Who am I? I am Raquel van Kuringe, 23 years old. I come from a small village next to Tilburg, namely Berkel-Enschot. In 2019, I started my Bachelor’s in Economics and Business Economics at Radboud University in Nijmegen. Through this program, I also lived in Canada for two years, where I completed a Bachelor of Commerce. After all these travels, I felt it was time to return to a familiar environment. In 2023, I started my Master’s in Economics at Tilburg University. That same year, I became active in Asset | Economics and joined the acquisition committee. Why did I choose to do a board year? To be honest, it had never really crossed my mind to do a board year until I started talking to some former board members. They thought I would be a good fit and encouraged me to seriously consider it. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that it was indeed the right step for me. I only had one course left to complete, which I could finish alongside my board year. Additionally, I saw it as a great way to develop myself professionally without the pressure of already working for a company. It also gave me the opportunity to explore potential employers. On top of that, friends of mine who had done a board year shared very positive experiences. They told me that they had formed a lifelong friend group because of the intense collaboration, which naturally strengthens the bond between members. What does the role of External Affairs Officer entail? The main responsibility of the External Affairs Officers is keeping the contact with partners. This is an essential task as it involves maintaining and strengthening the relationship between the association and the partners – without who the association could not operate. We always make sure to be reachable and ready to assist when needed. Throughout the board year, Externals get in contact with a lot of professionals with different backgrounds, providing valuable insights into the professional opportunities for students. This close contact opens a lot of opportunities as it develops a wide professional and social network where you get the chance to view different companies and industries from the inside. For many, this has the advantage of making it easier to choose a job in the future as you easily see what fits your personality and not. Before each upcoming academic year, the Externals are busy with the so called ‘summer conversations’, where we visit all partners at their offices to evaluate the current cooperation, as well as discuss the cooperation opportunities for next year. In the time building up to this, the Externals prepare for cold acquisition as well, which involves reaching out to new companies for potential partnerships. During these meetings, we present the services and events we offer, trying to provide a clear picture of the benefits of a partnership. For both types of acquisition meetings, it’s essential that the Externals listen closely to what the companies ask in order to best serve their needs and find the most appropriate solutions. Given the diversity in culture and needs between the companies, no meeting is ever the same and you will learn to adapt to the situation of every party, leading to a unique development in soft skills that undoubtedly enhances your personal development. This is something that may seem intimidating in the beginning but which you’ll learn to appreciate and love when getting to know the partners industries better. In addition to this, Externals also run acquisition on behalf of Asset General, for which we sit in weekly meetings with the rest of the Externals of Asset. In these meetings, the Externals are the representatives of Asset | Financials and make decisions on behalf of the rest of the board. We also discuss other relevant topics concerning acquisition and partnerships. Because of the close contact the Externals have with the partners, we are also responsible for most of the formal aspects of the association. This includes both organizing events and coordinating committees. This is to make sure the communication is as efficient as possible, avoiding the involvement of a intermediary. Externals organize the events in close collaboration with the participating partners to make sure all expectations are made and that they are kept updated about the progress of the events, or any difficulties, should they occur. These are large projects that provide great experience in planning, management, and cooperation. At times it seems challenging, but we have found it to be exciting and something to be proud of. Standing present at such an event, seeing everything you’ve worked towards unfold, is an indescribable feeling one can only experience. The events organized by the Externals include, among others, the Accounting Expedition, Finance Expedition, M&A Day, and the Economics Dinner. Last words A board year has many ups and occasionally some downs, but in the end, it is absolutely worth it. You get to know yourself and the people around you very well. It’s filled with incredible experiences that I will look back on for a long time. As an External Affairs Officer, this year offers the opportunity to develop your soft skills and expand your professional network. It comes with significant responsibilities, providing valuable experience that is highly appreciated by professionals. Beyond the professional growth, it also brings personal benefits, lasting memories, and strong relationships.
