IDEA

Meet IDEA. This is the faculty association of the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Officially, it is a foundation and therefore it has no members. However, this does not mean that they do not organise anything. This young association organises several formal and informal events. The board of IDEA is often busy contacting multiple parties. This is not surprising, as their goal is to improve the professionalism of the faculty. Good steps have been made in that direction, but there is still a lot of work to be done, they say. Read more about this association in the article!   

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT IDEA?

"Hey, my name is Anna Telder and I am 22 years old. I am from Eindhoven and have been living in Tilburg for almost three years now. Last summer, I became president of the faculty association IDEA. As president you have the final responsibility for the course of events within the association, you are the contact person and participate in many consultation bodies with other faculties and associations. All in all, a very diverse and super fun job! I am very extrovert and love to be busy organizing things. I like to think up and set up new plans together with people, and that's exactly what I was able to do this year!"

WHAT IS IDEA IN ESSENCE?

"IDEA is the faculty association of Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and represents more than 4500 students from all over the faculty! We were established as a foundation in the 2018-2019 academic year, so we have no direct members. Our goal is to improve cooperation and communication within the faculty, as well as between associations and between students. Our aim is to enhance the professionalism of the entire faculty, in every possible way. We are well on our way, but certainly still have enough ambitions and goals to further improve some aspects within TSB."

WHAT CHARACTERISES IDEA?

"IDEA is a relatively young association. Within a few years, we have already managed to make our mark on the faculty. A number of working groups have been set up to promote cooperation between the TSB associations and organise activities. IDEA has set up the following five working groups: the activity workgroup, the internationalisation workgroup, the acquisition workgroup, the secretary workgroup and the treasurer workgroup. Each workgroup includes one IDEA board member and one board member of each study association (Complex, INPUT, POLIS and Versot). Within these working groups, the associations organise various activities and ensure better cooperation. As a faculty association, you are an umbrella body, where you are involved at a different level. We sit together a lot with the university and other faculty associations to get the bigger picture right."

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE AN AVERAGE MEMBER?

"Because we are a foundation we do not have any members. However, we do represent all students of TSB and organise activities for them to attend. Students do not have to be members to participate in our activities. Our aim is to work mainly 'behind the scenes' and to occupy ourselves less with direct contact with the students. That's what the study associations are for."

WHAT ACTIVITIES DO YOU ORGANISE?

"Our biggest and most well-known activity is the BEHAVE cantus. This is a cantus in October that we organise together with the study associations for all students of our faculty. It is a huge success every year!"

"In addition, we are responsible for the Mentorship Programme, where students guide first-year students through the year as mentors. The Master Experience Days is also a big event that we organise. Here, master students and alumni come to talk about the master's programme and the professional field to help bachelor students make their master's choice."

WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE WEEK LOOK LIKE FOR YOU AS A BOARD?

"Our tasks vary from week to week. All board members have many different tasks. Of course we have the board meetings. These are twice a week. In addition, as chairman I have a meeting with all the other chairmen of the TSB associations every Thursday. Furthermore, my weeks are filled with many board meetings. As a faculty association, you have contact with many different parties, which ensures that we have lots of meetings."

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR FOR YOU?

"The highlight of the year was definitely the BEHAVE cantus. Unfortunately, the cantus was cancelled for two years due to corona and you could see that everyone was happy that it was possible this year. Within twenty minutes the cantus was sold out. This was a great start of our board year. The atmosphere during the cantus was very good and everyone was enthusiastic. That was really nice to see! In the weeks after the cantus, there are always nice stories and everyone talks about how nice it was. This ensures that you can enjoy it for a long time."

HOW CAN YOU DEVELOP YOURSELF AT IDEA?

"Because we are a young association, there is a lot of room for development. For example, every position has a small set of fixed tasks, which are complemented by a wide range of additional tasks, making it very personal and challenging! It's up to you. Furthermore, it is great to be involved at the faculty level and to consult with both the associations and the Management Team. You can really make a difference at IDEA and improve all kinds of things within the faculty."

HOW DO YOU LOOK TO THE FUTURE?

"In the future, we hope for even more cohesion and cooperation at faculty level, representing the interests of all TSB students. In addition, it would be cool to have a five-member board or to have full-time positions. There is a lot of work to be done. There are also plenty of opportunities and challenges that our future board members can take on. At the moment, we are still building a strong foundation, but in the coming years, there will be many opportunities for IDEA to expand!"

Want to know more about IDEA? Then take a look at the site!