Opening shot of Saïd Business School, filmed during a sunny day at the School during our annual Reunion Weekend.

Kate Foley, Director, Development and Alumni Relations: When students graduate, it's not the end of their time at school. In fact, it's just the beginning. Being an alumnus is really about being part of a global network.

Jonathan Reynolds, Deputy Dean, External Relations: Those networks are really critical both to the their lives as students, but also subsequently their lives as alumni. 

Soumitra Dutta, Peter Moores Dean and Professor of Management: This network really gives you a whole set of connections, a whole set of relationships, and really what we want this network to do is to empower people to be able to become their best, to achieve their full potential. 

Jonathan Reynolds: I think Oxford Saïd, and I've been here for nearly 40 years, as I say, is an extraordinary special school. It's embedded in a world class university. It's world-leading in terms of the research it conducts. The convening power of Oxford means that we can expose our students and programme participants and alumni, to some of the leading thinkers and doers in the world.

Sue Altman, MBA 2011: Because people's careers are not linear, right? We're no longer in a world economy where you stay at the same company in the same corporation for 35 years. There are people constantly shifting around and changing industries and looking for talent in this different way. And so to have this community as sort of a place you can go to pick brains, to take, find talent, to sort of talk to people and build business connections is an an extraordinarily valuable resource.

Jeff Pittman, MBA 2002: It's amazing to have so many people from so many facets of life and it's just different here. This place brings you together more so than a lot of other schools.

Christine Li-AuYeung, Executive MBA 2016: so you don't feel like you're out of touch even though you're not on campus anymore and you are a different country. 

Dhruv Lakra, MBA 2007: You never really leave a business school, that's what I think. You are always loosely connected to a business school, so Saïd has given us that network, which is pretty phenomenal.

Sue Altman: I see this as being a lifelong community, one that I'm very privileged to be part of, and one that I cannot wait to give back to in my own way.

Soumitra Dutta: Our mission clearly has to be the best business school in the world. In many ways. The school started with a very strong focus and impact, and this was a natural consequence of being born inside Oxford University. Now, 30 years ago, impact was a new phenomena for business schools. It wasn't really well understood, so we were ahead of the times. Today of course, impact on society, impact on the environment are all central to business themes. So the most successful alumni are the more connected, the more vibrant the alumni community is, the better it is for the future growth of the school and the future excellence of the school.

Rahul Kejriwal, Masters in Finance and Economics 2021: I think it goes hand in hand. You need to invest in the network to get value out of the network. You need to take the time and make the effort to really connect with your peers, whether they're within your class or across the spectrum of people who have come out.

Sanjay Silas, Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme 2017 and Oxford Climate Emergency Programme 2021: Engagement with the school keeps doing with its alumni as well as the students is amazing. And that's what I've realised and that's why I keep coming back.

Dhruv Lakra: My advice to people graduating or coming into Saïd Business school is that make use of that alumni networks. It's up to me to reach out to them. It's never been in the last 15 years since I graduated from Saïd to hear someone saying, no, I can't do this. It's never happened and it's not gonna happen.

Christine Li-AuYeung: The local alumni network is also very important, especially after you graduate. To continue to stay in touch, I myself am involved with the Oxford Entrepreneurs Network, so I help to head up the New York chapter so you don't feel like you're out of touch even though you're not on campus anymore and you are in a different country. 

Sabina Liu, MBA 2007: Just be very open and very curious when you come into the Oxford Alumni Network, it would just open up a lot of doors and opportunities for you.

Dhruv Lara: Don't be shy, just go and ask people.

Kanika Mehta, MBA 2012: Being embedded in the University of Oxford is something that is offered to very, very few business schools around the world. So we can really tap into that wider networking alumni community who are always there with their wisdom, with their help, with their connections, with their money as you want to build something. 

Sue Altman: So I would say stay in touch with the alumni network. Reply to the emails, put them on your calendar. Get yourself to those events. 

Christine Li-AuYeung: I think the lifelong Network is what stays with you and it's for life.