Investing for dummies
For the Dutch version, click here Disclaimer: The article below provides information and advice on investing. The article is carefully and accurately written, however, we cannot fully guarantee the completeness and accuracy of the information. The advice given cannot be considered as binding and it should be taken into account that any form of investing involves risks. Investing has often been seen in the news, on TV or on social media in recent years. For most people, investing is no longer an unknown concept and the corona crisis has also contributed to the trend that more and more people have started investing. Because investing is a topic of conversation on a birthday it seems that everyone is investing. But how can you actually start investing? What are the different ways to invest? And what is a broker? This article will answer these questions! In addition, we will discuss the things you should take into account before you decide to start investing and what the biggest pitfalls are once you have started. A first point to consider is the idea that you can get rich quick with investing. You should not assume that you can earn a substantial amount of money within a few months by investing. Investing is really for the long term. It is important that, if you want to make a good return, the amount you have invested is not available for decades. To cope with occasional expenses and to be able to receive a mortgage, it is wise not to immediately deposit your entire savings account in an investment account. A second point of attention is that you should think carefully about whether you want to invest entirely yourself, or whether you want to manage your investments through a bank. The advantage of managed investing is that you do not have to pay much attention to it yourself. Especially those who do not feel confident enough to start investing themselves will benefit from it. Reasons for managed investing can be a lack of knowledge and time. The disadvantage is that you have to pay a fee to the bank that manages the investment account for you. The next point to take into account if you want to invest yourself is that it is important that you acquire sufficient information and knowledge before you actually start. With this you are already working on your own investment strategy and you would also recognize your own pitfalls sooner. Reading this article is already a good first step! Finally, it is also important to know about taxes. In the Netherlands, you pay wealth tax on your fictitious assets. In 2021 a return of 5.69% on savings and investments applies. The first 50,000 euros are tax-free (1). On the benefit above the tax-free capital 31% income tax is levied (2). If you would like more information on tax, please refer to this article by Faces! Once you have decided to start investing you can, in addition to managed investing at a bank, also start investing yourself. This can be done at brokers like Binq, eToro and DEGIRO. The advantage is that it is cheaper than at a bank. To create an account you often have to transfer a penny to the broker to verify that your bank account is approved. You also have to upload your ID. At DEGIRO, one of the best-known brokers in the Netherlands, you get to choose whether you want to create a standard profile or a Custody profile. With a Custody profile you have less risk, but you pay higher costs and have fewer options. This is because with a Custody account, your investments, such as shares and ETFs, are not lent out to enable transactions in leveraged products, such as futures and options. So you do not run the lending risk, but at the same time DEGIRO cannot profit from lending and therefore charges higher costs with a Custody account. Furthermore, you cannot invest in futures and options yourself, which means that a Custody account often generates less return than a basic account (3). Above you will see a number of terms such as futures and options recurring. As a beginning investor it is important not to start with these until you have gained enough knowledge about them. “Furthermore, investing is not easy. Is something too good to be true? Then it often is.” You already encountered the term “ETF” in the previous paragraph. An ETF is an investment vehicle that tracks an index, such as the S&P 500 and the AIX. An ETF basically contains shares of an index in an identical ratio. The advantage of investing in an ETF is that you invest equally in many different stocks. So you can spread out in shares and over time and you’re also not in one category of companies in the same sector. Examples of ETFs are the MSCI World and VanGuard All World. There are often essential differences in the composition of the various ETFs, such as which countries and which industries the ETFs cover. Before you invest, it is important to thoroughly familiarize yourself with which ETFs there are and which ones you would like to invest in. Furthermore, it is possible that you come across terms on the website of a broker of which you have no idea what they mean and what you can do with them. For example, you have the ask price, which indicates at what price an investor wants to sell his stock, and the bid price, which indicates what people are willing to pay for the stock. As a novice investor, it is wise to go through all the terms before investing in a stock that is disadvantageous. In addition, there are also different types of investment strategies that you should know about before you start. For example, you have day trading, where you can get in and out of a stock quickly based on current news. This is often done by large companies. As an individual
Redistribution plan funding of universities gets a lot of criticism
