Maxim Allaart appointed assessor of Faculty of Science Board 2016-2017
This academic year Maxim Allaart will hold the position of assessor within the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Science. The assessor is a student member who represents the students’ interests within the Faculty Board.
Last year Maxim Allaart successfully completed the Bachelor’s programme in Life Science & Technology. This year she started the follow-up Master’s programme, although it is unclear how much time she will have left for her studies: ‘The position of assessor officially requires a commitment of 25 hours a week, so I will try to follow one course per period,’ says Maxim.
Activities
Together with four other Leiden students, Maxim organised last year’s Leiden Science Day. ‘It was great fun, especially because I ended up working with students from other study programmes across the faculty,’ explains Maxim. In addition to her work for the Science Committee, Maxim was also a member of the Junior Science Lab, where she still acts as student assistant a few times a year, providing support to the students conducting experiments. In a way these two activities combined led to her decision to apply for the position of assessor, because she realised that she enjoyed working at Faculty level. Curiosity also played an important role in her decision: ‘It allows me to catch a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at the Faculty.’
Vision
Maxim indicates that she finds it important to be visible to all students in her position as assessor. In addition, she is committed to making information flows within the Faculty more transparent. ‘An example of this, something which I personally find very important, is that I want to make sure that students receive feedback on their course evaluations and that they are informed of the measures taken on the basis of these evaluations. And I want to promote separate waste disposal at the Faculty, a pr0ject launched last year by my predecessor, Marieke Vinkenoog,’ says Maxim.
Expectations
About the influence she may come to exercise on the Board, Maxim says: ‘The Board is open-minded and they really listen. I notice that they find it important that there is an assessor. For the rest, it’s all new to me, but I’m really looking forward to it.’