Floor Buigel | Faces of FEB

The Faculty of Economics and Business is a diverse faculty full of bright people. Who are these people? In the column ‘Faces of FEB,’ we talk to different students at the faculty to give readers a peek into the worlds of FEB students. This week: Floor Buigel, who is FEB's student assessor.

1. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

My name is Floor Buigel and i'm 23 years old. This year I am the student assessor for the faculty board of Economics and Business. I have been active in co-governance councils, like the faculty council two years ago and last year I was in the university council for Lijst Calimero. I really enjoy being an active student and participating in the university decision making processes . In my free time I really enjoy rowing at my association Gyas or do other sports like running or biking (especially now with Corona). This academic year I'm also the treasurer of the Groninger Student Union, where we try to defend students' rights. We have, for example, a legal help desk and a rental team but also focus on improving education within Groningen. Even though there is a pandemic, I'm still very busy, as especially right now we need to stand up for students.

2. What are you studying?

I finished my BSc International Business in 2018 and started a MSc in International Financial Management. I did all my courses in the first year but delayed my thesis. Last year I had a full time board year for Lijst Calimero and this year I'm following a minor in West-European Archaeology plus some other courses which I find interesting. My plan is to write my thesis next semester as I need to graduate at some point!

3. How is it going so far? Have you been able to manage well during the lockdown?

So far it is going well! I was very busy until the Christmas break and now it is a little more peaceful. Before the hard lockdown I was always at my office in the Muurstraat or working from our faculty or the faculty of Arts. My productivity is so much better if I'm away from home. But I'm trying to find a rhythm for working from home and trying to make it a bit more fun. I made some changes to my room and started to pick up my old hobby of running. I also try to get away from Groningen 1 day on the weekend, to go hiking for example. Next semester I will be a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Law, which I also did last year. After February/March it will get busy again so I'm trying to enjoy free time as much as possible.

4. You're the student assessor; can you tell me about your role and what it entails?

As a Student Assessor you have the task to advise the faculty board on all student matters. We have a weekly meeting where I join and try to give input from the student perspective. I also have contact with multiple student bodies to get them informed on what the faculty is working on and I have multiple projects of my own. For instance, I am now working on an online student hangout to fulfill the current strong need for more social engagement and interaction with study mates. Besides this, you will also be asked to join a lot of committees, like finding the teacher of the year, the quality agreements or about education.

5. What do you like the most about being the student assessor?

I really enjoy the freedom I have as an assessor. You have some fixed things you need to do, but if you have a good idea or goal you can work on that as well. This year I really want to focus on creating better student participation in our faculty. Last year I could experience how things go at other faculties and I do believe we can learn something from this. That is why I started organising the Forum meetings, where all students in educational committees, faculty council and university council are invited to discuss education in time of Covid and what the faculty can do to improve it. I want to make this meeting structural so we can create better communication between these councils. I'm also setting up an online walk-in hour that students can join if they have questions and try to get more promotion towards the upcoming elections for the faculty and university council in May, as our faculty is the faculty that votes the least.

6. What are you most looking forward to when lockdown ends?

When Corona is over: first and foremost will be to go to a party. This is the thing that lacks the most in the pandemic. I still see my friends, but we always split up in smaller groups and I cannot wait when we can be together with everybody and go to our association, a festival like Paradigm or to Vera. Next to that I'm looking forward to meeting up with my fellow assessors and having a drink to discuss our plans together. It is also a tradition to visit some universities abroad, so I hope that will be possible too. With the student union we also have a lot of activities planned for when Covid is over and we will have a lustrum this summer. I have a lot of things to look forward to, but now I'm really waiting to get better weather so a little more is possible.

7. What are your plans after graduation?

I always find this a very difficult question to answer. My dream job keeps changing. I joined the recruitment days in December where I met some big companies, but I do think that working in a multinational or going to the Randstad is not for me. What I really enjoyed the past two/three years was seeing there was so much more than just studying at the RUG and experiencing the atmosphere in the university. It is big but still everyone knows each other and you have so many different staff working here. I want to find something similar when I graduate but also get some experience in a private company. Working for the government is tempting me but I also want to get some real business experience. We will have to see, I'm giving myself a little more time under the excuse of the pandemic!

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