Minister Van Engelshoven (D66) wants to overhaul the financing of higher education. Instead of the number of students, the social usefulness of study programs becomes more important in the financing of higher education. Money from the humanities, social sciences and medical faculties will have to be transferred to the science faculty. The variable funding of education based on student numbers will be adjusted and will be replaced by fixed funding for educational institutions. A number of universities are opposed to the plan. The Education Minister Van Engelshoven wants more money for science and technological studies, because these have grown significantly the last years. There is also a great need on the labor market for technically trained staff. The total budget spent on education and research will not be significantly increased. As a result, this is at the expense of other programs because there will be a redistribution of money between universities and faculties. To make a “soft landing” possible, the minister has reserved an additional 41 million euros. What are the pros and cons of this plan? The branch association, VSNU, is critical about the plan and says that the cutbacks in humanities, social sciences and medical studies are shortening the Netherlands as a knowledge country. There is also the fear that faculties will be played against each other, even though they have been collaborating a lot. Scientists from the Young Academy are calling to sign a petition against this plan. They find it harmful for Dutch science if the growth of the science faculties comes at the expense of other disciplines. Universities that have a science faculty in addition to the humanities, social sciences and/or medical faculties are faced with a devilish dilemma. They do not want the science faculty to lag behind technical universities that make extra investments. On the other hand, they do not want this to be at the expense of other programs where the workload is already very high. A number of universities such as Tilburg University, VU, UvA, Leiden University, University of Groningen and Avans University of Applied Sciences have already opposed against the minister’s plan. “According to these calculations, Tilburg University receives more than 4 million euros less.” Currently, there is a shortage of technically trained staff in the Netherlands. This is partly due to the fact that the financing of technical training is lagging behind. Now there is a student stop for a number of technical studies that is in high demand. The technical universities in Eindhoven, Delft and Enschede receive a lot of extra money in the plans of Minister Van Engelshoven. The University of Wageningen also reveives extra money and all other universities have to hand in money according to calculations by the VSNU (University branch association). According to these calculations, Tilburg University receives more than 4 million euros less. With this plan, the minister wants to limit the “perverse incentive” to recruit as many students as possible and she wants to offer more certainty about the funding by giving a higher fixed amount. She has taken over this proposal from the advisory report of the Van Rijn Committee. In higher education, educational institutions receive variable reimbursements. These fees depend on the number of students, which means that quantity is more important than quality. This will also reduce the incentive to attract many international students at the expense of Dutch taxpayers. Growth of the universities is not a goal itself. A study will be done about the effectiveness of all courses for the long-term funding. A number of opposition parties in the House of Representatives prefer to wait for the results first before this plan will be implemented. For example, there are currently not enough teachers for Dutch and German and these courses are being put under pressure by this plan. For education reasons, it would be better to first investigate the real costs and then start shifting the money. It would have been better if the 41 million that are now reserved to alleviate the pain for the universities had gone to the four technical universities and then did the research. The technical universities then have extra resources to make investments to solve the pain points and other universities are not faced with a dilemma.
Working at Witlox VCS
My name is Jesse Renier, I’m 22 years old and I come from Bergen op Zoom. After obtaining my Havo diploma I started my HBO business economics program at Avans Breda. During that time I did two internships; one I did at a large construction firm and the other in the FMCG sector. Next to that I was active as chairman and treasurer at study association Oase. Early on I decided that I wanted to continue studying, and I knew the master Accountancy and the RC/RA track would best fit my ambitions. Recently I completed the pre-master, and at this moment I’m enrolled in the master Accountancy program at Tilburg University. Besides studying I really wanted to gain experience within the accountancy profession. Therefore I decided to quit my job as team leader at a supermarket after I graduated from HBO and instead applied for a job at an accounting firm. It was around 8 months ago that I started at Witlox VCS as a working student in the audit department. As a working student your schedule is very schedule. I work at least one day a week, but it can be more if I have spare time. “To me, the social aspect and a friendly environment is very important within an organization, and Witlox VCS can offer me that.” Why Witlox VCS? Witlox VCS is a medium sized accounting firm, with approximately 120 employees. The name is well known among small and medium sized companies in the area of Breda. I’ve known about Witlox since my first year at HBO, and I have a couple of friends who did their internships there or already work there. After an inhouseday I immediately was enthusiastic! I especially liked it that they took me seriously from the beginning, even though I am still a student, and I felt this was unique to the company. The atmosphere at Witlox VCS is informal and the organization is quite flat. During the inhouseday I had a personal conversation with my current supervisor Hugo Fransen, who happens to also be a partner of the firm. After I was hired, I quickly got to know many people at Witlox VCS. Among those people are tax and payroll specialists, corporate finance advisors and of course a lot of accountants. To me, the social aspect and a friendly environment is very important within an organization, and Witlox VCS can offer me that. They also organize many fun activities. A few months ago, for example, I played volleyball on a ‘team-day’. Besides that I was invited to join the ‘employee-day’, which was a lot of fun. The general atmosphere at the firm is very different from what I’ve experienced at other companies. Three weeks ago, for example, the CEO drove me and my girlfriend to one of our colleague’s wedding. But what do I do exactly? At Witlox VCS, I work with an audit team that specially focusses on the bigger clients, while several other firms mainly focus on SMEs. This means that my team consists of assistants and accountants that are concerned with the control practices of the larger clients of Witlox VCS. It