Over the last couple of weeks, fifteen enthusiastic GMD students interested in shaping their education – and more – joined GMD’s first student board. The board was kicked off with a session in October, during which Lhamo Meyer, dr. Maria Schiller and dr. Mark van Ostaijen provided guidance and inspiration for the organisation of the board and it's agenda. Following this, the students began putting these ideas into practice. The student board functions as the intermediary between GMD students and staff members in a sounding capacity as well as a platform to organize events and outreach activities in close interaction with the LDE Centre GMD. In the face of COVID-19, students have weekly meetings online either within their committees or the entire board to decide on action points within and outside their studies.
Would you like to know more? Get in touch via studentboard@gmdcentre.nl
Below various members of the student board explain their different roles in the board and the committees:
Alex Webb – Chair
I joined the student board to take r
esponsibility for my education and give back to the program. I enjoy the opportunity to help create an environment that facilitates learning and promotes student incorporation. I chose to participate in the role of chair to further develop professionalism, leadership skills, and enhance project management skills. I also enjoy the ability to support my fellow board members in their committee initiatives.
Nevena Vračar – Chair
Hi! My name is Nevena and I am filling the role of co-chair this semester. Participating in the student board has allowed me to not only develop various skills and connect with my colleagues but also to be proactive in shaping the program. Joining the board has enriched my experience of the master's, and I hope the events and programs we set up do the same for the rest of our classmates!
Xander Creed – Secretary & Treasurer
I've always enjoyed getting involved and being able to contribute to the student life and culture of my study program; this became even more important both in response to the different tracks of GMD as well as online learning. I chose the position of Secretary/ Treasurer specifically to contribute my talents for organization to support the student board!
Katarina Reljić – Confidentiality Person
Joining the Student Board is a great way to get involved with your fellow classmates and contribute to creating an active and engaging learning environment. As one of the two confidentiality persons, I am hoping to strengthen the communication amongst students, but also with lecturers, and make the GMD an accepting space.
Gustaf Norén Vosfeld – Confidentiality Person
I initially joined the student board in order to get more engaged both with the master program as a whole as well as with other students. Within the board I am currently one of the two Confidentiality persons, responsible for representing the GMD students in matters relating to discrimination, inclusion and confidential complaints regarding the university.
Laura van den Brink – Head of the Events Committee
I joined the events committee to help create a friendly and motivating community. With the changes and constraints put on this year’s GMD cohort by the pandemic and transition to online learning, I think engaging and fun events are evermore important to keep the sense of community alive. Besides fun social events, I hope we can provide students with new insights, experiences, and opportunities through a range of informational, career-oriented and networking events!
Jeroen Willemsen – Events comittee
Hi, I’m Jeroen Willemsen and 
this year I have the great opportunity to be part of the Events Committee of the student board. The best thing about this committee is the fact that you can use all of your creativity to come up with events and use all of your organisational skills to make them as good as possible. Besides learning something yourself, you get to inspire participants of the events to learn new things as well. Whether this will be done by organising an interesting lecture, or by showing new insights through a fun social activity, is up to you.
Tirza Pulleman – Events committee
I joined the Student Board to be more involved with the program. I studied Anthropology before this master, so I do not have a lot of experience in the public administration and migration field. That's why I decided to join the Events Committee: to get in touch with inspiring actors, to explore interesting topics, and to bring those to you this year!
Anna-Lena Baumeister – Head of the Outreach & Communications Committee
I think the student board is a great platform that enhances the learning experience of this program through our interactions and projects. For me, the outreach committee provides an excellent opportunity to connect our class with other students, staff, alumni and many more by bringing in innovative and creative ideas.
The events committee is supported by Arne Janssen and Nadja Buurmans.
The outreach and communications committee is supported by Alison Hurley and Nadja Buurmans.
The student board in general is further supported by Mark Espina, Maite Osses and Iana Hilhorst.