In our programme, we have many things to reflect on. For example, last quarter we officially transitioned to using exclusively ANS for digital exams. Although this transition is challenging, I know many teachers were dedicated to making sure everything worked well in the exams, and I hope this was the case for most of you. With the end of many courses, you as a student can help identify what needs to improve by adding feedback regarding this when filling out the course evaluations that will start soon.
On a more serious note, there are a lot of new measures being implemented at Radboud due to the recent cuts in education, which demand careful reflection on our role as citizens. Those cuts affect both staff and students on multiple levels and threaten the quality of the education provided by the universities in the Netherlands. A national demonstration to ‘stop the cuts in higher education’ is being organized in Utrecht on Nov 14th, and students are more than welcome to join.
At last, we also have things to celebrate. (I personally am quite excited after seeing so many nice programming projects from the first-year students finishing Programming 1!). But also, last month we celebrated the contribution of women in AI during Ada Lovelace week and I still feel very inspired by the closing talk by Prof. Felienne Hermans. It was nice not only to watch her talk but also to see so many students there, actively reflecting on their embedding in society (If you missed that, I recommend looking for some of her talks online).
What about you? What reflections and celebrations does the beginning of the new quarter bring you?
Bryan Da Costa Souza