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Board of European Students of Technology

April, 2011


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www.BEST.eu.org

BEST - Board of European Studentsof Technology

VisionEmpowering diversity

People understand and respect different culturesand societies. The environment of empowered

diversity supports people in applying their fullpotential and acting responsibly.

MissionDeveloping students

BEST helps students to achieve an internationalmindset, to reach a better understanding of cul-tures and societies and to develop the capacityto work in culturally diverse environments.

BEST creates opportunities for personal devel-

opment of students and supports them in reach-ing their full potential.

Website: www.BEST.eu.orgTwitter: twitter.com/BESTorgFacebook: facebook.com/BESTorg

YouTube: youtube.com/BESTorganisation


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www.BEST.eu.org

Table of Contents

BEST ............................................. page 6

Why was this booklet made ....... page 8

I. Knowing what to say ................ page 9

Key messages ........................... page 10

Simplest questions ..................... page 12

Awkward questions .................... page 14

II. How to say it ............................ page 17

To a non-BEST student ............... page 18

To an academic contact .............. page 19

To an business contact ............... page 20

To a media contact .................... page 21

Ask yourself before speaking ...... page 22

III. How to show it ......................... page 23

Just in Case ................................... page 25

Personal notes ................................ page 27


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How BEST came into existence

The idea of BEST was born in May 1987 in Stock-

holm (Sweden) during a European conferencefor students of physics and mathematics. Therst International Week was organized every sixmonths in a different country during which theinteraction between European students would bedeveloped.

The second International Week was held inGrenoble (France, March 1988). The rst meet-ing held exclusively for BEST was in Berlin (Ger-many) in April 1989 where BEST was ofciallyfounded with the aim to promote exchanges andcommunication between European Students of

Technology.

Our position

BEST is a voluntary, apolitical, non-prot, non-representative international association of Euro-pean students of technology. We do everything out of free will. We are politically neutral. We attempt to make no prot. We represent nobody. We are based in Europe. We are there for students of technology.


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www.BEST.eu.org

Our activities

Core activity

Providing complementary educationBringing a signicant added value to th educationprovided by the universities.

Other activities

Providing career supportConnecting students with their future employers.Increasing educational involvementIncreasing the awareness of students on issuesrelated to engineering education and improving

engineering education through the input of thosestudents.

BEST Spirit

BEST Spirit is the inspiration for all our actions

exibility friendship fun improvement learning


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Why was this booklet made?

What is BEST? Why do you only accept technol-

ogy students? Do you party all the time? Theseare questions that almost every BEST mem-ber hears during his/her time in BEST. Now thetime has come to nd short but valid answers tothese questions, answers that are the same allaround Europe. Through this booklet we want

to strengthen our image as an organization andwe want you to help us by reading and using theinformation in here.


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Fundamental elements Message

Why we exist To empower dive(This environmenpeople in applyintential and acting

What we want to achieve To develop studethem achieve anmindset, create oties for personalreaching their full

How we achieve our purpose Providing comple

tary educationproviding careerIncreasing educa

Our strengths and values FlexibilityFriendship

FunImprovementLearning


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www.BEST.eu.org

Reason behind it

tysupportstheir full po-esponsibly.)

This is the vision that guides usin our activity, the ideal statewe would like to achieve.

s: helpternationalportuni-owth andpotential;

This is the mission that supportsour vision, the action we under-take to achieve our ideal state.

en-

pportnal involvement

These are our core activi-

ties, through which we strive toachieve our vision and mission

This is the BEST Spirit, the inspira-tion for our actions and the values

we follow throughout our activity


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The simplest questions are the most dif-cult ones

Whether you are giving an interview, talkingabout BEST with representatives of your univer-sity, other organizations, institutions or compa-nies, or even promoting BEST among students,the simplest questions will always be the most

difcult to reply to. These are the general ques-tions which require very specic and precise an-swers.

Here you can nd some examples of such ques-tions which you may come across, and our tips

on how to answer them:

(vision)Question: What is the point of BEST?The answer to this question lies in our Vision: Empowered diversity Students understandand respect different cultures and societies. Theenvironment of empowered diversity supportsstudents in applying their full potential and act-ing responsibly.

(mission)Question: What does BEST want to achieve?


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www.BEST.eu.org

As in the previous question, the answer can befound in our Mission: Developing students

BEST helps students to achieve an internationalmindset, to reach a better understanding of cul-tures and societies and to develop the capacityto work in culturally diverse environments.BEST creates opportunities for personal devel-opment of students and supports them in reach-

ing their full potential.

