"When I saw the job opening, I immediately thought: this is perfect for me," says Maartje, who is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Twente. "I have strong opinions, and I love thinking about how we can make things better."
Bridging between students and the city
About ten years ago, Enschede was the very first Dutch student city to introduce an official student civil servant. Since then, cities like Leiden, Wageningen, and Amsterdam have created similar roles.
Alongside Maartje, there are also student officials for applied sciences (hbo) and vocational (mbo) students. Together, they work within the municipality as the voice of the student body, forming a bridge between students, the local government, and knowledge institutions. "The job is really about connecting people," Maartje says. "You try to bring the municipality, students, and educational institutions closer together."
Sitting down with aldermen
The day-to-day work of a student civil servant is diverse. Together with her colleagues, Maartje organises administrative meetings between aldermen and student umbrella organisations from UT, Saxion, ROC van Twente, and ArtEZ, among others. She also regularly speaks with organisations like the Young Twente Board.
Moreover, she works on her own projects centred around themes like student wellbeing, housing, internationalisation, and student participation. "Some days I'm in meetings about the growth of Enschede or the mental health of residents," she shares. "But the other day I also went to Leiden to talk about student wellbeing with Dutch and Flemish municipalities, for example. I try to get an idea of what they’re doing, and what we can bring back to Enschede."
Spotting problems and solving them
According to Maartje, the true strength of the role lies in having direct contact with students. For instance, she noticed that international students often don't know where to go for practical matters.
"We gathered feedback from international students," she says. "A lot of people didn't know how to arrange their BSN (citizen service number), or where to get help if they had issues with their landlord." She then feeds those insights back into the municipality and educational institutions. "The great thing is that you get the freedom to actually take action on the issues you spot."
From wellbeing weeks to city hall
Civic participation is nothing new to Maartje. During her studies, she was already actively involved in student wellbeing and part of the hydrogen student team, Hydriven. "Through Hydriven, I learned a lot about collaboration and organisation," she says. "And during the wellbeing weeks, I saw just how important it is for students to feel heard."
She feels the role of student civil servant connects perfectly with those experiences. "You get the chance to make a real impact for students at a policy level."
At home in Enschede
Maartje is originally from near Den Bosch, but she often finds herself staying in Enschede even outside of the academic year. "I felt at home here right from the start," she says. "It might be a bit smaller in scale, but that’s exactly why it’s so easy to connect with people."
According to her, Enschede stands out because of its strong sense of community. "Students are really visible in the city. You always run into people you know at the Oude Markt, no matter what association or study programme you're in."
Giving students a voice
Ultimately, for Maartje, her role is about one main thing: ensuring that students are included in decisions that affect their city. A great example of this is the annual tour of the Pakkerij sociëteit, where student associations, the municipality, the neighbourhood police officer, and other stakeholders meet.
"Those kinds of moments are all about connection," she says. "Making sure that students, the municipality, and other parties know how to find each other. There is an incredible amount happening around student policy," she concludes. "But you have to keep actively involving students. Otherwise, you’re making plans about students, instead of with students."
