Next month the Bedrijvendagen Twente 2016 will start. This afternoon I rang up Mayke Shutte to ask her what this event is about. Mayke is part of the student board that organises the Bedrijvendagen this year and she fulfils the function of PR manager. I asked her if she could introduce us to the concept of the Bedrijvendagen. “This event is thé career event at the UT. Our goal is to connect students and companies and we do that by organising a broad range of activities on and around the campus.”
Dates & Activities
Let’s take a closer look at those activities. You’ll be quite aware that the Bedrijvendagen has started, when the kick-off spectacle takes place on the 16th of February. Then the O&O square is immersed in surprising winter attractions, free food and happy faces. Then on the 17th there will be an open lunch lecture in the Waaier by Femke Halsema. She is a former Dutch politician and was a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 till 2011. On the 19th of February there is the Bedrijvendagen Debate, where an Entrepreneur, an Academic, a Corporate and a Politician will discuss themes like ambition and career planning. The student audience can provide the topics for the debate.
“We are pleased to announce that the amount of companies participating at the Bedrijvendagen 2016 is record breaking,” according to Mayke, “students can talk to over 140 companies at the Career Fair and in total more than 160 interesting companies are taking part at Bedrijvendagen activities.” The Career Fair will take place on the 24th and 25th of February in a big tent at the Ganzenveld; the field of grass near the entrance of the UT.
In March, the Ambition Weeks start; the more personal part of the Bedrijvendagen, for which you have to be selected on the basis of your resume. On the 9th of March, during Student Prep, you will be groomed for the trainings, lunches, dinners, personal interviews and informal recruitment activities. Be sure to register for the Ambition Weeks and Student Prep on time.
Personal Experience
Last year, I visited the Bedrijvendagen myself and I think it would be helpful to people that are unfamiliar with the event to share some of my personal experiences. I heard people explaining that the Bedrijvendagen is only about free food and goodies, yet although you leave with a full stomach and bags filled with gadgets, there’s more you can get out of it.
For starters, I would recommend going to the lunch lecture. Last two years the keynote speakers were amazing and told openly about their lives and careers. The audience heard stuff about people from the corporate and the political world that could not have been said on radio or TV.
Then the main part is the Career Fair; this is where you can learn some interesting stuff or meet cool people. There are rows of stands where enthusiastic business representatives want to talk to you. Since CreaTe is still quite a new study at the UT, there is much to win in terms of making connections with companies. You can talk about your latest project and and maybe find a contact that can later help you get a graduation project, traineeship or job. On the activity website of the Bedrijvendagen or the booklet you can find more information on what companies are interested in Creative Technology. You can use this as preparation for your visit to the Career Fair.
If you already have made progress in studies, working your way towards your Bachelors degree, you should be interested in visiting the Ambition Weeks. You can learn how to present yourself during a job interview or go to an escape room with a mix of recruiters and students. For international students there is enough demand; some companies are only looking for Dutchies, but many companies did send all there information in English.
There’s work to do for creative technologists in almost every sector (Healthcare, Security, Construction, Broadcasting, etc) so, during the Bedrijvendagen, feel free to start as many open ended conversations as you like. Bedrijvendagen Twente 2016; thé step closer.
[Sorry for the Dutch]