does not mean however that I don’t get to see what the other teams are doing, as Witlox VCS likes to offer their clients a complete package. I often get to see clients that make use of our payroll department, but I also work for clients from corporate finance and tax. I like the fact that the organization is large enough to have multiple in-house specialists, while at the same time you get to be involved in a lot of cases. In other words, the firm is small enough in a way that you can still see what is actually going on and be able to see the connections between it all. My team consists mainly of RA-accountants and RA-students who come from many different universities; Neyenrode business university, Tilburg University and the Erasmus University for example. Next to that there are also a couple of working students, like myself. Witlox VCS wants to be an advisor and sparring partner for their clients and that ambition is reflected in my work. Sometimes I’m working with benchmarks and data-analyses for example in order to be able to understand and help clients in a better way. “Employees follow and internal development program that is supported by an external company.” Does working and studying combine well? I think it does! Of course, it’s a full-time master, but you see many students who combine it with an internship or a job. Witlox VCS offers me a lot of space so I can concentrate on my study. It is very important to my colleagues and supervisor that I complete the program well. During exam periods I get more time to study if it’s necessary, and after this period, when my schedule is less full, I am able to work more since my school schedule allows it. After I finished my pre-master, I had the time to work fulltime for four weeks. I learned a lot during that time and I received my own financial statement assignments. And what about personal development? Education and personal development are highly valued by Witlox VCS. Once every two weeks we get trainings that are sometimes just for our team, and other times with multiple teams. This way we keep developing ourselves. Those trainings can for example be about the IT-audit or materiality. Besides that there is a lot of room for personal development. Employees follow and internal development program that is supported by an external company. This can help you in everyday conversations with clients. Witlox VCS also offers my educational possibilities, such as the post-master Register Accountant program, but also the Executive Masters in Business Valuation and Finance & Control (Register Controller). Therefore Witlox VCS will also be a valuable employer in the future. What would you like to say to students of Tilburg University? Look for something you really enjoy doing
Saving the university
In his column, David Hollanders elaborates on the future of the university. He states that a university that no longer reflects on its own aims does not deserve to be called a university On February 25th students occupied the Maagdenhuis, the seat of the board -aka College van Bestuur (CvB)- of the University of Amsterdam. Out of this occupation (or re-appropriation) has grown a movement that calls itself De Nieuwe Universiteit (DNU), which by now has co-movements in other university cities, including Tilburg. For an assessment of this movement, it is necessary to look beyond side-issues. One could disapprove of occupying, but at the same time endorse the goal it is meant to further (or vice versa). One could feel that the life-style of the occupiers –who could be described as engaged intellectuals or spoiled hippies, depending on your perspective- but nonetheless embrace the program (or vice versa). And one could object against the CvB letting loose the police against its own students, while rejecting the program all the same (or vice versa). These are all sideshows in the final analysis. The heart of the matter is the program, which I endorse in my role as lecturer and which is –I feel- worth considering by students –even if one rejects it, which one could. The last decades students have been hit hard on all fronts. Students do not receive much –if any- public financial support anymore, leading to a situation where one has to work (and de facto study part-time), load up with debt or be blessed with rich parents. Adding insult to injury, students are increasingly monitored on how fast they finish courses. This is justified on three grounds: First, taking on debt is framed as an investment in human capital, with a high return in working-life. This is problematic if not false. The job-market has been dire for years now and a master-degree is no longer a sufficient condition for a (well-paying) job. It is a necessary condition however, so one cannot refrain from it. Furthermore, education should –or so DNU argues- be more than trying to get in pole position for the labour market. It is also about Bildung, social cohesion and political participation. A second motivation for increasing the financial burden for students is that education has increased in quality –justifying higher prices. This is again problematic –if not false. The number of students per lecturer has increased dramatically. This has not only increased the work-load of staff –already pressured by job insecurity- but has inevitably taken its toll on quality: larger classes, standard multiple-choice exams, teacher-rotations and light-touch thesis supervision. A third motivation is that austerity is inevitable, and therefore students and universities cannot be spared. Even if one accepts the austerity argument –which many economists, including Krugman, Stiglitz, Jacobs and de Grauwe do not-, there is still the question whether one cannot do better with the money available. Do we want a government that spends scarce resources on research that caters to business interests? Do want universities to spend money on advertisement and public relations instead of research and education? Furthermore, do we want students that have learnt to conform as quickly as possible to whatever the educational system asks of them? Or do we want students who contemplate whether the expectations and demands of university and indeed of society more general make sense? If one feels these are important questions, one should embrace DNU, even if their answers are not always clear. For the DNU is pretty much the only movement that is at least asking the right questions. And a university that no longer reflects on its own aims does not deserve to be called a university.
