Hi everyone,
My name is Sjoerd Brüggenwirth and this year I will be filling the position of portfolio holder Academic Development & Education at the Student Union. Three years ago, I moved from the town of Maarssen to Enschede to start my study Applied Physics. I chose the University of Twente because of the great ambience that is present here in Twente.
From the moment I started my study, I was already dedicated to make the most out of my student life. That’s why I immediately joined a sports association and got active. At first, I organized some small events for first years, then a big sports tournament, and now I am a board member of the Student Union. The question is now, why did I, together with a lot of UT-students, become active? And, how can we motivate more students to become active?
Motivating students to become active will be my challenge this year. This, whilst the culture is changing. Think about the abolishment of the “stufi”, the introduction of TEM and the developing mentality to finish your studies on time. To reach this goal, it is necessary to gather data about activism at the UT. Furthermore, we have to motivate students to get active in part time committees. If these committees are of high quality, students will be more willing to join them. So, we will have to facilitate trainings for part time committees. When students have a good experience with being active, they will be more eager to join in fulltime activism as well. When all of these steps succeed, a new generation of boards is born!
It is a major challenge to inspire students to become active. Luckily, I will not have to face this task on my own. In the Bastille are the SU-board, SU-office and the Academic Development & Education team to tackle this task. Together, we have the potential to make a big impact. I am grateful for the opportunity to do so this year. I am looking forward to all the challenges I will face and the beautiful experiences that will come along the way.