Delftse Klanken – Nummers met een twist

De Delftse SOGband, genoemd naar de bekende afkorting voor studieontwijkend gedrag, had als winnaar van een bandjeswedstrijd de eer het programma te openen. Een geweldige ervaring, vertelt toetsenist Remco Berghout. “We kregen een supergrote kleedkamer en een persoonlijke assistente die ons de hele dag begeleidde. Dan zit je backstage te eten met al die mensen, superleuk. Dat is heel raar: mensen die je van tv kent zie je ineens in het echt.

Het was echt zo’n groot festivalpodium, er was behoorlijk veel publiek.”
Het ‘vetste’ was volgens Berghout toch wel hun laatste optreden tijdens de Batavierenrace, ook in Enschede. “We hadden de hele tent voor onszelf, twaalfhonderd man ofzo. Wij spelen altijd nummers waarop mensen gaan meezingen en -springen. Nummers als ‘Sex On Fire’ van Kings of Leon en ‘Narcotic’ van Liquido. Dan gaan opeens de lampen aan en zie je achterin de zaal mensen dansend op elkaars schouder zitten. Dan denk je: komt dat door ons? Dat ging echt goed.”

De kiem werd gelegd toen Berghout met huisgenoot en
zanger/gitarist Luuk Duijndam regelmatig zat te jammen op het cultuurcentrum. Na een tijdje voegden drummer Gyasi Johnson en bassist Jan Ruigrok, kennissen van Duijndam, zich bij hen. Berghout: “We zaten alleen nog met de zangpartijen. In eerste instantie hebben we met de zus van Luuk gespeeld. Die kon goed zingen, maar woonde niet in Delft. Dat was lastig.”
Geen nood: Duijndam gaf examentraining in Leiden en kende daar een Delftse collega die aardig kon zingen, Mazin Inaad. Nu spelen ze tweeëneenhalf jaar in een vaste bezetting. Als aan Virgiel gelieerde band ontkwamen ze er uiteraard niet aan om aan de lokale voorronde van het AHC-songfestival mee te doen. Tweemaal zelfs, beide keren zonder resultaat. “Zelf liedjes schrijven is leuk, maar het is niet onze core business. We willen toch vooral een coverbandje zijn en op studentenfeesten het publiek loskrijgen, daar is onze set op toegerust.”

Standaardnummers als ‘Let Me Entertain You’ van Robbie Williams of ‘Proud Mary’ van Ike & Tina Turner spelen ze niet. “We doen graag nummers met een twist, zoals een rockcover van ‘Wannabe’ van The Spicegirls. Aan ‘Memories’ van David Guetta hebben we ook een eigen invulling gegeven.” Als er een optreden aankomt, jeukt het. “Na afloop springen we het podium af om mee te feesten.” Ze zien daarom uit naar de zomer. “Dat zijn meestal twee, drie drukke maanden. Zeker twee optredens per week. We zitten echt met smart te wachten op de binnenstromende aanvragen.” 

With multiple locations throughout the Netherlands, InHolland Hogeschool has had a branch in Delft for a while now. In 2004, InHolland moved two of its technical study programmes – aeronautical engineering and naval architecture – from Haarlem to Delft. Now, however, the school has relocated to a modern building – and one that boasts of having the world’s slimmest four-storey glass façade – on the TU campus.
To an outsider, it somewhat odd for an independent educational institution to set up shop in the shadow of  much bigger, more prestigious university like TU Delft. So why the move, and how does it impact the local international education market?

