1. Can you introduce yourself?
Yes I can! I’m Laura (22) and I’m in my fourth year of the Bachelor Communication and Information Sciences. I love the active student life and therefore I like to get everything out of it. So this year I’m doing a part-time board year at ‘Student Party Active TSHD’ and I represent all students of the faculty during the council meetings.
2. Can you tell us a little about the work you did during your board year?
At Student Party Active TSHD, we have a board with four positions. This year I hold the position of Chair and have also secured a seat on the Faculty Council.
Having a seat means that during the Faculty Council, you advocate for student interests on behalf of your party. You can think along about big things like education quality, content of programs, budgets etc. You can also come up with new ideas by submitting an initiative or memo.
In addition, the position of Chair is a real administrative position (for example, Daily Board and General Board are predominantly political positions). My job is to maintain contact with the study associations and with the students themselves. Because we have only been around for two years, there is still a lot of room for ideas and creativity. For example, starting next semester I will supervise a committee that includes students from each study. The committee serves as a kind of sounding board group to have a broad view of the entire faculty.
In addition, there are always other portfolios, such as the elections that are coming up again! That’s always quite an event, but a great experience.
3.l How did you end up doing this and with what motivation? Did you need work experience or prior knowledge?
Actually, I ended up at Active TSHD ‘via via’. Meeting people is the best thing and also the most important thing for your ‘career’. This shows again what a network can bring you. My tip is to do something every year where you meet new people!
The great thing about board or committee year in your student days is that they are meant for you to gain experience. So it is not a problem at all if you do not have any experience beforehand. The guidance you need, you always get from the previous board and they work you in. By doing something like this, you are already taking steps for after your studies. To be honest, I was really ‘not into politics at all’, but I do think it is important to stand up for students and to let my voice be heard. So you actually learn the most from the things that are just outside your comfort zone.
4. How did you handle it during the elections?
This year, of course, the elections took place online. For a Communication and Information Sciences student, that’s not a bad thing of course! My advantage was that I am very social and have a smooth talk, so my network is large. I am also quite a social media freak and know all the ins and outs of Instagram and LinkedIn, among others. So making videos for social media and sending messages went very well for me.
In addition, we also did very well as a team. We got to know each other well during this time and were very much engaged in the content, which is of course the most important thing. We have written our party program, which actually contains all the plans for the coming year. We want to give transparency to the students about what we want to do, so they can vote based on content. Each candidate had a different pillar of focus, so the voter could see what he/she liked most.
5. What distinguishes a faculty council position from a position on another board?
I think it is one of the few years in which you can represent so many people at once. Also, the fact that you get to decide on the decisions of such a large body as Tilburg University makes such a year of office unique. You also learn to base your arguments well and to execute things with a reason. Critical thinking is a skill that you develop more than in other years on the board.
6. Approximately how much time were you working during the week? Did you suffer any study delays as a result?
On Fridays we always have our room day. So you actually have one working day in the week. During the week you then make sure that your other tasks are completed. This includes, for example, writing memos or initiatives. But also contacting students, study associations or employees of our faculty at the university.
Currently, I am in the fourth year of my bachelor’s degree. This is not because I ‘accidentally’ delayed my studies. I made a conscious decision to do this, mainly because I wanted to do an internship alongside it. Believe me when I say that you really do not get study delayed by the faculty council if you do not want to. You can do it just fine alongside your studies. It is a board of students for a reason; if you have exams, you all have them. You take each other into account and your studies always come first, of course.
7. Why do you think this will add value to you when you enter the job market later?
Where to begin? You learn so many skills during such a board year that you would never learn during your studies. You get a lot of responsibilities, you really learn during such a year that you are ultimately responsible for everything. If you and the board don’t do it, nobody will. You learn how to tackle things. You learn to work together. And not in the sense of “oh we have to make an assignment for this subject so we’ll just have to do it”. You learn to work together because you are all intrinsically motivated to get the best out of it. You become ambitious. You become creative, especially with us, because we have just been established and there are still so many possibilities.
Perhaps most importantly, you get to know yourself during a year like this. You find out what kind of person you are in a long-term group. You find out if you have self-discipline. You find out what people like about you and just what you still have a little trouble with. You will see where your interests lie. Through such a year on the board you often find out what steps you still want to take, you set new goals for yourself and you know better where you want to go.
A real recommendation for everyone!