(Illustrated by our Core activity and Ser-vices)Question: What does BEST actually do?In answering this question you should refer to

our Core Activities: Providing complementary education Providing career support Increasing educational involvementTo ensure a better understanding of our ac-tivities, you should illustrate them through theevents and services we offer (Courses, Engi-neering Competitions, Leisure events, BEST Ca-reer Support, Events on Education, etc.).Also, you should try to adapt your answer andchoose the information you give according to theaudience and the message you want to send.


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Answering awkward questions

While dealing with any kind of external entities,

you are bound to come across some questionsthat you would prefer to avoid, but cannot. Manytimes, people are not familiar with our missionand activity, or just have assumptions aboutBEST. When faced with such questions, try tostay cool and give a suitable reply. Also, its im-

portant to be condent in your response, so ifyou are uncertain of the answer, tell the personyou will get back to him/her shortly.

1. Why is there no BEST in Germany?

Because since 1997 we have cooperated withbonding, not that much effort has been putin creating local groups in Germany. bondinghas promoted BEST, so not too much motiva-tion came from German students to create lo-cal groups. For the near future we are aiming tochange this situation by being proactive in creat-ing local BEST groups in Germany and modifyingthe cooperation with bonding.

2. Your chances of going to a course areminimal, unless you know someone.


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www.BEST.eu.org

Any student from a technical university that hasa BEST group can apply. The applications areanonymous, so the selection process is fair. Se-

lection is made by the organisers and it is notregulated, but mainly it depends on the LBG.Nevertheless, LBGs are encouraged to focuson the following criteria: geographical cover-age, motivation letter and/or educational back-ground.

3. All BEST members do is partying a lotaround Europe and getting drunk

(relating it to our activity and services)The core activity of BEST consists in provid-

ing services that help develop students. This iswhat we believe in and we put all our effort intoachieving this goal. As any other students, we ofcourse enjoy traveling, meeting new people andhaving fun. Its something that motivates us towork very hard and fulll our mission.

(relating it to our values)We value positive emotions and always try tomake our activities enjoyable for everyone in-volved in them. This is one of the values wecherish, as fun is what motivates us to workhard and fulll our mission.


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However, this is not our only value. We praiseexibility and the ability of quickly adapting to

changes in our environment or obstacles thatstand in our way. We value friendship, person-al relationships and teamwork, as this createssynergy and helps us be more efcient. Througheverything we do we seek to improve our stan-dards and develop our activity. We value ev-

erything we learn through our experiences andstrive for personal development.

4. Is BEST a sect?

BEST is an organisation that offers quite a lot toits members. We are proud to know that most ofthem nd in BEST not only a learning experienceand a chance for development, but also manyfriends. The personal relationships built betweenour members expand far beyond the time andwork put into our activity. This results in a largenumber of dedicated people who enjoy spend-ing most of their time together both inside andoutside BEST.


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Imagine yourself in an elevator with the personyou most want to speak to, of everybody in theworld! How to tell this person about BEST in the

best way?

A Non BEST-studentJust 1 foor // 10 secBEST is a student organisation that exists in>your university


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www.BEST.eu.org

conversation, and make it pleasant for both ofyou. Ask active question what else he/she wantsto know, opinions, or just about applying for an

event. Listen as well as talk.

An Academic contactJust 1 foor // 10 secBEST is a non-governmental, non-political stu-dent association, aimed towards developing Eu-

ropean students of technology. We are presentin more than 90 universities across Europe, witha target group of around 1 million students. Weare a European NGO whose main activity is toorganise courses about technology in the 89 uni-versities connected to the network.

To the top // 1 minUntil the rst oor you say the same. After n-ishing this line you continue, for 50 seconds,talking about a topic that interests your listener.For example:- BUC, making universities more open toforeign students- courses / competitions- taking part in Thematic Networks- BEST Symposium or BEST Academics &Companies (Events on Education)


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You are stuck // 5 minContinue where you ended after talking for 1minute. Try to get your talk towards a conversa-

tion, and make it pleasant for both of you. Askactive question what else he/she wants to know,opinions, or just go more into detail about one ofthe topics you mentioned before. Listen as wellas talk.

