• Competency development
• Competence guide
• Socially responsible studying
• Board Training

Competency development

By governing a student organisation or sitting on a committee you will often develop competencies without being aware of it. To help you become more aware of your competencies and be able to identify these, the Student Union has recently developed an information service on competency development.

Competencies

Competency is a term that been used a lot recently in education and the business sector. The exact meaning of the term is often unclear. Are competencies just skills? Or is it more about knowledge and performance? To prevent any confusion about the meaning of the term ‘competency’ the Student Union uses the following definition:

A competency is: 'a person’s latent ability to effectively perform in a certain task or problem situation, in a way that is objectively perceptible and assessable.’ (Hoekstra & Van Sluijs, 1999)

It's very valuable to be able to state your competencies at job interviews and on your CV. Awareness of your competencies can lead you to understand your weaknesses, such as working with other people, but also your strengths. You will learn to use these more directly, now and in your future career.

At the end of a term, board and committee members often know that they have learned a lot, but are unable to state their specific competencies. The competency guide can help students with this and offers a guideline for identifying their competencies. The guide offers a practical development trajectory and an excellent starting point for competency development.

What does the Student Union offer on Competence Development?

The Student Union has developed a competence guide, stimulates the use of competence coaches for associations and offers training via the Board Improvement Program (for board members) and the Skills Certificate (for all students).