Committee

Erik Nijkamp

Hi! My name is Erik Nijkamp and I am the chairman for the Study Tour Committee 2024! Despite how my name looks, I was born and raised in Woodland Park, Colorado, USA. I moved to Eindhoven in 2019 for my bachelors, and I am now working on my masters in the CPT track.

You might know me from my time in the Financial Committee, or before that in the Activities and Batavierenrace Committee. I also enjoy helping people learn, as I’m a teaching assistant for several courses in the bachelor. Outside of school I like the play football (soccer), as I’m a keeper for Pusphaira and the Knuffelbeertjes (The indoor soccer team of Japie). In my free time, I mostly play video games. You can also catch me practicing my roller skating outside MetaForum, solving a Rubik’s cube while I travel, or struggling with my courses in the gamma.

Geography and the rest of the world has always fascinated me. I remember asking my dad all sorts of questions about other parts of the world as a kid. I find it really interesting that as you change your location the food, weather, customs, transportation, culture of the people, and more changes. I really enjoy experiencing that, and its part of the reason why I came to the Netherlands, as you just don’t have all those differences in the US.

Amy van Bezouw

Hi All! My name is Amy van Bezouw and I am 22 years old and currently an MSMC master student. I will be this years secretary, meaning that I will be in charge of the contracts and keeping track of mailbox. Next to this, I have quite some freedom in my role and therefore can help my fellow committee members where neccessary.

You might know me from being part of the 64th board, or being part of various other committees over the previous years. One of the things that I have not organized in the past years, however, is a nice trip or tour outside of our own country. I really want to learn and experience everything that happens behind the scenes in the organization of such a big activity.

Next to my studies, I have various hobbies, but I never seem to fail to extend this list, even though time is a big constraint. I always listen to a lot of music and like to dance in my own room, or at stratum. Recently I picked up playing squash and also learning Japanese, of which the latter ought to help me during the Study Tour. You could also well say that Japie is one of my hobbies, since I have spent a staggering amount of time within Japie and the F.O.R.T.

I have never been outside of Europe before, and I cannot think of a better way to tackle this deficit than to experience the Asian Isles with my fellow Japies.

Maaike Kern

Hi everyone! My name is Maaike Kern and I am 22 years old. Originally I am from Bilthoven but I moved to Eindhoven to study here. This year I am, as you might have noticed, doing a board year at Japie. Last year I went on the study tour 2022 to Sweden, Norway and Iceland. I had such a good time there that I wanted to organize such a study tour for other people as well.

I am the treasurer of this trip, meaning I will do the finances for the trip. I am curious to learn more about making budget plans and financial reports, and doing the bookkeeping. Besides that, I really like having an influence on where we are going and what fun thing we are going to do on the trip. Before this committee, I was already part of the study trip committee. Unfortunately that trip could not go through, but I am very motivated to make up for that and make this an amazing vacation!

Besides Japie, I also do some other things. Besides my study I am a member of Thêta where I sometimes go to row, but most of the times go to have a drink with my team. I also enjoy having a drink at the F.O.R.T. or going to Japie activities from time to time. Next to that I also enjoy doing various sports classes with my friends. It seems like a lot of fun to go on a trip with such a big group of students and therefore I am very much looking forward to exploring the Asian isles with all of you!

Daan van Kessel

Hi guys, My name is Daan van Kessel, 22 years young, and I’m the coordinator of sponsoring for this year! I will be busy with contacting companies for arranging the case studies, as well as the general sponsoring to make sure that the tour can happen with all the nice visits that we will be planning for you. In my free time, I like to play football, both indoor and outdoor, as well as going for a run, play squash sometimes, and reading a good book!

I’ve never been to Asia and hope to be inspired by the different culture, language, food and manners that the countries have to offer. Besides that, it is a great way to get to know your fellow Japies a little bit better than normal, and I hope to share some wonderful experiences as well as some interesting stories with the rest of the group.

Mathijs Pinxt

Hello everyone! My name is Mathijs Pinxt and with my 21 years of age I am the youngest member in this exciting committee. Currently I am nearing the end of my Bachelor and I plan to start the CPT master in 2024. During the upcoming year before our trip I will be responsible for Tour Planning which incorporates the communication with a tour operator about all of our plans, but also the making of a precise planning of our trip. My hobbies include watching and playing basketball, and playing video games.

Something I also quite enjoy is being active within Japie as this will be my 4th and 5th year of being an active member. Previously I have been involved with organizing the intro as IntroCie, an attempt at organizing a Craft Beer festival at the G.L.F.Cie, a lot of drinks and fun activities as Coordinator of Activities for the 34th committee F.O.R.T. ‘Pie Debye’ as well as more special drinks and a reunion as FoLuCie. And now I hope I can add an amazing studytour to Japan, Taiwan and Singapore to this list of Japie experiences.

I also love to travel and have been to quite some places within Europe, and have even visited Australia for some out of Europe experience. But I am very excited to be visiting Asia for the first time during our trip and hope to experience and learn a lot more about the culture, food, architecture, business and research inside the countries on our schedule.

Teun Prinsen

Good morning, afternoon, and/or evening dear reader! My name would be Teun Prinsen, and as the coordinator of public relations for the study tour 2024, I am responsible for the website you are reading on right now, keeping the social media up to date, organizing preparatory activities, the tour booklet, tour updates and many more things.

As of the moment of writing this piece, I am 24 years young. Which also means that a little more than 24 years ago, I was born in the beautiful place of Veldhoven, not too long after which my family moved to the small town of Spoordonk. Of course, I had to get back to my Eindhoven roots when I started studying here, so I moved back in my first year, almost five years ago.

Some readers may already know me, as I have been editor in chief of the T-Licht editorial board in my second year, and I joined the Chef Committee in my first year, where I also shortly was the head chef. I would personally categorize the STC as my first real committee, where we work towards a final grand activity.

I am very excited to go on the study tour, I have never been outside of Europe, aside from Scotland after the Brexit, and I think the enormous culture shock we will receive is going to be amazing. It is truly intriguing how societies can vary so much even though we’re all so close together nowadays.

Niels Beelen

No, your eyes do not deceive you! A 7th person has joined the STC Committee. Hi, I am Niels Beelen, 23 years old, and I will be your additional Coordinator of Public Relations for the 2024 study tour. I will be taking over responsibilities for the website, social media, the tour booklet, tour updates, and many other tasks that will make this trip unforgettable.

I am a driven student from a small town in the Netherlands called Ottersum. My passion lies in chemical engineering, specifically in chemical process technology. In my free time, I enjoy playing various sports but often find myself enjoying a beer or two with fellow students.

When this study tour was announced, I immediately said yes, recognizing the rarity of such an opportunity. Having Japan on my bucket list is one thing, but traveling around Asia to three innovative countries is a dream come true. Besides the innovation, I am most excited about the food and experiencing the culture shock. If it’s anything like what I’ve experienced in places like Istanbul, America, or Norway, I’ll be in for a treat.

Due to sudden health changes in our beloved current Committee member, I was asked to take on the challenge of organizing many aspects before, during, and after the trip. Although I have never organized big activities before, I embraced this challenge as a valuable learning opportunity.

I hope the participants appreciate my presence and view this last-minute change positively. Organizing the Study Tour 2024 with some of my friends and new people I get to learn about will be a treat already. I can only hope to make the study tour as enjoyable as It would have been with the previous committee structure, but of course I will do my bet to make it the best one ever.