A Business contactJust 1 foor // 10 secBEST is a non-governmental, non-political stu-dent association, aimed towards developing Eu-ropean students of technology. We are presentin 89 technical universities in 30 countries, with

a target group of around 1 million students. OurCareer Support service offers you the possibilityto recruit top-engineers across Europe.

To the top // 1 minUntil the rst oor you say the same. After n-ishing this line you continue, for 50 seconds,talking about a topic that is of interest to yourlistener.For example:- BCS- courses / competitions- cooperation, local & international- target students and the universities


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www.BEST.eu.org

You are stuck // 5 minContinue where you ended after talking for 1minute. Try to get your talk towards a conversa-

tion, and make it pleasant for both of you. Askactive question what else he/she wants to know,opinions, or just go more into detail about one ofthe topics you mentioned before. Listen as wellas talk.

A Media contactJust 1 foor // 10 secBEST is a non-governmental, non-political stu-dent association, aimed towards developing Eu-ropean students of technology. We are presentin 89 technical universities in 30 countries, witha target group of around 1 million students. Weare a European NGO which main activity is toorganise courses about technology in the 89 uni-versities connected to the network.

To the top // 1 minUntil the rst oor you say the same. After n-ishing this line you continue, for 50 seconds,talking about a topic that may be of interest toyour listener.For example:- a big upcoming external event- courses / competitions & your achieve-

ments in the past


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Questions to ask yourself before speaking

Put yourself in the position of your listener. Whatdo you think is most interesting for them andhow do you prevent yourself of giving the wrongimpressions or to weaken your story by sim-ply telling too much? Think back to a previous(good) conversation you had with a similar per-

son, how come it went so well? What triggeredmost the interest of you listener?Have you ever heard people saying somethingabout BEST that wasnt true? How can you giveyour story more nuances in order to preventpeople getting the wrong impressions? Try to

explain what BEST is and does, so these percep-tions can change for positive ones.What are the main reasons you joined BESTyourself? Were they honest reasons? It is easi-est to talk about things you are passionateabout; this also reects your story and can evenbe contagious!


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BEST provides a lot of different services towardsstudents. It is a very active organisation driven

by passionate people who put a lot of time andenergy in it. This somehow should be shown tothe world; we dont just say something, do we?!The main question to ask yourself, while present-ing BEST to the outside world, is How does ourimage reect our mission through our actions?.

The image is a reection of who you represent,no matter if this is through words, videos, orpictures.A picture is not meant to ll space, just like writ-ten words are not to design a piece of paper. Youhave something meaningful to tell, illustrate thisby showing the signicance at once; it should beclear at a glance. Travelling is seeing the wholeworld, not only the interiors of some bars. Jobfairs are about interaction between students andcompanies, as in a conversation, not a presenta-tion.What is your story about? How is the identity ofBEST a part of this?You know it, you show it!


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www.BEST.eu.org

Just In Case

Where is the ofce of BEST?

We dont have an ofce but we are currenly ableto function as an organisation through virtualcommunication and live meetings. Discussionsabout having headquarters have taken place,

but the conslusion for now is that we dont wantto invest in an ofce yet. BEST is registered inFrance and the postal address is connected tothe Secretary of BEST.

How do we ensure the quality of our ser-vices, especially courses and competitions?

For courses the External Events Committee isresponsible for the quality assurance of eachcourse and after each season, the season coordi-nator goes through all the participant evaluationforms and checks that all the other criteria of thecourse has been met and in the end stamps thecourse as approved or not approved.For competitions, the EBEC team is controlingthe quality of EBEC and is working with the NEC/REC coordinators in order to assure the qualityof the national and regional level as well.


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The competitions are under continous develop-ment, so it is expected that in the future thequality assurance for competitions will improve.

For trainings, quality assurance happens for thetrainshops only. This kind of events, have a co-ordinator who is making sure that the require-ments for a high quality training event are met.For stand-alone training sessions, it basicallydepends on the trainer to make sure that the

quality of the training is appropiate. Tools forassuring the quality of trainings in general arein production and will be launched in the future.

How do you select the member Universitiesof BEST?

There are two deadlines a year to apply as aBEST Observer Group, namely 1st of July and1st of December. The International Board makesthe decision of who to invite as Observer Groupsto our General Meeting, based on selection cri-teria. BEST has only in recent times started tar-geted growth, with the aim of covering certaincountries that BEST is not present in at the mo-ment. If there is someone interested in startinga BEST initiative at a university they can sendan email to [email protected] to get intouch with our coaching team.


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Personal Notes


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