Alexia Stîngaciu - Chairman
Dear KOers members,
My name is Alexia Stîngaciu, known as Ale, and I am the new chairman of the 57th candidate board. I am 19 years old, from Bucharest, Romania, and currently in my 3rd year of the bachelor program in SED.
After graduating high school, I was sure of only one thing: whatever I do next, needs to be math and physics based. Struggling to decide on what exactly I should study, I decided to take a risk and try the bachelor’s program of Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences in TU/e, explaining how I got here. Year 1 was painfully architecture based, but I quickly fell for the SED track, making my math and physics brain very pleased again.
I became a member of KOers in the third quarter of my second year, so I am relatively new to this association. The first activity I ever joined was an excursion, and I guess I just never left, ending up in the CCR Committee. The idea of doing a board year came by surprise and I must admit that I was quite scared of it at first. I didn’t know what to do or what to expect, however, what is life without a challenge, so therefore I decided to candidate for chairman of the 57th board.
This wouldn’t be a proper ‘get to know me’ text without talking about some of my values and interests. I value honesty and bluntness, within the respectful bounds, and I always appreciate when people tell me things as they are. A desire to accept new challenges has always been something that I consider important – you never know where you can end up – further explaining why I wanted to join the board of KOers. If you know me, then you know that I love to sleep, with a proud record of 17.5 continuous hours, something I will always be very pleased with. To be noted, if you ever need me to sign off on something, for the most likelihood of success, don’t wake me up please. I am a big murder and thriller fan, often indulging in a good book or movie, always attempting to solve the puzzle before the end.
I am very excited for the upcoming year, working and getting to know all of you. As your chairman, I will ensure that everything in the association runs smoothly and try to make an unforgettable academic year for all of you! See you around!
Rawan Faek - Secretary
Dear KOers members,
My name is Rawan Faek, and I am originally from Sweida, a city in the south of Syria. I have been living in the Netherlands for almost five years now, and I currently live in the lovely city of Gorinchem.
My passion for engineering started when I was a child. I have always enjoyed mathematics and physics, so civil engineering felt like the perfect match for me. In Syria, I studied Civil Engineering at Damascus University, which was an intense five-year programme. After moving to the Netherlands, I decided to continue my studies and chose the master track Structural Engineering and Design at TU/e. I am still very happy with this choice, since I enjoy challenges, solving problems, and learning new things.
At the beginning of my studies in the Netherlands, I faced quite a few challenges. I had to get used to a new language, a new educational system, and a new university environment. Step by step, I managed to find my way. From my first week at university, I started looking for study associations. I wanted to learn more about the university and the courses, and of course, to make new friends. That is how I found KOers. I started joining activities and excursions, and I also joined the MDE to Poland. During this trip, the idea of becoming a board member started to grow. At first, I was unsure, partly because of the distance from Gorinchem to the university, but after some convincing later on, I decided to take on the challenge.
I knew quite early that the role of secretary would suit me best. I do not necessarily like being in the spotlight, as I am quite a shy person, but I do like creating structure and keeping things organised. This is why I believe the secretary role fits me well. During this board year, I hope to challenge myself, develop new skills, and contribute something meaningful to KOers and its members.
Within the board, I will take care of the minutes during meetings, keep the member administration up to date, and handle the communication that comes in and goes out of KOers. I would also like to help keep information within KOers clear, accessible, and well-structured.
Next to my studies, I enjoy fashion, music, photography, and watching movies. I also love travelling and learning about new cultures and traditions. At some point, I even wanted to become a flight attendant because of this. And, maybe most importantly, I really love sleeping.
I am very excited for the coming year and look forward to working together with the rest of the board to make it a fun, welcoming, and memorable year for KOers.
Aydin Zaki - Treasurer
Dear KOers Members,
My name is Aydin Zaki, and I come from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! I grew up in many different places in Malaysia as my family moved around a lot, and in 2023, I flew to the Netherlands to start my bachelors in TU/e. Now, at 22 years old, I will be doing my fourth and final year of my bachelors in the AUDE track.
I have always had a deep fascination with buildings and architecture. I had already set my mind on the AUDE track after my first year at TU/e, but I have always wanted to have a well-rounded understanding of all the other tracks. This curiosity as well as encouragement from my friends lead me to join KOers. Structural design has always been a challenging and sometimes daunting subject to me when I started my bachelors, so joining KOers really gave me a different perspective as well as a deeper and more realistic understanding of the subject.
