This year’s edition of the Beta Business Days (BBD) career event was held successfully once again.
The 35th edition of the BBD took place at the Martiniplaza in Groningen on the 9th and 10th of March. It’s an annual event that helps to establish links between students of the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen and companies working in relevant sectors. Students are able to network and make contacts that could lead to an internship, a thesis project, or a job.
The coronavirus restrictions allowed for the event to take place in person, a move that was welcomed positively by attendees. Student Dylan Mezach who attended the event said that networking works best face-to-face as it provides a good opportunity to get a better insight into how certain companies work. In fact, science students Sabien Feitsma, Anne-Marije Bakker, and Akke Gervedink Nijhuis said their job searching strategy so far is mainly focused on attending events such as the BBD.
“As you’re talking to different companies, it helps to understand where their employees are coming from, asking smart questions, and then getting good advice from them. People like to help other people. So going up to them and asking a question is half of the battle,” explained student Minal Qureshi.
Master’s student Didi Ubels, who has worked with the BBD in the past, says that this networking event is one of the better ones organised in Groningen. She’s now aiming for a job as a consultant and thinks that internship opportunities with relevant companies would be very useful for students like her to find a job.
From their end, artificial intelligence (AI) students Abe Brandsma, Leander van Boven, Ryan O’Loughlin, and Jesper Kuiper have had positive experiences with LinkedIn where people can find their profile and reach out with a job offer. However, they believe that events like the BBD are very useful as they give a more detailed view of career prospects. They also recommend that the municipalities in the North of the Netherlands should collaborate to attract and incentivise more companies to move to this region, as they would prefer to stay in the region. They believe that such a move would create more job prospects and would entice even more companies to expand there. In the meantime, Make it in the North already gathers an overview of all companies in the Northern Netherlands that hire internationals. Check it out!
