25 years of Economic Business weeks Tilburg: still going strong and totally relevant

Revisited 4 min. Swaans Communicatie

With more than 1500 students and 80 organizations participating every year, the Economic Business weeks Tilburg (EBT) has become one of the largest recruitment events in the Netherlands over the past 25 years. What is the secret of its success? An interview with Rik Opendorp (45), a member of the very first board, and two members of this year’s board, Femke Stander (21, Chair) and Janneke Bekkers (22, Public Relations Officer).

The three past and present board members meet shortly before Tilburg University’s largest career event is due to start. At the top of Koopmans Building, with a wonderful view of Tilburg’s skyline. However, they are too busy reminiscing, exchanging experiences, and looking at old photos to notice it.

I had no idea what I was in for: there was nothing

Rik Opendorp

Creating an entirely new event

Rik, partner RA at Baker Tilly, studied Business Economics with a focus on Accountancy, between 1996 and 2000. He was in his third year when he was invited to become a board member of the EBT. “Rik, when you organized that very first Economic Business week Tilburg, I hadn’t even been born yet!” Femke laughs. Rik replies: “It was a tough job that took up a lot of time besides your studies. Not everyone was prepared to do it. Still, I said yes immediately. Of course I had no idea what I was in for: there was nothing. But that also offered opportunities: creating an entirely new event. As the past few years have shown, I’m an entrepreneur, a builder. That's why this appealed to me immediately.”

With the EBT, we wanted to organize something valuable for all students of the university’s School of Economics

Femke Stander en Janneke Bekkers

A week of valuable events for students

It is completely different for Femke and Janneke, who both took a board year after completing their Bachelor’s (Business Economics and International Business Administration, respectively) to help form the 25th EBT board. They build on what Rik’s board once started. With a team of eight people, three of which full-time and five who served on the board besides their studies, Rik organized that very first EBT. “It was a week filled with lectures, job application training, workshops, and career days. At a different, off-campus location every day: including the Efteling theme park hotel, the Efteling golf park, and safari park Beekse Bergen. A wide variety of businesses were present. With the EBT, we wanted to organize something valuable for all students of the university’s School of Economics.”

Still the same objective

Femke: “Although the EBT is different now, we still have the same objective: a broad event for all students of the Schools of Economics & Management and of Social & Behavioral Sciences, from first-years to Master’s students. With relevant activities and interesting businesses who really have something to offer students.” In the past 25 years, the EBT has grown significantly, Janneke explains. “The EBT last a lot longer, three and a half weeks, and the symposiums, training sessions, workshops, business days, and case days largely take place on campus. We now also organize fun activities like off-campus beer tasting events and sushi workshops. With activities like the Sustainability Symposium, we try to be innovative and remain relevant. We now reach more than 1500 students every year, including students from other Schools for whom parts of the program are also interesting.”

It truly is an investment in your professional development

Janneke Bekkers

‘Super cool event’

Unlike Rik, who had no idea what he had signed up for with the EBT, Femke and Janneke knew exactly what they were in for. Femke: “The EBT has become a household word on campus. I think it is a super cool event and I was very eager to contribute to it.” Rik is proud to hear this. Janneke agrees with Femke. “I also thought it would be really cool to help organize the largest career event in Tilburg. Besides, a board year is extremely instructive; you gain so much important practical experience. It truly is an investment in your professional development. Incidentally, we had to apply for our positions on the board, Rik!”

Own letterhead

Although the event has basically remained the same, Rik, Femke and Janneke conclude that many things have changed in a quarter of a century. The greatest difference? Technology! Rik: “Communication with businesses was largely conducted via landline phones and by snail mail. We even designed our own letterhead. We approached students via a stall with flyers, and people registered by putting a note in our letterbox.” Femke laughs. “We still have that stall to inspire students, you know. We now advertise the event with pizza and hotdogs. And on the whole almost everything happens online now: students use an app to register and to download their personal events schedule. And we also advertise the EBT via the social media.”

The network you build during your time on a board is so valuable. I made so many contacts at the time and I still benefit from that today.

Rik Opendorp

Life as a student in Tilburg

On the campus, however, little has changed, according to Rik, except that CUBE hadn’t been built yet. During his studies he lived at home with his parents in Aalst and commuted back and forth every day. “My friends and I regularly went out in Tilburg. And we used to go to the Esplanade Café a lot.” With a wink: “That was about the best frequented pub in all of Tilburg!” Owing to the Covid crisis, Femke and Janneke’s lives as students have been quite different. They had only just started living in Tilburg when everything went into lockdown. So they have not yet had much opportunity to experience typical ‘student life’ in the city. “We only had online lectures for a long time. It is so good that you can now get to meet new people again,” Femke says. “We also make many new contacts because of our roles on the board.” Rik: “The network you build during your time on a board is so valuable. I made so many contacts at the time and I still benefit from that today.”

Success stories

Rik is thrilled by the event as it is organized today. “It is great to see that the event has become so well-known and that it has managed to keep up with the times so well. That is only possible if successive board have continued to innovate, year in, year out. It continues to be relevant because they have constantly tried to cater to the needs of students and businesses alike.” All three think that it is really special that the EBT will now be held for the 25th time. Janneke: “After all those years, there are so many success stories to tell. Students who manage to land great internships or even jobs, companies that are able to present themselves to new and young talent and succeed in retaining ambitious interns. Students as well as businesses truly benefit from this event; it is equally valuable for both parties. The event is about everything you would expect from a career event; that is the EBT’s strength.”

Femke: “I am curious what the Economic Business weeks Tilburg will look like in 25 years’ time. Was that what you were thinking, too, Rik?” Rik laughs. “No, not at all, that was far from our minds. But I am so proud when I see all this. The EBT is moving with the times, but it is still organized in the same spirit and with the same enthusiasm as that very first edition. That is wonderful.”