Add value to your studies!

To apply for the February committee selection round, click here!

Name: Liesbeth van der Meer

Study: Master Change

Age: 23

Committee: Consulting Event, Freshmen Symposium 

After having a great time organising the freshman symposium of 2010, I decided last year that I wanted to do another committee at the EBF. This time I applied for the Consulting Event committee, of which I became the chairman.

The Consulting Event Committee is a unique co-operation between the EBF and the FMF, the Physics- Mathematical Faculty Association.  Subsequently our committee consisted of two EBF members and two FMF members, which combined the strengths of two different worlds.  Initially, there were some prejudices about each other’s worlds, and although, they might have been a little true, it was really easy to bridge the gap and soon after we became really close!

The Consulting Event is an event organized for talented students who are in the last phase of their studies and are interested in catching a glimpse of the world of consultancy.  The Event consisted of two days and focused on management and strategy consulting. Through working on cases and interacting with professional consultants, students got a feeling of what it is like to be a consultant. During lunch, dinner and drinks, they also got the opportunity to interact with those consultants in an informal way. This year the companies that participated were The Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Hay Group and PWC.

Organising this event took us about 7 months and came with ups and downs. These ups and downs are what makes doing a committee, a learning experience and gives you that proud feeling at the end of your event.

Next to having a weekly meeting, during which we discussed our progress, we also choose to have a weekly committee evening. These evenings were the times that I really got to know my committee members and where we had lots a fun. The advantage of doing a combined committee is that you actually get the best of both worlds!  Meaning that we had twice the amount of socials and active member activities, which off course was pretty nice!

 

 

Name: Jerrel Sloote

Study: Business Administration

Age: 24

Committee: Speakers Team 2011-2012

Becoming an active member of the Economic and Business Faculty (EBF), a study association, was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Besides developing my personal skills, I have had great EBF parties and have met only beautiful members.

It’s already a year ago that I applied for the EBF Speakers committee. In this committee, I spent about 6 hours a week and when major events were being organized, it could go up from 10 to 15 hours.

Every week I was having several meetings and was making plans for these events. As a committee we were responsible for organizing the “Miljoenennota” debate and several Leadershippanels (LSP), which were only directed too top politicians and business people. In the past year for instance, we have had a LSP with Mark Mckeon, former CEO of Starbucks and current CEO of V&D, and in collaboration with the University of Groningen we have had Pim van der Felts (CEO Google Netherlands) and the SER chairman Alexander Rinnooy speaking on an event at the opening of the academic year. Additional to all the events, we were responsible for arranging interviews for the faculty business magazine Prospect. A Fun part is that you will interview the people yourself. I have interviewed the chief economist Wim Boonstra of Rabobank in the beginning of this year.

What I really liked about this committee is that the responsibilities are very versatile, with organizing an event and to organize the promotion, location and selecting a great speaker. It was great fun to have contact with several top businness people and policians like Steven ten Have, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Maurice de Hond. Furthermore it was really great to work in a team. But which was more fun is that most of the evenings with my committee ended up in the city.

This committee is challenging and highly recommended. You will learn quickly how to approach the speakers and to organize events. When you don’t have enough time for a committee, and associated projects like organizing a conference, but you want to develop yourself with a future perspective being a boardmember somewhere, the speakerscommittee is definitely something for you. On the 24^th of February, there will be a new application deadline for joining an EBF Committee and I would definitely recommend you to become an active member of the EBF.

 

 

Name: Marieke de Jong

Study: Technologie Management

Age: 19

Committee: Activity Committee

 

Why did you become an active member of the EBF?

In my first semester I had a knee operation, which meant I had to spend a lot of days on my sofa. Because I am someone who likes to be proactive this experience made me think "this will not happen to me during my studies". This is why I applied for the Activity Committee and was offered a position! I beleive being an active member adds to your studies because you meet so many new people and get to organise fun and useful events for other members.

 

What did you enjoy about the Activity Committee

The fun thing about the Activity Committee is the fact that you make sure that there are fun socials and parties for all EBF Members. This means we get to be creative and add value to these parties. With DJs, themes, fun acts and promotionwe try to make every party a success! For example, during the Sint Nicholas Social it was very rewarding to watch people around you enjoying themselves.

 

How do you combine being an active member with the first year of your studies?

Until the combination has been manageable. We usually meet once a week but this varies depending on whether it is a busy period or not. I see doing my jobs for the committee as a break from my studies! It is something I enjoy doing so I am able to let my creativity run wild. Most of the contact with your committee members is during the meetings or via e-mails, which does not really cost any extra time.