A new lens on impact
The Alumni of the Year Awards celebrate CEMSies whose work reflects what the community stands for: responsibility, excellence, openness, and impact in action. Until now, the Awards followed career stages - junior, mid-career, senior. This year, the approach evolves.
The focus shifts from where alumni are in their careers to what they actually do with it.
The new categories are directly anchored in the CEMS values, recognising impact in its different forms, across contexts, industries and geographies.
Three ways to recognise CEMSies
The 2026 Awards introduce three categories, each highlighting a distinct way alumni contribute to the world:
Social Impact Award: Recognising alumni making a tangible difference in society
Awarded to a CEMS alumnus/a whose career, initiatives, or leadership have measurably improved social outcomes in education, health, inclusion, human rights, community resilience, or civic life with an innovative lens.
Sustainable Impact Award: Recognising alumni driving long-term environmental impact
Awarded to a CEMS alumnus/a whose work actively advances environmental sustainability, responsible business practice, or climate-conscious leadership, whether within a corporate, entrepreneurial, non-profit or innovative context.
Global Impact Award: Recognising alumni whose influence transcends border
Awarded to a CEMS alumnus/a who embodies the essence of global citizenship driving cross-cultural, international, or multilateral impact through business, policy, diplomacy, peace-making or innovation.
Different paths, different contexts but the same idea: CEMSies who act, build, and contribute beyond themselves.
Who can be nominated
Any CEMS graduate who embodies CEMS values through their work, initiatives or leadership can be nominated.
Nominations are open to the public - anyone who has seen that impact firsthand.
A few key points:
- Nominees must hold a CEMS degree
- Self-nominations are not considered
- Previous winners cannot be nominated again
- Group nominations are welcome (if all members are CEMS alumni)
You can find full details on the Alumni of the Year page.
How it works
All nominations are reviewed by a jury drawn from across the CEMS community, with the selection process running from June 1st through early September. For each category, one alumnus or alumna will be recognised, with award recipients announced in mid-September.
What matters most is not titles or seniority - but the impact made: in organisations, in society, and across borders.
Nominate a CEMSie
You’ve seen it - the initiative that made a difference, the project that scaled, the career that took a different direction and created impact.
With nominations open until May 29th, this is your chance to make it visible.
Know a CEMSie who is making a real impact?
Submit your nomination
