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4/2/2025

Introducing Institutional Participation Council

With the new election cycle coming up in April 2025, the editorial team sat down with Saskia Hartog to find out what it’s like to be part of the Institutional Participation Council as a student representative.
Since 2021, the Institutional Participation Council (IPC) has represented the interest of employees and students within the organisational structure of Design Academy Eindhoven. The IPC is a council of elected members which is formed to create a representative body of students from both the MA and BA as well as employees from multiple areas of the school.  
The IPC consists of eight members. Four are chosen from and by the staff, and four are chosen from and by the students (one member is from the Student Council). The members are appointed for a period of two years.

The IPC can influence decision-making within the Academy on many issues but is particularly involved with the strategic policies that govern the organisation of the Academy, the working conditions at DAE, and the employee-employer relationships. It might examine proposals from the Executive Board on which consent or advisory rights rest, as well as more general matters about the running of the Academy.

Ahead of the new election cycle, the Editorial Team sat down with Saskia Hartog to understand her role being a student representative, and what are the opportunities and challenges for incoming member of the IPC.

 → What initially motivated you to join the Institutional Participation Council, and what do you hope to achieve during your time as a member?

 What interested me most about the IPC is the influence members have on policy and decision making. I wanted to dedicate myself to being a voice for the students and do my best to ensure the wellbeing of DAE students. I hope to be a good representative for the student body when important decisions are made, since we students are the reason we are all here at the academy.

 → Can you share a specific example of a decision or issue the IPC has influenced that directly impacts students at the Academy?

 One of the decisions to be agreed on by the IPC every year, is the student charter. The student charter describes the rights and obligations of students and serves as a foundation for ensuring transparency and fairness of all courses at DAE. The IPC advocates for changes to the charter, which directly impacts students' day-to-day experiences.

 → In your experience, how do you balance the time commitment required by the IPC (approximately two hours per week) with your academic and personal responsibilities?

In my experience, the two-hour weekly estimate isn’t a great representation of the IPC’s time commitment. Like any job, meetings often run longer, and reviewing documents can also take some time. While some weeks are busier than others, the workload hasn’t significantly affected my academic or personal responsibilities. However, the fact that it’s a paid position also helps balance the commitment, allowing me to treat it as a part-time job. It has been an incredible learning experience and definitely worth my time.

 

Join the IPC:

The IPC is currently looking for 2 Master students, 1 Bachelor student* and 3 Employees**. Elected members will be required to commit to around two hours’ work a week and will be paid for its position. Please email IPC@designacademy.nl to make your interest known by sending a 100 words introduction/motivation and one profile image (both will be used on the ballet for election purposes). Deadline for application is 17 March 2025.  Election will begin on 21 April 2025.  If you would like to know more about the IPC and other councils and committees please see the participation page.

 

Current IPC members:

→ Niek van der Heijden (employee)

→ Carri Harwig (employee, outgoing)

→ Griet Menschaert (employee, outgoing)

→ Saskia Hartog (MA student, outgoing)

Past Members:

→ Macarius Eng Chern Yu (BA Student)

→ Yolande Hezemans (Employee)

→ Adi Romanski (BA student)

→ Patrick Zhang (MA student)