Hella Schulpen | Faces of FEB
The Faculty of Economics and Business is a faculty with great diversity of people. But who are these people? Within ‘Faces of FEB’ we talk to different students of the faculty and give a little peek into the world of these FEB students. This week: Hella Schulpen, who is a board member of Quest and talks about her experience of adding to the quality of education at FEB.
Written by Jessica Paas
Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Hi, my name is Hella and I am 21 years old. Originally I come from Franeker, which is a little city in Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. I just finished my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and recently started with the master HRM.
Why did you choose to study at the FEB here in Groningen?
The bachelor programme had a good reputation and Groningen seemed like a very nice place to study in! Besides that, it is still very close to my parents, so whenever I want to go it is no problem at all. I chose to live in Groningen right away. This way I could immediately build up my own life here and experience ‘the student life’.
And you are even doing a board year at quest!
That is correct!
What is Quest exactly?
We are concerned with the quality of the education at FEB, and serve as a link between students and the Faculty itself. Every year we recruit year representatives and students for the Programme Committees who help us to evaluate the different programmes of FEB.
And what is your role within this board?
I am the Internal and External Affairs Officer, which is quite similar to a secretary. I am concerned with the mail and several administrative affairs. Furthermore, each board member has his/her own programme for which they are responsible. I am head responsible for the masters Business Administration and HRM and for the bachelor of Econometrics and Operations Research.
Very nice that you are responsible for your own master programme!
Yes, that is true. I already have a little insight into how it works within the courses, so that certainly makes it easier!
Why did you choose to do a board year at Quest?
I have been a year representative myself for 2 years. I really like to add more than just the standard evaluation forms we always have to fill in. I feel that it is very important to hear students’ opinions, especially now everything has changed and is more online. Therefore, a good next step for me was to get more involved in Quest, and join the board.
What is the work of a Year Representative?
As a rear representative you represent the opinions of your fellow students within your year. You are in direct contact with people that can implement the change you would like to see. Also, you are actively asked for your opinion, you can say anything and make any suggestion you want. As a student you can give your honest opinion and feel completely heard as the coordinator of the programme is also present at the meeting.
How are you dealing with the coronavirus pandemic situation?
All the meetings are online for now. We would like to switch to face-to-face meetings in the future, but currently this is not possible. We hope it is possible to arrange something next semester! Besides that, online teaching will be a bigger topic during the Year Representative meetings, because it became so prominent and important during these times. Especially now, because not everyone is used to teaching and studying online, it is so important to give your opinion on this.
What can you gain in this experience?
The added value of being a year representative is, for a big part, that you reap the benefits of improving the education. So that is a plus! Besides, you get in touch with your fellow students, but also the program directors, which makes the programme a bit more personal. Sometimes studying can feel overwhelming because of the quantity of students in one year. Especially in a time where getting to know new people is a bit harder, being a year representative is a great new way in which you can get to know other students. And in the end it is really good for your resume, it doesn't take a tremendous amount of time and yet you are involved in your faculty!
If someone would like to become a Year Representative, what do you advise them to do?
For more information you can go to our website www.questgroningen.nl. Here you can find more information on being a YR and on how to apply. If you would like to apply, you need to send a short motivation letter and your resume to info@questgroningen.nl. Then the responsible board member of the programme will contact you to see if you are suitable to be a year representative. But in the end everyone is allowed to, because that way we get the most diverse group possible.
| Last modified: | 31 January 2021 3.48 p.m. |