The 34 graduates of the Class of 2010 at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar join a global alumni network that has grown to more than 84,000 members worldwide, including 9,000 who live outside of the United States.

In the past few months alone, three new alumni chapters outside of the United States have opened: one each in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. These new chapters join 11 existing chapters outside of America. Two factors drive the formation of new chapters: the number of alumni in a country and having a sizable concentration in one area.

“The nature of countries with metropolitan settings allow for a large number of alums in capital cities,” says Aamir Anwar, director of international alumni relations. “A chapter is a formalized structure that allows for more engagement with alumni on an ongoing basis.”

To form a new alumni chapter, typically more than 100 alumni need to be in one location. Many large countries such as Mexico, Greece and Switzerland have several hundred alumni, but due to the size of the country the alums are too spread out for a chapter to be viable.

The economy is a driving factor in the increase of the number of alumni worldwide, as are restrictions on international students who want to go to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to study at Carnegie Mellon’s main campus.

“Students are graduating and going back to their home countries in larger numbers than they have in the past,” says Anwar. These numbers are extremely high for students from India and China who can now return home to booming economies, competitive salaries and the comfort of being near their families.

Another driving factor in the increase of alumni worldwide is Carnegie Mellon’s growing global reach and offering of programs all over the world. In Portugal, Carnegie Mellon’s four programs have nearly 100 enrolled students. These programs will turn out several dozen alumni each year who will join the 70 alumni who already live in Portugal. Once the number of alumni hits 100, a formal chapter will be created.

Carnegie Mellon Qatar is doing its share in increasing the number of global alumni. In three years, 104 students have graduated from the branch campus and become university alumni. Most of these graduates live in Qatar or the Gulf Region, dramatically increasing the number of alumni in the Middle East.

Additionally, many graduates from Carnegie Mellon’s home campus have moved to Qatar to work at the Doha campus. More and more alumni also are moving to the Gulf Region for various career opportunities in the thriving economies. This global movement is creating alumni chapters all around the world that have graduates from more than one Carnegie Mellon campus.

If you’re a Carnegie Mellon alumni and want to find out more about chapters in your region, contact Aamir Anwar at [email protected].