Who are our directors? What do they do and what drives them in their work? These are all questions that we answer in our video series Boardwalk. Every quarter, we visit a special place on campus with a board member and talk to them about one of their themes. In this fourth episode, secretary Eric van der Geer-Rutten-Rijswijk gives insight into the work of the Education and Student Affairs department. For example, he takes us to one of the ’student desks’ of TU/e.
TU/e has more than 13 thousand students. They usually follow the education physically in a lecture hall or workspace, but sometimes also online. A team of ten schedulers works hard every day to get everyone - students and teaching staff - to the right place at the right time.
They work at , Education and Student Affairs. According to university secretary Eric van der Geer-Rutten-Rijswijk , who has educational support in his portfolio, they are ’at the heart of the university. "It is a team that is committed every day to supporting both students and teachers in all forms that our education now has. Such as the traditional lectures in the large lecture halls, but also lab work, group assignments and Challenged Based Learning education. Here, the teacher is present more as an expert and coach and the students work together in multi-disciplinary teams on social issues and themes."
Long career at TU/e
Van der Geer-Rutten-Rijswijk has a lot of appreciation for ESA. He is now secretary for a year, but he has been around the university for many years. In 1998 he started as a student at what was then still Industrial Engineering and Management and in 2008 he obtained his PhD at the same faculty. He then rolled into the faculty board and was, among other things, program director and director of operations. He then joined ESA as a director. And now he is secretary of the university and therefore also director of General Affairs. In that role, he still has educational support in his portfolio. But he is also the link between the board and the entire organization of the university.Desks at every faculty
Every faculty has a ’service desk ’ where ESA staff help students with practical questions about study, grades and credits, registering for courses and exams, diplomas and timetables. In addition, students can also contact ESA for a study advisor, student counsellor or psychologist. In addition, they work closely with other ESA employees in the faculties in ’chains’ to ensure that the processes run smoothly, for example in the field of examinations, study advice and educational innovation.
The International Office is also part of ESA. International students can go there with questions about everything related to their stay in Eindhoven, such as their visa, housing, scholarships and insurance, or if students want to take courses/internships abroad.
Growth in number of students
Our university is located in the heart of the rapidly growing Brainport region. TU/e is growing along with it, because there is a great need for more engineers.The number of students at TU/e must rise to about 15 thousand students in the coming years by 2030 That is also a challenge for ESA. Because all those students and associated teachers need guidance, support and facilities. "Partly for this reason, we continue to develop and innovate with our forms of education," says Van der Geer-Rutten-Rijswijk. After all this time, he still sees it as a wonderful challenge to help innovate educational support, together with ESA and the rest of the organisation.
