Student Council: past events
From time to time, the Student Council of Tinbergen Institute and Business Data Science organizes fun events for the students.
Introduction Weekend 2024
Students of both programs enjoyed a weekend in Den Helder before the academic year started.
End-of-year dinner 2024
Students from the research master's programs in Economics and Business Data Science concluded the academic year with a dinner.
TI/BDS Chess Tournament on May 7, 2024
The famous annual TI/BDS Chess Tournament took place at Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam on May 7. Research master students, PhDs and Professors joined the tournament!
As in previous years, the Student Council organized a tournament where participants could test their chess skills against other students/PhDs and Professors. Peers who did not want to compete also came to the event to cheer on their fellows. Winners will be published here before the end of May.
Sip and Paint Night on February 7, 2024
Students have been invited.
Office Laser Tag on September 29, 2023
Laser tag tournament at our premises. After the battle we celebrate with snacks and drinks.
Introduction Weekend 2023
In the weekend of September 2-3, the Student Council organized a nice stay away at Stayokay Hostel Heemskerk (Slot Assumburg) for all arriving students to get to know each other better.
End-of-year event at Landgoed de Olmenhorst on July 7
We first visited the orchard at Landgoed de Olmenhorst and then had a barbeque in the beautiful garden.
Boat Trip on Wednesday June 21, 2023
Annual Chess Tournament
The annual chess tournament is back and took place on February 3, 2023. It was open for all students, alumni, and staff members!
There were three leagues:
Standard: for all players with more than 10 games in their pocket.
New Players: for those ready to learn the game
Drink-in: for those advanced in drinking (0.0)beers or who would like to support their favorite player.
Winner of the standard league was research master student Borys Rembiasz, who played the final against PhD student Andrea Titton. Third and fourth place were taken by research master student Robin Verbeek and PhD student Marco Musumeci.
Sinterklaas & Pub quiz
On Friday December 2, students had some celebrations of Sinterklaas with drinks and pub quiz.
Museumnacht Amsterdam
On November 5, 2022 the annual museum night took place in Amsterdam with over 50 musea that kept open between 19:00-02:00. All exhibitions were open as usual but with extra activities, live music, DJs, drinks and food.
Office Laser Tag on October 28
Laser tag tournament at our premises. After the battle we celebrated with snacks and drinks.
Introduction Weekend 2022
In the weekend of August 27-28 the Student Council organized two days of fun in Rotterdam and the Hague for all arriving students to get to know each other better. Photos will be published here soon.
Jumpsquare and BBQ party with DJ
On June 11, the student council organized the last event of this academic year. First some fun with jumpsquare and then a BBQ party with a dj for all students of Tinbergen Institute and the research master Business Data Science.
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Ice skating and dinner on March 12
On March 12 the student council and students went ice skating at the Jaap Eden baan. The last opportunity to do so before the end of the season. Afterwards all had dinner together at a restaurant.
Museumnacht (museum night)
On November 6, 2021, students of Tinbergen Institute and Business Data Science visited the anual Museumnacht (Museum Night), during which over 50 museums throughout the city of Amsterdam are open for a nightly visit. The photos below are taken in the Tropenmuseum.
End-of-block-dinner
To celebrate the end of a (succesful) period of courses, the student council organised an end-of-block-dinner for students of Tinbergen Institute and Business Data Science on October 27, 2021.
Pizza in the park on September 21, 2021
The student council organized a pizza picknick in Vondelpark for all cohorts of Business Data Science and Tinbergen Institute. Food and drinks were delivered.
Introduction Weekend
In the weekend of August 28-29, the Student Council organized some fun activities to get to know each other better. On Saturday August 28 they had prepared a program in Rotterdam with lunch, treasure hunt and dinner and Sunday August 29 was spent at the beach of Scheveningen in The Hague. The introduction weekend is a great opportunity to socialize with your fellow students.
Social Drinks on June 28
On Monday June 28 at 19:00, after the last Economic Policy Research Workshop, we organized a social mixer with some drinks and snacks at Limon. All TI and BDS students, fellows and faculty were invited.
End-of-the-Year Dinner at the beach on July 9
The Student Council invited all research master students for an End of the Year Dinner & Beachday in Zandvoort. Students brought beach-vibes and fun games that were played after dinner.
Pizza in the park on June 10
On June 10 the student council organized a pizza picknick in Vondelpark for all cohorts of Business Data Science and Tinbergen Institute.
Online Chess Tournament and Dinner on May 11, 2021
On May 11, 2021 the Student Council organized an online Chess Tournament and Dinner. 18 people participated in the chess tournament. After playing six games of chess, four players were invited to play in the semi-finals after dinner. The semi-finals and finals were greatly commentated by research fellow Peter Wakker and student Simon van Tartwijk, who made it very interesting to watch the matches even for non-chess players. After the semi-finals and finals the podium was as follows: research fellow Albert Jan Hummel is the chess champion of this year, followed by student Diego Candia Riquelme in second place, and student Jori Korpershoek in third place. This year’s chess tournament was a great success, and we cannot wait to see who will become our next years TI/BDS chess champion in this traditional event!
Snowman Contest
The Netherlands is enjoying a rare cold snap with beautiful winter weather. The snow storm that swept through almost the whole country last weekend left us with enough fresh powder to get out and create snowmen. We hosted a weekend-long contest with coffee pads at stake. Creative and funny entries by students and staff was the result. One contestant was in a location without snow, but solved that by making a pizza instead - solid winter food. The voting was undecided so we declared all contestants winners! 
Start of the Year Run & Dinner
On Saturday, January 30, the Student Council is organizing the Start of the Year Run & Dinner. Any TI or BDS student, as well as affiliates, can join in this hybrid event. On January 30, all participants are encouraged to run a 5km or 10km route of their choice and add their performance to the corresponding Strava ‘club’ by joining the respective club before the run. In the evening there is a virtual dinner where the Student Council will present the final ranking of the run. It is possible to join the run, the dinner or both. More information and registration will be emailed to all affiliates of Tinbergen Institute and Business Data Science.
Sinterklaas Celebration 2020
On December 4, TI and BDS celebrated Sinterklaas online! Students could participate by letting us know 3 things they like, 3 things they did not like, their wishlist and the neighborhood they live in. Using this last piece of information, we matched each student with an other student that lives close by. Then, using the other pieces of information, students had to buy a small present for each other and write a poem. During a Zoom meeting, we read all the poems, while having dinner together!
Virtual Dinner on October 30
On Friday October 30, the Student Council organized a dinner and pubquiz event online for both cohorts of TI and BDS students.
During this event, the students participating were allowed to order food and had a virtual dinner together. A great mix of meals from Surinamese roti to tomato pasta. After dinner everyone played a pubquiz, consisting of 6 rounds about the topics Dutch culture, ‘guess the landmark’, movies, random facts about TI/BDS, country specific facts and ‘missing’. It was a successful and fun event, with approximately 42 students participating via Zoom.
Pizza in the park
On September 5 the student council organized a 1.5m distance pizza picknick for the first-year students to get to know each other and play some Kubb yard game.
End-of-year event
The end-of-year event took place last week Thursday July 16 and was a success! We were with 24 people and enjoyed a high tea and kayaking, which was all really nice. All at a safe distance of course.
Ice Skating on February 7, 2019
De Vondelparkloop ‘Light the Night’ on January 18, 2020
Sinterklaas 2019
On Friday December 6 we are celebrating Sinterklaas at Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam. This is a tradition with humorous poems, gifts and pepernoten (a small cookie-like kind of confectionery).
TI Dinner on November 11
To celebrate our first-year students surviving the first block, we organized an End-of-the-Block dinner.
Museum Night Amsterdam on November 2, 2019
We went to this annually event where over 50 museums across the city keep their doors open until 2 am. Exhibits were open as usual and we enjoyed the special events and unique surprises that this night offers.
Introduction Weekend 2019 – Cohort 2019-2021
A new year, a new cohort. The Student Council organises a get-together for the new students in the vibrant city of Rotterdam.
End-of-year dinner and laser tag on July 12, 2019
Variety show on June 21, 2019
Showcase your talents: this year we had professional Latin dancers, guitarre players, a cabaret featuring many well known 'teachers' and astonishing acrobatic yoga.
Bowling, May 9
Karaoke, March 24
Annual Chess Tournament on March 14, 2019
Professors, PhD and research master students played for the title of TI Chess player of 2019. And the winner was: Professor Peter Wakker. Peter commented on his win as follows: “I used behavioral techniques to exploit the irrationalities of the TI students.”
Ice Skating on February 1, 2019
De Vondelparkloop ‘Light the Night’ on January 19, 2019
Two teams of TI students participated in the special evening edition of the Vondelpark run – ‘Light the Night’. A 10 kilometer night run. There were beautiful light effects and music that gave the course a cozy and special atmosphere. The TI teams ended 3rd and 12th out of 18 participating teams. View all results here.
Sinterklaas 2018
On Friday December 7 we celebrated Sinterklaas at Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam. This is a Dutch tradition with funny poems, gifts and pepernoten (a small cookie-like kind of confectionery).
Museum Night Amsterdam on November 3, 2018
Introduction Weekend 2018 – Cohort 2018-2020
A new year, a new cohort. The Student Council organised a get-together weekend in Rotterdam, where the new research master students could get to know each other better.
Introduction Day on Monday August 27
End of Year Event – Laser Tag on July 13, 2018
TI Variety Show on June 6, 2018
The TI Variety Show has gained quite a reputation within the last few years. This year’s edition included guitar playing, dance, improvisational theatre, professional chess playing-- and as a grand finale, the TI band lightened up the show with a potpurri
Bowling Night on May 9, 2018
Annual Chess Tournament, March 23, 2018
The tournament of the year for chess-loving economists.
Karaoke night on Sunday March 11, 2018
Ice Skating
On January 13, we went ice skating at Jaap Edenbaan in Amsterdam.
Sinterklaas 2017
On Friday December 1 we celebrated Sinterklaas at Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam. This is a Dutch tradition with funny poems, gifts and pepernoten (a small cookie-like kind of confectionery).
End-of-the-block dinner October 2017
Introduction Weekend 2017 – Cohort 2017-2019
A new year, a new cohort. The Student Council organised a get-together weekend in the Hague, offering the new research master students an opportunity to get to know each other better.
TI Variety Show 2017
The TI Variety show has gained quite a reputation within the last few years by breathtaking performances and extraordinary shows. This year’s edition took place in the Arguszaal at the Griffioen Cultural Centre on Tuesday June 20.
TI Chess Tournament 2017
On May 17, 2017, the TI Student Council again organized a fun chess tournament for chess-loving economists.
Ice Skating
The winter may be cold and dark, but it also means it’s time for one of the most entertaining events of TI: ice skating! On January 14, we went ice skating at Jaap Edenbaan, and afterwards warmed up with a drink in a nearby bar.
Secret Sinterklaas 2016
As we do every year, we celebrated the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas. We had a great evening with funny poems, gifts and pepernoten. Last but not least, we even received a visit from Sinterklaas and her(!) Pieten!
End-of-the-block dinner
To celebrate our first-year students surviving the first block, we organized an End-of-the-Block dinner in Cafe de Jaren on October 25. We had 40 people, both research master and PhD students, who enjoyed some quality food and drinks with us. It was, once again, a great success!
Introduction Weekend 2016
To celebrate our new cohort, the Student Council and 23 first-year students enjoyed an exciting weekend in Rotterdam. After lunch, students discovered the city with a Goosechase, where they both experienced the main highlights of Rotterdam (including climbing the Euromast) as well as some nice cafes. After dinner and some drinks, we went out to explore the Rotterdam nightlife. All in all, we had a great time-- and it was a great bonding experience!
End-of-the-year boat party
Nothing is more typically "Amsterdam" than a trip on the beautiful canals, so this year we decided to celebrate the end of the last block with a boat party! It was a great success.
TI Variety Show 2016
The TI Variety show has gained quite a reputation in the last few years by breathtaking performances and extraordinary shows. This year’s edition took place at Griffioen Cultural Centre on June 24.
Zuidas Run 2016
The Tinbergen Institute team finished on an impressive seventh place out of 51 teams at this year’s Zuidas Run. Research master student Simon Mayer had the fastest individual 10-mile time and finished seventeenth out of 757 runners.
TIA Chess Tournament 2016
This year’s Tinbergen Chess Championships took place on Tuesday March 22 at TIA.
Indoor Soccer and Farewell former DGS
On February 19, 2016 we organized an indoor soccer tournament and informal farewell party for our former Director of Graduate Studies Massimo Giuliodori. Teams with fellows, PhD students and research master students from the three universities joined. The TI staff participated with its own team.
Ice Skating 2016
Sinterklaas 2015
The event included funny presents, sarcastic poems, pepernoten, glühwein, and of course Sinterklaas.
Introduction Weekend 2015
A new year, a new cohort. On the first weekend of Block I, the Students Council and the 23 new research master students had an exciting time together during the introduction day. Accompanied by the capricious Dutch weather, we explored Den Haag on a treasure hunt with regular stops at beer pubs to refresh ourselves. We tasted the huge variety of food across countries at the annual embassy festival before we wrapped up the day with a cozy party with good music and good beer.
End-of-the-year BBQ
This year, we celebrated the end of the 5th block in the typical Amsterdam-style: by having a BBQ in the Vondelpark. Surrounded by trees and water, with sounds of music from other BBQers, we grilled our food and enjoyed the afternoon sun. Was a well deserved, relaxing day for students of all cohorts.
TI Variety Show 2015
The TI Variety show has gained quite a reputation within the last few years by breathtaking performances and extraordinary shows. Also this year, around 15 artists from our own ranks gathered a bit more than a week before the final exams in order to give us some more motivation for the upcoming obstacles. We were very pleased to see a wide range of different things – from Turkish vocals, magic tricks, live preparation of Hummus to Chinese dance. We are very grateful for the high quality of our artists and we are already looking forward to next year’s edition!
Zuidas Run 2015
The Tinbergen Institute Team for the Zuidas Run 2015 of 8 brave research master and PhD students who took up the distance of 10 miles (16km) with the TI logo on their chests. Unfortunately, no team ranking has been published this year, but the individual results were impressive. Most importantly, the Run gave all of the team members a lot of satisfaction and a good boost of energy before the challenges of exams and the thesis-writing period.
International Dinner 2015
With delicious food, a great atmosphere and smooth jazz music, we transformed our institute from a hub of learning and wisdom into a banquet for gourmets and head chefs. And although our buffet was full of shining examples of each national cuisine, one dish in particular eclipsed them all: Huyen Nguyen’s mouth-watering Vietnamese spring rolls blew us away and got her the well-deserved first prize!
TI vs DSF Chess Battle 2015
On the 26th of March, the annual face-off between the chess masters of TI and DSF lead to an unpreceded outcome: TI and DSF students played chess together in four rounds of intense competition with matches of 20 minutes each. After the general tournament a selection of DSF and TI representative faced each other. In the ensuing battle, the DSF team crushed the TI team to claim the DSF-TI Chess Tournament-- for the first time in history.
The End-of-Block Dinner Meets the Asian New Year
At the end of the third block, a cheering and numerous group of TI students went to Nam Kee restaurant to celebrate the beginning of the new Asian year and to enjoy the Chinese delicacies offered in this excellent venue!
Ice Skating 2015
We have to face it, the autumn is over and the spring is still far away. The cold is here to stay for a while.. But there is also a bright side to it- this is the perfect season for one of the most fun activities of the year: the ice-skating evening!
Friday February 13: This might be the warmest evening of this winter, as we were ice skating in the large outdoor ice-ring at Jaap Eden Ijsbaan and drank some hot chocolate and gluhwein in the picnic area!
Sinterklaas 2014
The 2014 Sinterklaas celebration took place on Thursday, December 4, 6.30-10 pm at TIA. Traditionally, the event included funny presents, poems, pepernoten, glühwein, and of course Sinterklaas.
October, 24: End-of-Block Dinner
Finally it is time to relax: after seven weeks of intensive course-work and one week full of exams, TI research master students gathered at Café Skek to celebrate the end of the first block of the new year!
Introduction Weekend 2014
Soon after their arrival in the Netherlands, the new students enjoyed a weekend off in the Dutch seaside of Scheveningen, The Hague. The event was a great occasion to get a flavor of the Dutch culture and get acquainted with some of the students from the 2013-2015 cohort.
TI Variety Show 2014
Recalling the fun from last year, the student council again organized the variety show at Griffioen Cultural Center, Uilenstede, on Wednesday May 28.
Zuidas Run 2014
The 6th edition of the Zuidas Run, a running competition, took place on Sunday May 25. PhD student Maximilian Hoyer set up a team representing the Tinbergen Institute for the distance of 10 miles. The competition was perhaps harder this year, and the TI team ended 21st out of 89 teams.
TIA vs. DSF Chess Tournament 2014
On May 12, 2014, the TI Students Council and GM David Smerdon organized again a small fun chess tournament for the chess-loving economists. The event included an individual tournament as well as the annual TI-DSF Challenge. In a suspenseful match the TI team was able to defend last year’s win and keep the challenge cup for another year. In the individual tournament, a total of 17 Master and PhD students participated, with fresher Albert-Jan Hummel (1st year MPhil) emerging as the undefeated champion, followed by Ben Loerakker (CREED, PhD) and Andries Van Vlodrop (2nd year MPhil) on second and third place.
Dutch Economists Indoor Football Tournament 2014
A team representing the Tinbergen Institute took part in this coveted indoor football tournament for economists, which took place on April 10, 2014 at Sporthallen Zuid in Amsterdam. The TI team ended up in a honorable sixth place out of 13 teams.
International Dinner 2014
Annual event that took place at the end of blok III of the academic year.
Ice Skating 2014
The Dutch people go crazy for the ice, and so do we! On January 24, the Student Council organized an activity to help you integrating in the Dutch culture: an ice-skating evening! No, we did not (yet) have the power to freeze the canals, but we went to the Jaap Eden Ijsbaan, where we had over 400 meters of ice-ring to show off our ice-skating skills.
End-of-the-block-dinner after Blok III on Friday night February 28, 2014
This time the traditional end-of-block dinner was held at the Indian Restaurant Murugan on Rozengracht, chosen after a recommendation by our fellow Indian PhD student. The dinner brought 15 First and Second year students and PhD students together.
Ice Skating 2013
The Dutch people go crazy for the ice, and so do we! On January 24, the Student Council organized an activity to help you integrating in the Dutch culture: an ice-skating evening! No, we did not (yet) have the power to freeze the canals, but we went to the Jaap Eden Ijsbaan, where we had over 400 meters of ice-ring to show off our ice-skating skills.
Sinterklaas 2013
The 2013 Sinterklaas celebration was held on the evening of December 5 at TI Amsterdam. Traditionally, the event included funny presents, poems, pepernoten, glühwein, and of course Sinterklaas and his ‘Zwarte Piets’.
End-of-the-block-dinner after Block I on Friday night October 25, 2013
At the end of the first block of the new academic year, the Student Council organized the traditional end-of-block dinner at Pizzeria Rimini, Leidseplein. After a tiring week of exams, about 17 students joined this joyful dinner.
Introduction Weekend 2013
The Introduction Weekend for the new TI students took place at the beach of Scheveningen, The Hague on 7-9 September 2013.
TI Variety Show 2013
On Friday 7th June the Student Council organized the first edition of the Variety Show. It was an evening filled with virtuoso piano recitals, stunning songs, vivacious dances, blindfold chess, incredible martial arts demonstrations and much more! It was a highly enjoyable evening for the audience and we hope it will become an annual tradition.
DSF vs. TIA Chess Tournament 2013
The first-ever DSF vs. TIA Chess Tournament was held on Friday 25th January. Each team had 8 members, and there were two rounds of 1 hour each. TIA won the tournament.
| Round 1 | Round 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PiotrDenderski | 1-0 | MariusZoican | Luca | 0-1 | Barand |
| ShawnyXiao | 0-1 | OlegPirogovskiy | David | 1-0 | Mariette |
| LennartZiegler | 0-1 | ShawnXiang | Swapnil | 0-1 | Hafsa |
| AndriesvanVlodrop | 1-0 | GeraldScholman | Sandor | 0-1 | Marios |
| SandorSovago | 1-0 | MariosSpiropoulos | Andries | 1-0 | Oleg |
| LucaPegorari | 0-1 | MarietteBotes | Shawny | 1-0 | Gerald |
| DavidSmerdon | 1-0 | BarandvanDrooge | Piotr | 1-0 | Shawn |
| SwapnilSingh | 0-1 | HafsaHassan | Lenny | 0.5-0.5 | Marius |
TIA Chess Tournament 2013
For the first time in 8 (!) years, we had the Tinbergen Chess Championships in TIA on Friday 23rd November. Registration started 12.30 pm coupled with a similarly delicious lunch, with the first round kicking off shortly afterwards. The champion for 2012 was Theo Offerman, followed by Sandor Sovago and Matze Weber.
Sinterklaas 2012
The 2012 Sinterklaas celebration was held on evening on 7th December at TI Amsterdam. Events included a Secret Sinterklaas, where the sender needs to give a present accompanied by a funny poem, and musical performances from TI students.
Introduction Day 2012
This year, the TI Introduction Weekend 2012 took place on 8 – 9 September 2012 in the beautiful city of Utrecht. Highlights include cycling on the canals and a big barbecue to celebrate the beginning of the school year.