What is the University Student Council?
The University Student Council (USR) is the Participation Council of and for the students of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The council is mainly engaged with the quality and accessibility of the education, and the student policy of the VU. The USR has many competencies: right of consent and advisory on fields of strategic policy, organization, governance, financial support for students and the Student Charter. In this way we can ensure that the voice of the students shall always be represented within the organization.
In addition, the council members try to influence the policy of the university in various ways by consulting with employees and by giving their independent advice. Members of the student council are also part of the Joint Assembly, in which the staff council is also represented. In this assembly meetings are held about the university budget, annual report and the strategic plan. Thus, the USR is always involved in the important decisions taken at the university.
The USR 2019-2020 consists of eleven council members:
| David Palm
| Chairman |
| Veerle Groenendijk
| Vice Chairwoman |
| Soukaina Abouhssen | Coordinator Education & Research |
| Nanne Duijnkerke | Coordinator Organization & Finance |
| Megan Terpstra
| Coordinator Communication |
| Pieter van Rossum
| Treasurer |
| Nadia Ait Hammou | General Councilor |
| Edwin Chen | General Councilor |
| Hajer M’tiri | General Councilor |
| Benjamin de Vries | General Councilor |
| Nasir Yousufzai
| General Councilor |
Every council member is active within multiple portfolios and each portfolio is part of a committee. The University Student Council is divided into three committees: Education & Research, Organization & Finance and Communication.
Councilmembers per committee
Committee Education & Research: Soukaina Abouhssen, Nadia Ait Hammou, Hajer M’tiri, Benjamin de Vries, Nasir Yousufzai, David Palm, Veerle Groenendijk
Committee Organization & Finance: Nanne Duijnkerke, Nadia Ait Hammou, Edwin Chen, Pieter van Rossum, Nasir Yousufzai, Veerle Groenendijk, David Palm
Committee Communication: Megan Terpstra, Edwin Chen, Hajer M’tiri, Pieter van Rossum, Benjamin de Vries, Veerle Groenendijk, David Palm
Contact and more information
University Student Council (USR)
VU Main Building
StudentenD0k, room 0D-12
E-mail: usr@vu.nl
Tel: +31 (0)20 59 82291 / +31 (0)6 21202713
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