“The main reasons for moving closer to the TU Delft are to facilitate better cooperation and interaction”, explains Indra Ferrier, head of marketing and communications at InHolland Delft, while adding that closer proximity to a world famous university of technology also improves InHolland’s prospects.
“It gives us much more visibility now that we’re on this campus”, says JoJanneke de Koning, account manager at InHolland Delft. Moreover, there is also the advantage of sharing facilities. TU Delft’s library, sports centre and some special facilities, like the aerospace engineering faculty’s wind tunnels, are now shared with InHolland. And vice versa: InHolland’s hi-tech, well-equipped ‘Composites Lab’ is not only shared with TU Delft’s faculties but is actually located in the TU’s faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.
Close proximity and cooperation between TU Delft and InHolland also enables an easy osmosis of students. “Applicants who fail to get into TU Delft’s BSc programme are referred to InHolland by TU counsellors”, De Koning says. Later in their education, these students then have the chance to smoothly transition back to TU Delft.

One such example of this osmosis is InHolland’s aeronautical engineering programme, whose students normally had to follow a one-year ‘bridge’ programme after completing their BSc studies in order to be admitted to the TU’s MSc programme. Now, however, during their BSc studies they can take certain coursed that allow for direct entry into the TU’s MSc programme. “This helps them plan in advance and save a year”, says Jochem van der Voort, an InHolland lecturer.

Internationalisation
Being close to TU Delft does make some of InHolland’s 1,200 students think about the TU as a next step. “I might want to progress to a MSc programme after my BSc studies here”, says Michiel Bakker, an aeronautical engineering student.

Vera Bakker (no relation), a member of ‘Team Anemo’, a group of InHolland students developing the wind-powered vehicle Anemo II for international competitions, adds: “It would be nice to work with TU students on some projects.” According to Michiel Bakker, InHolland and TU Delft students have different skills that can complement and merge very well on such projects: “We’re good at building things, while they’re good at analysing. Our combination can yield good results.”

Whereas aeronautical engineering and naval architecture students have interest in TU Delft, at least two InHolland students studying agriculture were indifferent. Mark and Jeroen, both final year students in InHolland’s agriculture and technology programme, say they have nothing to do with TU Delft and the new location doesn’t affect them at all. Ko Hamer, a second year InHolland student, laughingly adds: “I can sleep fifteen minutes more in the morning now, but that’s all.”

On the internationalisation front, InHolland currently offers only one programme in English: a BSc in aeronautical engineering, which is nonetheless almost entirely comprised of Dutch students. Internationals are indeed a rare presence in the InHolland building. “We had a few international classmates last year, but most of them dropped out”, says Bakker, a second-year student following aeronautical engineering’s English-language track. Although the same study programme is also offered in Dutch, some Dutch students nevertheless opt for the , because this better prepares them for work in international environments, and because there are fewer students in the English programme, and, hence, a better student/teacher ratio.
Ferrier says the number of InHolland students doing internships abroad has grown over the years. InHolland also now offers a joint double-degree program with two universities in China. Certainly, InHolland is aiming to attract more international students in future. De Koning: “We’re presently working on a comprehensive internationalisation policy in consultation with counsellors from TU Delft.”

What’s in a name?
In Dutch, TU Delft’s new neighbour is known as Hogeschool InHolland, or InHolland Delft, which denotes Delft as the particular branch of the larger Hogeschool InHolland entity, which has branches in ten other Dutch cities. What is however something of a controversial grey area is Hogeschool InHolland’s name in English translation, which is InHolland University of Applied Sciences. Technically, however, a ‘hogeschool’ and university do not have the same status in the Netherlands, and the Dutch government has not yet formally conferred university status on ‘hogescholen’ (or polytechnics, which until recently was the more common translation in English).
According to the Dutch ministry of Education’s website: ‘Higher education comprises higher professional education (HBO) and university education (WO). These types of education are provided by hbo institutions (‘hogescholen’) and universities respectively. Hbo institutions provide theoretical and practical training for occupations for which a higher vocational qualification is either required or useful. Universities combine academic research and teaching.’
So what’s in a name? For international students, provided the educational quality is of a high standard, what looks best on a CV is also important, and that would be a university of Applied Sciences rather than a polytechnic.

www.inholland.nl/delft