Tim Brinkman

Position
President
Motivation for applying to this position

Wow, time has flown. It has been a crazy ride over the past two years as president of the EIT Digital Alumni. I still remember the moment I got elected in spring 2023 and had the first calls with the other candidates. I have to say, it has been an honour to represent this amazing community.

However, I still feel that I’m not done yet — and that’s what made me decide to reapply for the president position. I believe we’ve made great progress in further professionalising our association and creating more space for bottom-up activism. Still, I feel I can put the EIT knowledge I’ve gained over the past two years to good use to help take our association to the next level. And finally, I remain highly motivated to continue putting as much energy into our community as I do now.

Vision and plans for the community

I have three major goals for the coming two years: focusing on local events, becoming an opportunity hub, and further professionalising our association.

  1. I want to focus more on local event engagement. We have a great local rep community, and throughout the year, we organise several events all around the world. However, I believe these local events can become more professional and attract more alumni. In my opinion, these events are our key local connection points for alumni, yet I still notice that some alumni are unaware of them. In recent months, as a pilot we’ve hosted Data & Pizza events in Amsterdam and Paris. These events attracted around 30 alumni on average, including some attending for the first time. This shows a lot of potential, and in the coming two years, I want to collaborate closer with local reps to experiment with different concepts to better connect and engage alumni locally. 

  2. Secondly, I feel we are not fully leveraging our amazing network of digital innovators. We have such a strong community with many digital experts. I want us to become an opportunity hub — by alumni, for alumni. By this, I mean we should proactively identify and share opportunities within our community. These could include joining an DigitalEU project with EIT Digital, or collaborating on freelance projects with companies like Bosch. I previously worked for a Dutch think tank, where I was involved in similar projects, and I would love to adapt and implement that model within our community.

  3. Finally, I want to further professionalise the association using the funds we receive. I believe we can optimise our marketing and business development processes. Ultimately, this should help us communicate more clearly with our alumni, while also better involving our sponsors and other partners.

Why people should vote for me
  1. I am very motivated to continue and work further on this amazing association

  2. I have the experience to be part of the EIT Digital Alumni board and I understand the EIT ecosystem

  3. I have an entrepreneurial mindset and want to use this to improve our association; e.g. the pilot Data & Pizza events

Tell us more about your past experience and involvement with the EIT Digital Alumni

I have started my EIT Digital Alumni journey as a coach during the kick-off in Trento in 2019. 

During my studies I have been involved as a student ambassador.

I have helped organising local and annual events for the EIT Digital Alumni

I have been part of the previous board 

 

Any questions, feel free to reach out to me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-brinkman/ 

Instagram: @iamtimb1

Telegram/Whattsapp: +31651530671