The Economic Faculty association Rotterdam (EFR) has over 5600 members and is one of the most active faculty associations in the Netherlands. It belongs to the Erasmus School of Economics, a faculty of the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
The EFR sets objectives for the students by filling the gap between theory and practice. They do this by organising a large number of activities. One of their most popular activities is EFR-Business Week, one of the most prestigious and professional student conferences in Western Europe.
Together with STAR, the EFR co-organises the largest campus recruitment event in Europe, the Erasmus Recruitment Days. In 2016 there were approximately 2800 participating students and more than 115 companies present.
One of the international activities of EFR is the Involve project, an international project focussed on creating better living and learning circumstances in Africa.
EFR has its own magazine called EFR-Eclaire through which it communicates to its members. This magazine is published five times a year and 6000 issues are distributed among students and business associates. Moreover, the EFR organises a wide range of readings, forums, lectures, workshops and trainings.
History
The EFR was established on 14 March 1925, when the association for student interests VVS was founded to represent the students of the Dutch school of trade.
In the forty years that followed, the VVS has served up trade high school and, from September 1939, the Dutch College for economics in human activities. On 11 November 1964 the members of the general member meeting decided to rename the association to the "Economic Faculty association Rotterdam".
As from 1969, a new phenomenon was introduced called the Dispute. The onderverenigingen had been intended especially for the progressed students who kept themselves busy with their main subjects. In the academic year 1977/1978, EFR-Bulletin was published for the first time; a communication booklet was distributed after the lectures. In the following year EFR-Courant was introduced. Later the booklet took the form of the magazine Eclaire.
Under the governing board of the academic year 1980/1981, an event took place with the subject of "America", which became known as the so-called paradepaardje of the EFR. Later on the board of 1984/1985 named the same event the "EFR-Business Week".