Flow

This week, we had a conversation with the student association Flow. This association oversees three different study programs and boasts a total of 800 members. Flow aims to create an inclusive, safe, and enjoyable culture, with a strong focus on both educational and professional aspects. This commitment is reflected in various initiatives and activities. Highlights include numerous trips organized at different times throughout the year, as well as significant career events and the usual monthly gatherings. Interested in learning more about this association? Read on!

Who are you, and what is your role at Flow?

"My name is Milan Baars, I'm 21 years old, and I've been living in Tilburg for three years now. This year, I am the President at Flow. It's a full-time role that I'm committed to throughout the year. Being the President is quite a diverse position. It involves less concrete tasks. You serve as the point of contact for the association. It boils down to having many meetings with various, yet important parties, such as the university. It's a lot of networking, but I really enjoy the interpersonal and varied contact. Leading meetings is also part of the job. Moreover, you are, of course, responsible for organizing activities and overseeing the committees."

Could you give us an overview of Flow?

"Of course! Flow is the student association for Communication and Information Sciences, Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence, and Data Science & Society. We try to support these three studies as much as possible on social, educational, and professional levels by organizing fun and interesting activities."

"We have general members and active members. In terms of general members, we have over 800 members. Then we have a smaller, active group – which, together with us, is responsible for organizing activities, among other things – where we have around 80 members. So that comes down to approximately 10% of those total 800 members."

What is the difference between general and active members?

"As Flow, we provide summaries. If you are a general member at Flow, you can use these summaries for free. Furthermore, as a general member, you are more than welcome at all our activities, and you can choose to participate in what you find interesting and skip what you don't."

"Active members are part of a committee. Such a committee is responsible for organizing a specific part of the activities. You can think of committees like the Career Committee and the Informal Activities Committee. In total, we now have twelve committees. So, there's something for everyone!"

What do your activities look like?

"We have informal and formal activities, each with several subcategories. Besides these activities, we have another division, which is the travel committees. For instance, in April, we had a trip to Lisbon and Porto. It was great that it could take place. It was definitely one of my highlights this year. It was fantastic. We also have a Weekend Committee responsible for the member's weekend and a City Trip. The City Trip this past year went to Bruges. Lastly, we have a Ski Trip Committee. Unfortunately, the ski trip couldn't take place this year. These trips are the real highlights of the year! We try to keep these trips as accessible as possible for our members, so that as many people as possible can participate."

"Normally, you see that, especially on the weekends, it's mainly active members who participate. However, this year, you saw quite a few general members joining, for example, on the Study Trip. They were willing to spend 8 days with some unfamiliar people. We genuinely strive to be an inclusive association where everyone feels welcome at Flow. That is very important to us."

"It's also worth mentioning the TSHD Career Day. This is a formal event. We organize a full day during which we invite many partners, alumni, and major external companies to give lectures, cases, or interactive talks. After that, there is a networking market where students can socialize with companies. Some major partners attend the event. It is by far our largest career event. We really encourage all students to participate in this."

What are the opportunities for personal development at Flow?

"So, you can become an active committee member, where you can take on as much responsibility as you want. You can determine how much time you want to invest in it. Based on that, you can choose a less demanding or more challenging committee. If you enjoy it, you can become the commissioner of the committee. You will then have the ultimate responsibility for the committee. The challenge lies in managing the entire committee. Finally, you can become even more active by joining the board of directors. There are application procedures for that, and you will be responsible for representing the association for a whole year."

"So, there are plenty of opportunities for personal development. It really depends on how much time you want to invest. You can progress to the level you aspire to."

Where do you hold your social gatherings?

"We have a regular pub! It's called 'Van Horen Zeggen.' We've had a great partnership with them for a long time. We have a monthly social gathering there. It's always a lively event, with a large turnout, and the pub is quite packed. In between these monthly gatherings, we have activities, often with a closing drink at 'Van Horen Zeggen.'"

What are the core values that you consider important?
"An open, safe, and inclusive culture is highly important within our association. For instance, this year, we added a 'Accessibility Officer' portfolio to the board's responsibilities. The responsible board member ensures that as many things as possible are accessible to as many people as possible. It's quite a broad topic. It's easy to overlook something, but we try our best to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Moreover, we want everyone to feel safe, welcome, and at home. We value diversity and actively encourage it. Our members are quite diverse, and this diversity blends beautifully at our gatherings."

"Furthermore, we are a student association, and education should not be overshadowed. We strive to provide everyone with help sessions, summaries, and everything else that falls within our educational reach. We collaborate with our partners to organize a wide range of activities and company visits, making them available to our members."

How is your board year going, and what does your board look like?

"First of all, it's really going great; it's an amazing year, and you experience things you would never experience otherwise. We currently have five board members, namely the President, Secretary, Treasurer, Internal Affairs, and External Affairs. Next year, we are adding a sixth board member, namely an Educational Affairs board member. Flow has grown, and education is a very important focus. That's why we felt that it deserved separate attention and full focus."

What are your plans for the future?

"Ultimately, we want to keep growing and become as big as possible! This way, we can support as many students as possible. We want to provide even better and more suitable and relevant support for all the studies under Flow. We aim to grow into a situation where we can split the representation of the studies more under the name of Flow. In this way, we believe we can better provide students with specific activities and help."

What can someone do if they want to learn more about Flow?

"The website is filled with information about Flow. You can find all sorts of information about the committees and other matters there. Additionally, you can always send an email to info@svflow.nl. We can invite you for a coffee, for example, or provide a lot of information."

"During the TOP week, we are present in our regular pub 'Van Horen Zeggen' for the entire week and can be found at other activities during that week. During that week, we also open registrations for membership at Flow, both for general and active membership. Registrations remain open throughout the year. We want to give people the time to join a committee or take on some small tasks. This also aligns with our accessibility approach."

If you want to learn more about the Flow student association, please visit their website!