Student Unions, Councils and Representative Groups

The school has a wide range of student-initiated groups engaged with student representation, direct democracy, and community-building.

The Student Council⁠⁠(opens in a new tab)⁠⁠

The Student Council was originally formed with representatives from student-organised initiatives within the school, but we are constantly looking for fresh minds to join us. We want to engage and encourage students to play a more active role in shaping the school. Student voices are crucial! We see ourselves as a bridge connecting students, staff and teachers with information and resources. This school is not just an assemblage of individual makers, but a place where we care for one another. As a council, we want to lend a hand, share knowledge, and listen carefully. Through our activities we want to cultivate an even ground for all students and work for greater transparency within the administrative structures of the institution. We have written minutes of most of our meetings, feel free to ask.

Contact: studentcouncil@rietveldacademie.nl

DRG (Department Representative Group)

The DRG (Department Representative Group) is a representational body consisting of 15 students who are each representing one department of Rietveld. The DRG is a student-focused initiative. In contrast to other representative groups (such as MR), the primary concern of the DRG is gathering student voices about department-specific concerns, sharing information, and building stronger communication amongst students. In daily life at the Rietveld Academie, departments can feel like separate continents. Only through whispers that get carried over the ocean you find out what is going on at the other sides. Instead of bridges, we want to create the primal continent pangea at Rietveld, a big collective mess that gains strength through its interconnectedness.

Contact: drg@rietveldacademie.nl

Asian Union⁠⁠(opens in a new tab)⁠⁠

Manifested in 2018, Asian Union was born in seeking to broaden the boundaries of limitation that derive from the misconceptions of Asian Cultures in the Rietveld and Sandberg. Though there are many different connotations per individual background with the term Asian, we do and welcome everyone who defines themselves as “Asian”. 
There are ongoing weekly meetings during the semester, conducted both online and offline.



Contact: Juni Mun
 / augrasi.ve@gmail.com

Black Student Union⁠⁠(opens in a new tab)⁠⁠

The Black Student Union (USB) is an organisation aiming to facilitate and support a network of Black students, alumni and partners of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and Sandberg Instituut.

Contact: Nagare Willemsen 
/ blackstudentunion.usb@gmail.com

Near East Union (NEU)⁠⁠(opens in a new tab)⁠⁠

NEU for Near East Union. NEU consists of people from the “Middle East” or people with “Middle Eastern” roots to recalibrate the compass to understand: middle of what and whose east? NE for Non European. NEU aims to start a discussion about Non-European people’s situations in Sandberg Instituut and Gerrit Rietveld Academy. N for New. NEU wants to bring its members together to share their experiences in their new life, and find out common strategies from the common struggles. E for Everyone. NEU welcomes all who have something to say about being a “Middle Eastern” within the frameworks of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and Sandberg Instituut. U for you. “Near East” is getting closer to You. NEU

Contact: Emirhan Akin / neareastunion@gmail.com

Latin American Caribbean Union⁠⁠(opens in a new tab)⁠⁠


The LCU is an initiative within the Rietveld and Sandberg aiming to rebuild the space we hold within the school by nurturing our mixed community of students with a more inclusive and diverse approach. 


Contact: latincaribbeangroup@gmail.com

The Student Circle

The Student Circle is an initiative that looks to deepen and complicate the role the student body plays within the Sandberg Instituut. We aim to do this by focusing on peer to peer initiatives, by collating experiences and discussing the issues that are faced by the students, by promoting cross course dialogue and paying close attention to the social life of the institution. Importantly we look to do all of this at the level of the student body, instead of deferring to the administrative structures of the school. The Student Circle will no longer exist as of September 2023 due to budget cuts.

Contact: studentcircle@sandberg.nl