Student organisation ISO launches job board

Since last week, students can find vacancies for volunteer positions, committees and boards on the website Bovenop je studie (Aside Your Studies, Ed.) "We have noticed that fewer and fewer students are serving on the boards of study or student associations or participating in faculty or university councils," says ISO chair Sarah Evink. "Some people would like to do something alongside their studies, but are unaware of the possibilities."

The student organisation hopes that the website will provide a solution to this problem. "On our job board, students can easily see what the options are and what suits them," explains Evink.

Is the job bank only for university students?
Student organisations at the vocational level are also free to post vacancies there. Our job board is not for internships because those are usually part of the study programme. Student and study associations or representative bodies can post vacancies there.

How can students use the job board?
They can search for vacancies nationwide or by province. For example, the province of Groningen currently has a vacancy for the board of their introduction week. There are also several vacancies for national board positions, even for ISO!

You can also filter by the number of months you can commit or the number of hours you want to work per week. This matters because many students have little time. We notice they want to do more extracurricular activities, but often choose not to.

Why is that?
Many students have financial worries and want to graduate as quickly as possible to avoid high student debts. As a result, they have little time for extracurricular activities. This means that many student organisations are now at risk of disappearing, which is worrisome.

We have sent a letter about this issue to the Minister of Education, but he hasn't replied yet, so we are taking matters into our own hands and setting up this job bank. However, we need much more than this, and the government must help.

Why are those years on the board and other extracurricular activities so important?
If associations no longer have a board, an important part of Dutch student culture will disappear. We need students to organise activities; not just drinks and parties, but also introduction weeks, sports tournaments, lectures and career events. Students are under a lot of stress and pressure to perform. If fun activities are taken away, the pressure will only worsen. 

Besides, you learn a lot by joining a board. I spent a year on the student council, where I acquired important skills that I can take into my future career. Moreover, the student council is an important part of democracy. If students' voices are missing, people will talk about them rather than with them, which will ultimately jeopardise the quality of education.