Pim Meulensteen new student assessor Faculty of Science

The position of student assessor is designed to provide solicited and unsolicited advice to the dean of the faculty. The assessor attends weekly board meetings with the executive team (DT) and places student-related topics on the agenda.

Can you tell something about yourself?

"I did a double bachelor's degree in Mathematics/Informatics in recent years. I found that very nice and interesting, and in the meantime have also learned a lot from the student life around it. Among other things, I did a board year at study association via and also worked as a student assistant within the faculty. Now I am doing the master's degree in Forensic Science. This is very different from my bachelor, but more of a direction I want to go in. I feel that I have come to the right place. In my free time, I enjoy programming, photography, cooking and swimming.

Next year I will also be working as a student assessor for about 8 hours a week. It is good to combine it with my studies because a lot happens at fixed times, such as the weekly consultation with the DT, and the meetings with the Faculty Student Council (fsr) and student associations often take place after 5 pm. It's a nice job to do alongside your studies."

Why did you apply to become a student assessor?

"On the one hand, the content of the position seems very nice and interesting. As a student assessor, you are the first to know about developments in the faculty. On the other hand, as crazy as that may sound, I love meetings. You literally sit at the table to help think about problems or changes that are going to occur. You can help people arrive at a solution that connects to the experience and perception of students.

On the other hand, I think I can mean something with my experience. As president at the study association, I already had a lot of contact with students and the faculty, and so I got to know a lot about what is going on with students and what we think is important. I take this with me to the various meetings to contribute to improvements in the faculty.

The position as a student assessor is a good addition to my studies. I think if I can emphasize anything, it is that there is more than just attending lectures and learning material. The social and development aspect around it is just as important and educational. There are so many initiatives where students can learn skills outside the lectures, such as a board year at a study association, the fsr, the program committee, work as a student assistant, and you name it. Experience abroad, for example for an internship, is also very valuable. I have experienced that it is very enriching to do other things besides your studies. So I could recommend that to all students."

What will you be doing as student assessor?

"I've been onboarding with Dave, the previous student assessor, for a month now. It's actually very easy to follow along, because it's kind of a weird position with no very clear set of duties. You have freedom to place your own emphases. From February 1 I will also join the weekly DT meetings. And I'm already attending student council meetings. There are a lot of meetings, I knew that in advance. But I find it very interesting to hear what's going on and stay informed, so I can get more insight into how decisions are made and what's going on at board level.

As a student assessor, I want to contribute to the experience and satisfaction of students. I think our faculty already functions very well, but there is always room for improvement. That's what I want to work towards."