We invite (BA and MA) students with a dedication to the study of popular music (incl. jazz, EDM,…) at a university, university college or hogeschool in the Netherlands, Flanders or Luxemburg to apply for our one-year board membership program.
As a student board member, you will act as a representative for the popular music student population in the Benelux region. You will be able to fully participate in all board discussions (ca. monthly digital meetings) and have full voting rights on all board decisions. As such, you will gain an intimate understanding of the organizational and structural workings of IASPM, particularly the Benelux branch, and will be able to benefit from the global network of our organization. There may be a possibility of internship credits depending on your institution’s regulations.
Your tasks will include, among others, assisting with the organization of our annual student conference and other (digital or live) events such as our Pop Talks series. Also, you will support the board with external communication, both on social media and through e-mail, with our branch members and international colleagues.
To apply for this position, you need to submit a small dossier comprising a brief CV listing elements relevant to the position and a separate document with your response (ca. 100 words per question) to the following three questions:
What is your connection to IASPM and/or, more specifically, the Benelux branch?
In what way do you envision this board membership to help with your future endeavours as a popular music scholar?
What type of initiatives would you undertake in this role as a student board member, considering that you will represent the popular music student population in the Benelux region?
Please submit your dossier (CV + document with answers to questions) to our branch secretary, Joanna Zienkiewicz (j.z.zienkiewicz@rug.nl) before 15 December 2023. The board will decide on the awarding of this position before January 2023, with the newly-elected student board member starting at their earliest convenience.
Would you like to know more about the position? Read the account from our departing student board member, Antonia Wechner, below!
Antonia Wechner:
“In my capacity as a student board member at IASPM Benelux, I had the privilege of acting as a bridge between the student community and the scholars in the realm of popular music research. This past year has been very rewarding, especially because it allowed me to connect with many like-minded students from all over the Benelux region. Also, it helped me to understand the dynamics and structures of the academic field more thoroughly and gain insight into the daily tasks and responsibilities of music scholars.
What I enjoyed most was organizing the student conference of 2023 at Codarts in Rotterdam because it meant bringing together students, researchers, and musicians to exchange knowledge with each other and engage in meaningful discussions about the field of popular music research.”
Image: Luis Mora Matus presenting his research on phrases for the double bass drum in contemporary jazz improvisation at the IASPM Benelux Student Conference 2023.