
• Alumni Universität Bern: Alumni association for the University of Bern. Operates the same fundamental model of membership, networking events, and career services for graduates of a Swiss public university, though across a much wider academic portfolio.
• ETH Alumni: Alumni association for ETH Zurich, one of Switzerland's leading science and technology universities. Comparable as a university-affiliated alumni network delivering membership services, events, and career support — though on a much larger scale and broader academic scope than Alumni BFH-HAFL.
• HSG Alumni (University of St. Gallen): Alumni network for the University of St. Gallen, a major Swiss university. Provides similar member benefits, career services and event programming; much larger in scale and more international in scope, serving as a benchmark for what an institutional alumni network can achieve.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/alumnibfh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/verein-alumni-bfh-hafl
• Instagraminstagram.com/bfh_hafl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Verein Alumni BFH-HAFL