Occasionally, usually every two years, alumni of the program are invited to take part in an alumni meeting at the Villa Bell.
Every year, selected alumni are asked to present themselves, talk about their past experience as PhD students at EC2/BIG-NSE, about any difficulties they encountered looking for a job after graduation, and about the challenges they encountered in their new positions.
The program of the meeting usually begins with a few presentations of this kind, followed by a panel discussion in which all alumni in attendance participate. In order to further intensify possible interactions between alumni and current students, several coffee breaks are planned between the different program segments. The day ends with a buffet dinner, providing an opportunity to create further bonds.
For example, here is the program of the 2017 Alumni Meeting, when 19 alumni returned to the school to participate.
In 2018 all ten members of the WS2008 batch made the effort to come back in order to see each other and interact with the new students.
This meeting regularly helps current students find new job ideas (and provides them support when applying for them).