Pursuing a PhD can be a daunting process, even more so when you do it in a foreign country. One campus organization called PromooD aims to help make that process easier.
Delen
The name PromooD stems from the Latin term promovendus, meaning he who must be promoted. It originally referred to those wanting to obtain a doctoral degree. According to Jonas Teuwen, chairman of PromooD, they are a group of PhD candidates who are dedicated to representing the interests of the entire PhD community at TU Delft.
One of the first things every new PhD candidate receives is a handbook called Prologue which is published by PromooD. It is a very thorough introduction to the PhD programme at TU lftDe. This handbook covers various subjects that are helpful for people moving to Delft or the Netherlands for the first time. Topics range from how to find a doctor or a house to applying for grants.
Teuwen, a PhD candidate in EEMCS from Belgium, said that PromooD originally started as a union. Now they primarily organize both social and professional events, as well as act as a communication channel between PhDs and the university. “We would like to create a PhD community,” said Teuwen. “We would like to have more people from different faculties interacting in both social and professional aspects.”
Social events are organized so PhDs can get to know one another. PromooD recently hosted a Sinterklaas party in conjunction with Young Delft. They also regularly host events like pub quizzes, barbecues and monthly borrels. On the professional side, they host a thesis market, where several printing houses and cover designers come to exhibit their services.
Aside from events and activities, PhD candidates can also get helpful advice. “There can often be problems or issues that PhD candidates have to deal with,” said Teuwen. “And sometimes another PhD is easier to talk to than university officials. ” The members of PromooD offer guidance based on their own experiences and help to facilitate resolutions.
PromooD has published a magazine in the past and is currently working on new issues. In the meantime they distribute a monthly online newsletter. Teuwen said it is hard to estimate the exact number of PhD candidates at a given moment, but they have more than two thousand people on their mailing list.
For more information, visit their website or Facebook page.
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.
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