While the number of new members dropped at most associations, more new members joined Ceres. Photo Youssef el Khattabi The university seeks ways to include student life in the bachelor open days. So, shuttle buses will travel back and forth between the campus and Ceres, where a club market is to take place.
Kimberly Pastoors, who coordinates the student recruitment activities, explains: ‘Prospective students are often convinced of the programmes we offer but are unsure what student life in Wageningen has to offer. In a city like Utrecht, there may be fewer concerns. To show a little bit about student life in Wageningen, we constructed a mock student room in Forum last year, which was fun, but it is difficult to emulate student life in an education building. The centre and a student association are more suited to this purpose.’
The idea is to have shuttle buses to the city centre from about 15.00 hrs so that students can visit Ceres. There, representatives of some ten student clubs stand ready to offer prospective students snacks and beverages and tell them all about student life in Wageningen.
Hicksville
The student associations are happy with the plan, says Christel Konings, chair of the Wageningen Chamber of Associations. ‘The image of us being somewhat of a Hicksville but with a university still sticks. If you take the bus from Ede-Wageningen to the campus, all you see is meadows. Taking prospective students to the city centre to introduce them to student life and associations helps them see that Wageningen is much more than just meadows.’
‘Last year, a prospective student inquired whether there are even students living in the city’, Konings adds. ‘I said: girl, come check out the centre. It is a real student city.’
The bachelor open day is to take place on Saturday 9 November. More information here.
