A board year at Asset | Accounting & Finance – Niels van Blitterswijk, Vice-Chairman

It was November and I was enjoying my Exchange period in Dublin to the fullest when the question arose if I would like to do a board year at Asset | Accounting & Finance. Of course, this was something I had to think about. This would give me a year of study delay and it would also cost me a lot of money but probably it would also give me many memorable moments.

In the conveyance period one of my first tasks as Vice-Chairman of Asset | Accounting & Finance was to attract new members and divide them between the committees. My predecessor conducted the first few meetings with the new active members, and after it was time for me to do my first introduction meeting. During these introduction meetings you try to get to know the students in a short amount of time. In addition, you also explain what the committees do, and tell them what it is like to be an active member of Asset | Accounting & Finance. Dividing the new members can be a big puzzle, so sometimes I have to convince students to join a different committee than they initially had in mind. My board year could really start after the division of students in the committees was finalized.

Let’s take a closer look at what a week of the Vice-Chairman of A&F looks like. It sounds cliché, but the truth is: no week is the same as the week before as a board member. The week starts with a board meeting on Monday morning. During the meeting we give updates of what we have done last week, what is happening with A&F and how to address potential problems? For example, how are we going to reach potential active members, what the progress in the organization of an activity is or which informal activities we are going to schedule for the upcoming months. In the board meeting some small and larger tasks are distributed. These small tasks I aim to do right after the meeting. For example, to make a quick phone call to IT support or post something on Facebook for our active members. I try to do this as fast as possible so I don’t forget and try to get an answer as soon as possible.

“As coordinator you are responsible for keeping the committee on the right track. The coordinator is also the intermediary to the board, to make sure they’re up to date on what the committee is working on and assist them if necessary.”

On Monday, I often have a meeting with the StudyTour committee. This committee organizes a two week trip to an intercontinental location: this year the committee chose to go to Taiwan. As coordinator you are responsible for keeping the committee on the right track. The coordinator is also the intermediary to the board, to make sure they’re up to date on what the committee is working on and assist them if necessary. Every Tuesday I have a meeting with all the webmasters of Asset. As a Vice-Chairman, you are responsible for maintaining the website and having it run smoothly. The whole summer we have been very busy with developing the new website of Asset and all her departments. Unfortunately, there are still some minor problems occurring, or parts are not working as we had in mind. We try to fix these problems during these meetings and come up with ideas of how we want it to work.

All the Vices of Asset are in a faculty wide body called Asset Academy. In these meetings we discuss about how to promote Asset, how we can present Asset in the best way possible during the TOP-week or how we can convince passive members to become active. You are also the representative of A&F in the BE-cluster. This cluster is formed with the three other Business Economics departments: Marketing, SBIT and S&L. We try to reach the Business Economics students as best as we possibly can and convince them to become active. I have also been a coordinator of first year Business Economics committee which organized several informal activities for first year students. As a Vice-Chairman you are the right hand of the Chairman. This means that I often have meetings about the policy and strategy of A&F. Sometimes I also have to cover for the Chairman if he is not able to attend.

One of the most important reasons why I choose to do a board year was that it is a lot of fun. The whole week you are working hard for A&F together with your board and all the active members but there is always room for some fun and jokes. I think this is the most important aspect as to why the close relationship is running smoothly. The drinks and activities with the active members are the things that make a board year awesome. If the active members are enjoying the events to the fullest I enjoy them the most.

I do not regret doing a board year at Asset | Accounting & Finance and I would recommend it to everyone else. Of course you build a big network but also develop several skills. For instance, in my board year I really improved reading everything with a critical eye and I improved my soft skills. The experience of doing a board year is in my opinion awesome and if you are doubting the only thing I can say is to just do it!

If you want to know more about my board year after this article, visit room E1.07 and ask your questions during a cup of coffee!