Meet the Society: Iranian Students Society

According to their website, the aim of ISSTUD is to support members with regards to educational and general issues and to organise Iranian social events and celebrations. “We try to help students because it’s tough being away from friends and family,” stated Farshad Kamali, the ISSTUD board member who manages events.

Many foreign students tend to miss the tastes of home, but Kamali said that’s not a big issue here. He noted that there are several Turkish shops in Delft and even one Iranian shop where people can find the ingredients they need. Coming here from a big city like Tehran, Kamali said the adjustment wasn’t too hard for him, although he does miss food and family. “But with ISSTUD it’s like having a second family here,” he said. “That’s the benefit of having a large community with the same background.”

Kamali, who is completing a master’s in Systems and Controls, said there is a very interesting Iranian community at TUD. “In general, I think there is a large community of Iranians here in the Netherlands compared to other European countries,” he stated. “Relatives and friends of members also come to our events,” Kamali said. “We see it as a way to educate others about Iranian traditions.”

ISSTUD is organised into multiple independent committees according to the interests of its members. Some examples are committees for Persian literature, socio-political issues, Iran studies and Persian music. The board also organizes general events in coordination with the International office. One such event is the celebration of Yalda Night. It marks the Persian winter solstice and takes place on the longest night of the year, which is normally around December 20.

And one of the more popular events put on by ISSTUD is the celebration of Nowruz or the Persian New Year. This year’s festivities will take place on March 212014 at the TU Delft Culture Centre. Some of the events being planned include ashort presentation about the traditional New Year celebrations, poetry reciting and story-telling, and Iranian classical and folk music performances.

In addition, ISSTUD also offers a regular podcast in Farsi where they share news, information and details about events for their members.

For more information on ISSTUD visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/isstud/or http://www.isstud.org/.

This is part of our ongoing series Meet The Society which highlights different student groups and societies at TU Delft. If you’d like to suggest an organziation for us to cover, please email us at deltainternational@tudelft.nl.