Meet the Faculty’s new Student Assessor: Lidwien Meulenkamp
After two years in the Faculty Board, Student Assessor Imen el Idrissi makes room for a successor per September 1, 2024. Let’s meet the new Student Assessor Lidwien Meulenkamp. ‘I enjoy communicating with people.’
A love for archaeology
Lidwien is a third year Bachelor's student in Archaeology, enrolled in the World Archaeology specialisation. She seems to be enjoying the full spectrum of what the programme has to offer. 'I have been in excavations in Oman, Cyprus, and the Netherlands. My focus is not clear yet, but I am now trying to connect my fieldwork experience with a thesis subject.’ From pottery microwear analysis to the use of virtual reality, and experimental archaeology, Lidwien's interests are hard to pin down. ‘I just love archaeology!’
Interactions
And next to these diverse interests, Lidwien also applied for the position of Student Assessor in the Faculty Board of Archaeology. ‘This is partly because I have been more involved in the Faculty the past year due to my membership in the Education Committee (OLC), which came forth from my interest in how the Faculty functioned.’ Her motivations go beyond personal interest, though. ‘I am sure if students are more involved in the running of the Faculty, we can make a change.’
On the seemingly endless list of things Lidwien is interested in you can also find the overall interactions within the Faculty. ‘There are a few positions in which students can represent the student community, like the Assessorship or the Education Committee. However, the student community may hold different views on things, so in order to represent them effectively, part of the job is talking a lot. I enjoy communicating with people.’
Decision-making process
Lidwien points out that students often do not have a full overview of the decision-making process in the Faculty. ‘As an Assessor you get more insight in this, and I can share this with the student population. I am not talking about individuals, but about the processes behind it. The students only see the final response, but the process is not transparent. Sometimes this works really well, at other times, it does not.’
Involvement
All large organisations are challenged with communication issues. ‘It is important to get people more involved, and not only the most active of students. It would be nice to get a bottom-up structure to give students a voice in how the education programme is structured. The team of Education and Student Affairs is planning to organise this with student panels.’
Bringing the community together
Asked what kind of Faculty she will leave behind when her Assessorship is finished, Lidwien notes: ‘I really want to ensure that the general vibe at the Faculty is maintained. In line of recent publications there are certainly improvements to be made, and people are working hard on that. It will also be my focus in the coming year. We need to bring the Faculty community together, beyond the departments, and different programmes.’
Reach out to Lidwien
As a parting note, it is good to know that Lidwien is happy to be in touch with everyone. ‘At the beginning of the year I will walk in at the larger lectures so that people know my face. Just reach out to me when you see me in the Van Steenis, or send me an e-mail at assessor@arch.leidenuniv.nl.