News in Brief – Delta 15

Moreover, these companies have combined to produce a total turnover of €13 million and attract over €28 million in capital investments from private investors, subsidies and award schemes. Marco Waas, a YesDelft board member, is proud of what has been achieved over the past five years: “Over 100 new companies knock on YesDelft’s door each year. After a stringent selection process, only between 12 and 15 are accepted. Our high-tech start-ups develop technologies that have high potential, actually deliver products and also generate jobs.” Hans Huygens, director of YesDelft, adds that most high-tech start-ups are not suffering as a result of the worldwide economic crisis: “In 2009, external parties invested over 10.5 million euro in our companies.”

Robot football
A team of five robots built by TU Eindhoven has won the Robocup German Open, held last week. In the championship match, TU Eindhoven’s robots beat a team of robots from the University of Aveiro (Portugal) by the score of 5-1. The TU Eindhoven team, named ‘Tech United’ dominated the tournament. In eight matches Tech United scored 79 goals, while only allowing four goals. Tech United is backed by a team of 20 undergraduate and graduate students and researchers.

More space
TU Delft’s architecture students are demanding more floor space in their faculty building. The students say that unless they get more working space, the quality of their education “is in serious danger”. The faculty’s student council (fsr) has therefore called for Dean Wytze Patijn and the TU’s Executive Board to ensure that more working spaces are added to the faculty. The fsr recently sent an ‘urgent letter’ to TU President, Dirk Jan van den Berg, raising this issue of ‘acute shortages of working space’.

Robbers arrested
On Saturday, 17 April, Delft police arrested three alleged thieves in the TU Delft library on the Prometheusplein. The three thieves (aged 17 and 18 years old) had robbed a wine shop on the Frederik Hendrikstraat at around 9:30, during which the shop’s owner was assaulted. The thieves then fled the scene on scooters. Immediately following this incident, the police initiated the so-called ‘Burgernetactie’ (Citizens’ Network Action), which involves the police spreading information about an incident or crime via a telephone network of Delft residents and employees of local companies. The system worked. The thieves – described as wearing dark clothes and black helmets and driving black scooters – were spotted by a Burgernet informant on the Simonsstraat, heading towards the Julianalaan. The three men were then spotted in the TU Delft library on the Prometheusplein. One thief was arrested when he exited the library, while the other two were apprehended inside the library.

Egghead
On Wednesday, 20 April, a student broke a raw egg on the head of Jan Kees de Jager (CDA), a former minister of finance, during an election debate on higher education held in Amsterdam. The student had yelled something incomprehensible into a microphone and then rushed the stage, armed with an egg. Following the attack,
De Jager twittered that he was shocked but unhurt. The police arrested the attacker. De Jager put on a clean tie and the debate continued.

Resigned
Armand Heijnen, editor-in-chief of Utrecht University’s digital newspaper, Ublad (DUB), has resigned. The reason was said to be the contentious debates surrounding the decision to terminate the print version of Ublad earlier this year. Heijnen had come in for heavy criticism from the university council and his own editorial staff, following this decision. Heijnen will remain employed by the university’s marketing and communications department, where he will now concentrate on setting up an internal, university-wide news service.

Dat bleek afgelopen maandagavond in DOK Centrum tijdens de inloopavond van de gemeente Delft en Stadsgewest Haaglanden. Het is voor het eerst dat er harde data worden genoemd over wanneer de tramwerkzaamheden beginnen en klaar zijn. De nieuwe tramlijn 19, die Leidschendam, Den Haag en het station van Delft met de TU campus moet verbinden, liep al heel wat vertraging op. Delftse bruggen als de Kapelsbrug, Hambrug en Sint Sebastiaansbrug bleken niet berekend op het gewicht van een tram, waardoor er extra tijd moest worden uitgetrokken voor verbreding en vervanging van de bruggen.
Na de bouwvak gaat de Jaffalaan op de schop, begin volgend jaar ligt de Julianalaan open voor het vervangen van de riolering. In 2010 zijn de eerste bouwvakkers op de Sint Sebastiaansbrug te zien. De brug wordt een meter verhoogd en twee meter verbreed aan de oostzijde. Het middendeel van de brug blijft beweegbaar. Daarna volgt de Hambrug.
Omwonenden mopperen tijdens de bijeenkomst over de verkeershinder. Maar de problemen die zij hebben met de te vervangen Kapelsbrug zijn zo mogelijk nog groter. De afgelopen weken zorgde het nieuwe ontwerp van de Kapelsbrug voor een storm van protest. Projectmanager Jan Meeuse gaat helaas nauwelijks op kritiek op het strakke moderne ontwerp van de nieuwe brug in. Hij verwijst alleen naar de procedure die nog gaande is.
Wanneer de eerste tram gaat rijden is nu bekend, maar hoe studenten, medewerkers en omwonenden tijdens de aanpak van de bruggen en het open liggen van de straten door en van de TU-wijk moeten rijden is nog niet duidelijk. De gemeente puzzelt nog op de details.