Eurekaweek struggled to find enough guides and crew

The Eurekaweek management has had to organise various initiatives this year to find enough volunteers for the introduction week. “Nevertheless, we have ensured that there are enough guides and crew members”, writes chair Shirley Le.

According to Le, who only wanted to respond to questions from EM in writing, finding volunteers becomes slightly more difficult each year. “There is a visible downward trend across the Netherlands in the number of students applying for such positions”, she wrote. “While there’s always a group that signs up well in advance, because they are sure they want to participate, we see that many students only decide to register later. Often, this is due to their unclear summer plans.”

Bonuses

To make it work, the Eurekaweek has launched various initiatives. “For instance, we offered a referral bonus for guides who brought a new guiding duo.” Crew members received a sign-up bonus: a gift voucher for 20 euros or a free lunch, dinner and five cups of coffee at Erasmus Sport.

“In addition, we are organising a special ‘Thank-You-Party’ for the first time, after the Eurekaweek.” There, volunteers will receive three free drinks. The deadline for registration was also extended twice to give everyone a chance to sign up outside their summer plans. This way, the Eurekaweek ultimately found enough guides, says the chair. Even more crew members have signed up compared to 2024.

Declining number of participants

Last year, the Eurekaweek faced a declining number of participants (4,100 out of 4,600 tickets sold). As a result, the introduction week faced significant financial losses. The Eurekaweek management is not allowed to share the exact number of tickets sold this year, says Le. However, their Instagram account swows that 90 per cent of the available tickets have been purchased. According to Le, total ticket sales are at a similar level as last year.

Partly due to the disappointing number of participants in 2024, the duration of the week has been shortened from five days to three this year. Additionally, cheaper venues have been booked at Ahoy than before.

Le can’t yet say to what extent it will be possible to turn even this year. “While we certainly strive for a balanced budget, it is common for the Eurekaweek that only after the event, when all income and expenses are fully clear, it will become apparent what our financial outcome will be. Our aim is to certainly not incur a loss.”