Exchange; the experience of a lifetime
Esmee Aarts writes about her experiences in Stockholm. She is studying her semester abroad at Stockholm University Business School. Moreover, she extensively describes all the beautiful places that Sweden has to offer. I am doing my exchange at Stockholm University Business School. The reason why I chose to go to Sweden is because I really love Scandinavia. It has got everything; pretty good weather, nice people, beautiful nature and everybody (yes, everybody really means everybody) can speak English. Before I went to Stockholm, I already saw Denmark and pieces of Norway so I had a vague image of what Stockholm could be like. But of course I did not know what to expect when I arrived When you ask someone what they think about Sweden, the first words they will say are: cold, moose, reindeer and beautiful blond people. There is some truth to this, but not all of it. Stockholm is a beautiful city that consists out of different islands. The city is divided into fourteen districts, which are spread across the islands. So everywhere you look, there is water. Stockholm is therefore also called ‘Venice of the north’. The only difference is the weather and the width of the canals. Every part of the campus of Stockholm University is located in nature. Also the Business School is, and it has its own campus called Kräftriket, which is surrounded by water. Everyday it is a blessing to go to the university, so studying becomes something fun. I could choose my own courses, and they offer something interesting for everybody. Business School also has an introduction program of two months with all kinds of activities to get to know the city and your fellow students. The last activity was a ‘booze cruise’ to Turku and back to Stockholm, which was a great end of the introduction program. In Stockholm you have different kinds of people. First there are the students, who all dress the same. The girls wear a black skinny pants with a black or grey sweater and some ‘Chelsea boots’. Their hair is long and has got the messy beach look. The guys are all wearing basic grey or black pants with a classy white shirt or a sweater. And you have the young parents with their little children. The parents look like they are 25, but in fact they may be older, nobody knows. Here the mothers are at home and the fathers walk with their kids. They are also called ‘latte papa’s’ because they drink trendy latte macchiato while spending time with the kids. One thing that every Swedish person has in common is that they all care about their health and how they look. During the day, all you see is trainings leggings and sport shoes, and in the evening everybody dresses up to go out. Next to the fact that I am here to study, I am also here to travel a little bit. And this is what I am doing since I arrived in Stockholm. First I went to several little islands by boat, for example Fjäderholmen. This is a little green island with big rocks and small beaches. I also went to Gotland, which is a big island with the nickname ‘Ibiza of Sweden’. This island has every type of nature that you can imagine. Long white beaches, rough rock formations in the sea, big green lands and savannah-like areas. We had a great time in a house that looks like the house of Pippi Longstocking. I did not only discover beautiful parts of Sweden, I also went to Norway to see Oslo and some villages and nature around it. For example, I went to the oldest town in Norway called Tønsberg. I also travelled by boat to Tallinn, St Petersburg and Helsinki. These three cities are even more amazing than anyone can imagine! There are still some trips coming like Kraków to see Auschwitz. And the last trip of my exchange semester will be to Lapland. Here I will go dogsledding, driving a snow scooter, visit the ice hotel and I will meet people who are member of the Sámi society. And if I am really lucky, maybe I will get to see the northern light. So, my stay in Stockholm is amazing! Going abroad is something that I can recommend to everybody. You develop yourself as a person and get to meet a lot of people from different cultures. Going on exchange for one semester is the experience of your lifetime!
