Behind the scenes with Anjet en Bram

About Anjet and Bram

We are Anjet and Bram and we both study at the University of Twente. We are second-year and third-year students of Technical Medicine (Anjet) and Industrial Engineering (Bram). We are both originally not from Enschede, but from villages close to Nijmegen and Zwolle. We are part of the Enschedays committee.

I thought "this will be my home"

Our story about why we chose Enschede as a student city is actually quite the similar.

Anjet: “I had a choice between Enschede or Delft as a place to study, because I wanted to do this programme for sure. Of course I went to both open days, but Enschede felt good right away. All the people I've seen were so open and everything was well organized. I thought: this is where I belong. It looks like a beautiful city, so I made the choice very quickly. ”

Bram: “There are a lot of places where you can study Industrial Engineering at higher vocational education institutions, but actually only a few at universities. So Eindhoven and Enschede were left as choices. I also went to both open days and even did a selection round in Eindhoven, which I passed. In the end I chose Enschede. It felt so cozy. Like a big city, but much warmer. ”

Much focus on studies, but not always on the life next to it

As we mentioned in the introduction, we are part of the Enschedays committee. This is a kind of room search day for secondary school students who want to experience themselves how it is to study in Enschede. There are so many open days in the field of studies, but we think it is also so important that someone knows whether life next to your studies is also fun. Because do you find life next to your studies interesting? Ultimately, that's what you spend more time on.

It is often a big step to go live in a student house, so Enschedays is a fun way to get to know the city and to go "hospiteren". Often you have no idea what to expect when looking for a house, so we show the students different student houses. As a result, students often gain a little more self-confidence to enter the selection rounds next time.

Besides showing rooms, we also give a small introduction to student life. We show the city, we show the associations. For example, we are affiliated with FACT (the umbrella association of the student associations from Enschede) and all members of the Enschede committee are part of 1 of the 4 largest student associations in Enschede: AEGEE, ASV Taste, CSV Alpha or Audentis. Students can see whether they would like to join a student association.

In fact, at Enschedays you often arrive completely blank and everyone gradually falls into their own place. We also know that corona has made the threshold a bit higher for living in student houses, because you have not had any open days and have absolutely no idea how the city looks like. By participating in Enschedays, we still hope that students will get to know the city a bit better.

The bus driver just said "hi" to me on the bus!

When we started studying here, we never expected to get so many great opportunities. We found our group of friends, sorority, a very nice house and also a very nice job. Ultimately, associations or your student house are the place where you get to know most people.

In Enschede it is so easy to become part of assocation life. If you are active in student life, try to do a committee. Really recommended. For example, the four largest student associations are even located in the same building on the Oude Markt. Enschede is also a bit smaller, so there is a culture where many people know each other. You often bump into each other and therefore you get to talk to a lot of people. This is how we got a nice job again through our sorority.

What we love about studying in Enschede is the common sense of the people here. You do not have to pretend to be different than you are and you will find a place very quickly. Bram: “I don't know exactly what it is, but it is just a feeling. When I first came here, I took the bus and the bus driver immediately said “hi” to me. That is something I didn't know from the bigger cities.

Anjet: “The campus is also so spacious. On the one hand, you will find everything together at the Oude Markt and it is super mixed and cozy. In the evening the lights go on and the atmosphere is great. But when you get out of the city, there is still have a lot of space. ”

DIGITAL - GROLSCH - PROMISING

If we have to describe our student days in three words, these are:

Digital, because at the moment everything takes place digitally of course. Even with Enschedays we are forced to offer at least 1 day digitally.

Grolsch, the best beer. You don't really have a choice either. If you come here as a student and you don't like beer, first you have to learn to drink beer and secondly just learn to drink Grolsch. Because that is the beer from Enschede.

Promising, because everyone knows where to find their place. It is a welcoming and warm-hearted city. We simply cannot imagine that anyone would not be able to find their place here.

Favorite place? The Oude Markt!

Our favorite hotspot is certainly the Oude Markt. That is not difficult. Everywhere you walk in it is cozy. Of course we like the Pakkerij the best, but it is all so close to each other that you can also go pub hopping.

Anjet: “If I have to mention a place that I discovered during the corona crisis, it is the Ledeboerpark. I now regularly go for a walk there and it is very nice to look at the deer and donkeys and to walk in the woods. It is close to the city and in Corona time a nice place to meet and get some fresh air. ”

Join the HOI week and Kick-In!

Our tip to prospective students is: if you have doubts about moving into a student room: just do it!
Discover what you like and especially ask people for their opinion. Do not be afraid, because everyone wants to help you make the right decision.
Especially participating in the Kick-In of the University of Twente or the HOI week of Saxion really helps to get an glampse of the city.

And don't forget: register for Enschedays of course! You can do this via: https://enschedays.nl/