In this message, we provide an update to VU students and staff on the progress made in strengthening social safety and the team established specifically for this purpose. We also outline the steps that have already been taken and what to expect in the period ahead.
Student council elections
This week, the student council elections took place at our university. We are pleased that many students cast their votes for one of the motivated candidates representing student participation. The campaign took place in a positive atmosphere and focused on key themes relevant to education and student development. The candidates indicated that they experienced the collaboration with the project team from VU Amsterdam as pleasant. The approach will be evaluated, and the project leaders will provide recommendations for future election periods. The results of the elections will be published early next week.
In the coming period, we will work together with the candidates to ensure that the new student council is well prepared to begin their council year. More information will be shared at a later stage.
Listening sessions with students
In the past period, listening sessions have been organised with students on social safety on campus. These conversations focus on students’ experiences and perspectives. Several student organisations have responded to the call to participate in one of the sessions.
So far, two sessions have taken place, and additional sessions are being planned. It is still possible to sign up, either as a group or individually. A session takes approximately one and a half hours, and the date and time are determined in consultation with the participants.
The (anonymous and summarized) notes from each session are shared with the group of participants in order to verify whether we have correctly understood and recorded what was said, and are collected for the subsequent analysis phase.
Updates
We will inform you about the progress on the regulations and agreements regarding the use of the StudentD0k in the next update, which will be published on the VU website in the week of 18 May.
Previous updates: