(Leo van der Linden, 71, invigilator)
“I’m not a very strict invigilator, you know. When I started work here, I was given a book of rules to prepare me for the job. There was one line in it that appealed to me:
The task of an invigilator is to create the optimal conditions in which students can do their exams in the right way. Usually students contribute to this too.
Obviously, as an invigilator you need to stay sharp and alert, but most students really don’t want to risk getting into trouble. Pencils are often an issue. Students always seem to forget them, often blaming younger siblings for removing them from their pencil case that morning! Pens which run dry during the exam is another problem… Fortunately, we invigilators always have a solution.
I’ve been doing this job for about seven years, since I retired. I worked in business from the age of 17. I’d then finished my secondary education and in those days it wasn’t so common to go to university. I spent 44 years working for a market research company which had its roots in Unilever. I had various jobs: I was project manager, programmer, did statistics. At the end, I was a quality manager. In my experience, not having a university degree is always a bit of an obstacle. We also employed a number of EUR students, as part time programmers!
My girlfriend has been an invigilator here for 25 years and she got me interested. I really love doing it. It’s fantastic to be here; all the activity, the young people, a great campus and working in several places. One person starts his career at the university, I’m ending it here.”
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