From the ENIAC Board

As the year comes to a close, it is the perfect time for a little reflection. For those of us unfamiliar with ENIAC, the alumni association for Computer Science and Business and IT, it’s also a great opportunity to take a peek behind the curtains and see what we have been up to. From social gatherings to professional events, let us walk through some of the highlights of our year!

We kicked off the year with two drinks and a General Members Meeting (GMM) in the first quarter. Our first drink took place in Enschede, a city we all know and love. The second one was in Utrecht, conveniently located in the center of the Netherlands and home to many alumni. Therefore this event was a hit, as always. Organizing drinks is simple: finding a venue, making a reservation, and spreading the word. A GMM, on the other hand, requires more effort since we need to prepare our GMM documents and need to secure two locations – one for lunch and another for the activity, which may sometimes be at the same place.

In late May, we hosted our first graduation speeddate of the year. This event is designed for master students looking for a graduation project at a company. The organization begins a couple of months in advance, as we reach out to the board of Inter-Actief to arrange a venue where we can hold the speeddates, presentations, and a post-event drink. In the past, we often used the Educafé, but due to an increasing number of drinks, we’ve had to look for other options. This year, we hosted the event at SmartXP, which turned out to be a great alternative. Around the same time, we begin contacting companies to gauge their interest in participating. Many of these companies send alumni that also studied at the UT, and it’s always a pleasure to see them return for these events. They make the event more meaningful for both the students and companies by understanding the needs and demands of the students.

About a month before the speeddate, we ask study advisors from Computer Science and Business & IT to post an announcement on the Canvas page, and Inter-Actief adds the event to their website. Since we host the speeddate in two rounds, we can invite a little over twice as many students as we have companies. As you can imagine, this requires a bit of balancing to ensure the right ratio of companies to students as the companies and students sign up for the event. For our first event, the number of participating companies was lower than expected, so we opted for three rounds instead of two to accommodate more students.

The evening starts with a walking dinner, followed by a brief pitch from each company to introduce themselves to the students. This allows us to save time during the speeddating rounds, where students rotate between tables and spend five minutes with each company. Meanwhile, other groups of students are entertained with a presentation from the ENIAC board, where we share our personal experiences of the graduation process at the university. After the speeddate rounds, we check if there’s mutual interest between students and companies. During the after-party, students and companies can discuss their results and reflect on the event. Within a week, we send contact details of the successful matches to both parties so they can follow up directly.

Before and after the summer break, we organized two major activities, of which one for families with children. The first major event was a visit to the Puik Brewery in Apeldoorn. Puik is a cozy taproom where we got an inside look at their brewing process. One thing that stood out was how they mainly bottle beer in kegs rather than bottles, preferring to serve fresh beer at their taproom over selling bottles. Puik also loves experimenting with flavors, which results in a diverse range of seasonal beers. After the tour, we enjoyed a beer tasting and had a great time socializing, with some of us staying for dinner afterward.

Our family activity this year was a day at the Efteling theme park. This event is always popular. Everyone is free to do their own thing. Some people prefer to wander through the park with other alumni, while others go solo or with their family. We arranged a meeting time for the group lunch for those interested, and a lot of the participants showed up to enjoy a sandwich together before splitting up into their own groups again. It’s a day where you can do whatever you like – no pressure!

Later in the fall, we took over Inter-Actief’s Friday afternoon drink. This event had an extra special vibe, as members from Ianus, the old board dispute of Inter-Actief, were also attending, making it a great opportunity to reconnect with both current and former students of the association.

Finally, last month marked our second graduation speeddate of the year, where another batch of students had the chance to find a graduation assignment. We had also hoped to host another borrel in Leiden, but due to low sign-ups, we had to cancel it. However, we’re excited to kick off the new year with a borrel in Utrecht in January, and we hope to see many of you there! We’re still planning what to do for the rest of the next year, but we usually publish the full year agenda on our website pretty early into the year, so keep an eye out!

As we look back on this past year, we’re proud of all that we’ve achieved and grateful for the vibrant community we’ve built together. Looking ahead to the new year, we’re excited about the opportunities and events yet to come. We hope that 2025 brings new connections, memorable moments, and exciting opportunities for all our members. Here’s to another year of growth, collaboration, and fun! Wishing everyone a successful and fulfilling year ahead! See you at the drink in April!