An interview with Wessel Schemkes: The chairman of the Business & IT Committee

March 27th, 2019

Chiel Tijdink

On the 24th of April the annual Business and IT event takes place. This event is a collaboration between Synergy and Thalia (the Study Association for computer and information sciences). The subscriptions are open now and I was curious about their process and experiences. So, it was time for an interview with the chairman: Wessel Schemkes.

On the 19th of March the kick-off of the BIT-event took place, what were the reactions?

The kick-off went well, we served ‘BITterballen’ and the Synergy room was very busy. I heard many positive reactions, so I am glad about the result of our kick-off. I was a little surprised because there were some people of Thalia at the kick-off. They heard about the BIT-event and they were curious about the event. Last week we organized a kick-off stunt at the Thalia room, but the subscriptions were not open on that moment, so it was not very effective. But now the subscriptions are going well and there are many people interested in the BIT-event!

Why did you decide to become the chairman of the BIT-event committee?

We started last November as committee. Before the BIT committee I did the Kick-off committee. In the Kick-off committee I learned that I like informal activities, but after the Kick-off I wanted to organize something formal. First, I thought about the NCE Committee, but the challenge of organizing NCE was a little too much for me. BIT is a little smaller but also nice and formal, moreover I have some affection with IT, so I was very enthusiastic about organizing the BIT-event.  I have totally no regrets of organizing the BIT-event!

Why should people organize the BIT-event 2020?

When you are enthusiastic about organizing an event and if you like some freedom the BIT committee is interesting for you. You have many possibilities to do what you want and to be creative. It is important that you have some affection with IT, but you don’t have to be very good in IT. There are many learning possibilities in the BIT committee. For example, you will learn to work with another study association and with people of another study. In the beginning I recognized that we have a different way of thinking. We have a business perspective and they have an IT perspective; I liked the different perspectives a lot and I think that the different perspectives lead to the best result. Moreover, as committee member you can build up a network with some IT-companies.

Can you tell me a little about your committee?

We are with 8 people, 4 people of Synergy and 4 people of Thalia. There are 3 externals, 3 internals, a treasurer and I am the chairman. We are a good team and we help each other where possible. I think that we are a good team because we did a teambuilding activity right after we started as committee, so we know each other from the beginning and it helped us as committee. Of course, we have some difficulties as committee. For instance, sometimes it is difficult to work together with another study association because it costs more time, but the different perspectives are all worth it. We also have a supervisory board they follow what we do and they give advice when necessary. The supervisory board consists of two board members of Synergy and two board members of Thalia.
 

Can you tell me something about the attending companies?

The companies are big companies, in all the companies IT plays an important role in the core business. The workshops of the companies at the BIT- event are a combination of business and IT. At some workshops the focus is on a collaboration between a business administration student and an IT student. But there are also some workshops that are accessible for people with no clue of IT. So, it is possible for everyone to attend to a workshop.

What can people expect of the BIT-event 2019?

At the BIT-event you can have several goals for yourself. When you want to orientate yourself on the combination of business and IT than this is a great opportunity to get used to the combination of business and IT. When you already have some experience with IT and the combination of business and IT than the BIT-event is a good event to get in contact with some interesting companies. Beside the workshops there will be an opening speaker and of course a free lunch and a free network drink.

Finally, do you have some final words for the readers of this article?

I am looking forward to the event, my committee is looking forward to the event and hopefully you are looking forward to the event. I believe that it will be a very interesting day and I hope to see you all at the BIT-event!

You can find more information about the event and subscribe at: www.bit-event.nl
The event will cost €3,00 for members and non-members, unfortunately this event is in Dutch.
The subscriptions are open till the 20th of April.