Last year, I became involved in the MDE committee and participated in a few other KOers events such as the CCR. I found it to be incredibly fulfilling, and many memories were made as well as valuable experiences. With some encouragement from my friends, as well as experience from being the chairman of a Malaysian students’ association in the Netherlands, I made the decision to join the KOers board as treasurer for a challenge.
As treasurer for the board, I will be responsible for bookkeeping and allocating funds. By maintaining clear communication and providing regular financial updates, I hope to give KOers the confidence to organise high-quality events while staying within budget.
Outside of university, I enjoy being active. I have always been an avid runner since high school, and I am aiming to do my first half-marathon this coming year! Recently, I have also hopped on the padel and bouldering train! I love learning new things and I also enjoy a challenge. I also like art, music and travelling as I get to immerse myself in new cultures and traditions.
I am thrilled to become the treasurer of the 57th board of KOers, and I look forward to an amazing and memorable year.
Sil Peters - Commissioner of Public Relations & Vice Chairman
Dear KOers members,
My name is Sil Peters, and I am 21 years old, I grew up in Reusel, a small village underneath Eindhoven, but now live in Eindhoven, with Eliyah, previous PR being one of my roomies. I am stating my fourth year in which I will hopefully be finishing my Bachelor halfway through.
I always liked math and being creative, that is why I decided to do this study, since it felt like the perfect combination between them. I am really happy with this choice, since I feel like I really found my place here. The study is great with a mix of calculating and designing. The people and the environment in the TU/e is also just straight up gezellig. I just love the amount of tings you can do and how down to earth and friendly the teachers are.
I stated my study’s just fully focusing on my studies with me still living at home. But after the first half year I joined the intro committee at CHEOPS, which lead to me joining more committees the year after like the bar, DIY and trip committee. This really dropped me straight into the student life. Therefore, I decided to find a place in Eindhoven, since I started to get tired of having to sleep over at my friends' places. So, I found myself a house, where I met Eliyah who got me involved in KOers, stating with me joining some activities, which lead to me joining the podcast committee and now doing a board year, oeps! 18-year-old Sil would never believe that this would turn out like this, but I am happy it did.
Outside of just being in committees I also like doing other things. I like going to the gym where I mostly work out my vocal cords. And I like going swimming with my roommates or jogging to clear my head. I also have a tiny bit of an obsession with plants, which maybe took over my parents’ house a bit. I also gotten into sewing recently and already made an ugly bag and have some other projects lined up. I am also a master at making spelling mistakes, with 21 years of practice. But mostly I enjoy hanging out with friends and yapping their ear of.
I am really exited to be responsible for the public relations for the 57th board of KOers. I really look forward to visit the offices and talk to people from different companies, since I think I can learn a lot from that and really improve my professional side. I am stoked to meet a lot of new people and get fully involved in KOers.
Alexandra-Mihaela Timoficiuc - Commissioner of Education
Dear KOers members,
My name is Alexandra-Mihaela Timoficiuc, and this year I will be the Commissioner of Education of the 57th Board. I am twenty years old, born and raised in Iași, Romania, and I am currently in the third year of my bachelor’s degree, following the SED track.
A little about my journey so far. In secondary school I studied a lot of mathematics and physics, and I was always passionate about both. Outside of school, I would often find a quiet moment for myself to draw and paint. Over the years I grew more confident in my creativity, and I always enjoyed taking part in different exhibitions. I started thinking about what I wanted to do for a career early, and architecture quickly became the field that felt right for me.
During high school I spent two years taking architectural drawing lessons to prepare for university, and when the time came to apply, I decided to follow this path. In the end, Eindhoven won me over, and I began my first year completely convinced that I would go all in on architecture. Along the way, though, I found myself drawn more to the technical side of the field, and I eventually chose SED, a track that, looking back, had been sitting in the back of my mind all along.
Two years in, I can confidently say that SED is demanding and there is no way around that. But I have genuinely enjoyed the journey, including the challenging courses. At the same time, the architecture side of me has never really disappeared. It still finds its way into almost every project I work on, as I care a lot about how things look and about the small details that can make a design feel complete. Once I became more adjusted to the workload in the second year, I wanted something alongside my studies, so I joined a few KOers excursions. Honestly, it was intimidating at first, since nearly everyone was from an older year, but it took surprisingly little time to feel at home and to bond with everyone, and before long I was candidating for the board.
As Commissioner of Education, my job this year is to contribute to the quality of our education. This means evaluating courses, listening to students' experiences, and bringing their feedback to lecturers in a clear and constructive way. I am really looking forward to this year, and I am confident that this board can make it both interesting and fun for everyone.