Athens is not Athens, as in the capital city of Greece. Rather, it stands for ‘Advanced Technology Higher Education Network, Socrates’, a program of short intensive courses held at various European Universities twice a year. Registration for March’s ATHENS program ends next week…don’t miss it!
Last November I participated in the Athens course, ‘Art Nouveau in Brussels’, held at Belgium’s Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U. Leuven). This one-week course was a really sweet experience, not only because of Belgium’s famous chocolates, but also because the course was superbly arranged and I made many new friends from other European universities. The whole experience left me with many happy memories and, like a cup of hot chocolate on a snowy winter night, warmth in my heart.
The course began on November 15th, but we were required to arrive one day early, in order to settle into our new ‘home’ – the youth hostel ‘De Blauwput’ – and have a look around Leuven. The hostel cost 15 euro per night, including a buffet breakfast. We four girls, two from TU Delft and the other two from Paris and Prague, shared a dorm room. At 6 p.m., after everyone had unpacked and settled in, we all met at an open reception in the hostel’s bar, where we were given a brief introductory talk about the course and enjoyed free drinks and many different kinds of sandwiches, including salmon. It was a great start to the week!
The next day, Sunday, K.U. Leuven arranged a guided city tour, led by Leuven university students, which included a real touristy visit to a bar that boasts of having the ‘longest bar counter’ in Western Europe. Leuven’s a small, pleasant city with a long history and rich traditions, a historic church and city hall in the center and many young university students out and about. Unlike TU Delft, where the campus is located outside the old center, K.U. Leuven’s libraries, faculties and student cafeterias are scattered throughout the city.
On Monday, the course’s first lecture was held in the Arenberg Castle. I never dreamed that I would ever attend a lecture in a real 16th century castle, which is set in a forest and is an amazing mixture of different historic architectural styles!
The course consisted of three days of lectures on Art Nouveau and a two-day excursion to Brussels. The lecture series guided me through the diverse perspectives of Art Nouveau, from a general introduction of its history, the representative architects and their works, to the latest preservation and promotional efforts of the Art Nouveau Network, an international association of 14 cities that all have a rich Art Nouveau heritage.
The most exciting aspect of the course was our visit to a building that we had just received a lecture on. It was amazing to stand in the center of the building, surrounded by models and drawings! When we visited ‘l’Hotel van Eetvelde’ designed by Victor Horta, our lecturer brought models and many precious authentic drawings of the architecture, which gave us a better understanding on how this building was realized from some abstract lines on paper to reality. This was a unique experience: the building, owned by a gas company, is closed to the public. But thanks to the university’s connections, we were shown around the building, took photos and could ask the lecturer questions pertaining to its architectural details and design.
In addition to lectures and excursions, the course included an interesting ‘European Dimension Program’, one of which was ‘cantus’, Latin for ‘sing’. Cantus is a traditional Flemish student activity that mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking lots of beer. The cantus was led by a K.U. Leuven senior student who was responsible for keeping order. This meant that he could punish whomever he thought disrupted order at the cantus. After a few drinks, this led to great fun. An Athens student from Paris was punished for applauding during the singing. His punishment: he had to drink a glass of beer upside down . that is, drinking while doing a handstand, his feet pointing to the ceiling!
The course concluded with a visit to Bruges. We toured the city and ended by eating one last delicious Belgian waffle and tightly embracing our newfound friends . a perfect ending to a very sweet course.
Details
The next Athens-session is from March 12 to 19. Deadline for registration is January 24. Athens’ various courses are designed for MSc students or final year BSc students (with at least 120 ects achieved). The courses are offered in either English or French. Each course includes 30 hours of scientific course work, as well as 10-15 hours of ‘European Dimension’ activities. The allocation and number of ECTS credits is a local decision (i.e. it’s up to your faculty). Detailed information about courses offered in March is available on the Athens website. Athens courses are free, and students who participate receive a 140 euro grant from TU Delft. Participants must pay their own travel, accommodation and living costs, plus a small sum for social events. Completed registration forms must be sent via the Athens website. A copy of your registration form – signed by you and your faculty’s exchange/programme coordinator . must also be delivered to TU Delft’s Student Facility Centre (Julianalaan 134) before 24 January 2005, 5.00 pm.
http://www.intersek.ntnu.no/athensreg/defaulte.htm
Last November I participated in the Athens course, ‘Art Nouveau in Brussels’, held at Belgium’s Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U. Leuven). This one-week course was a really sweet experience, not only because of Belgium’s famous chocolates, but also because the course was superbly arranged and I made many new friends from other European universities. The whole experience left me with many happy memories and, like a cup of hot chocolate on a snowy winter night, warmth in my heart.
The course began on November 15th, but we were required to arrive one day early, in order to settle into our new ‘home’ – the youth hostel ‘De Blauwput’ – and have a look around Leuven. The hostel cost 15 euro per night, including a buffet breakfast. We four girls, two from TU Delft and the other two from Paris and Prague, shared a dorm room. At 6 p.m., after everyone had unpacked and settled in, we all met at an open reception in the hostel’s bar, where we were given a brief introductory talk about the course and enjoyed free drinks and many different kinds of sandwiches, including salmon. It was a great start to the week!
The next day, Sunday, K.U. Leuven arranged a guided city tour, led by Leuven university students, which included a real touristy visit to a bar that boasts of having the ‘longest bar counter’ in Western Europe. Leuven’s a small, pleasant city with a long history and rich traditions, a historic church and city hall in the center and many young university students out and about. Unlike TU Delft, where the campus is located outside the old center, K.U. Leuven’s libraries, faculties and student cafeterias are scattered throughout the city.
On Monday, the course’s first lecture was held in the Arenberg Castle. I never dreamed that I would ever attend a lecture in a real 16th century castle, which is set in a forest and is an amazing mixture of different historic architectural styles!
The course consisted of three days of lectures on Art Nouveau and a two-day excursion to Brussels. The lecture series guided me through the diverse perspectives of Art Nouveau, from a general introduction of its history, the representative architects and their works, to the latest preservation and promotional efforts of the Art Nouveau Network, an international association of 14 cities that all have a rich Art Nouveau heritage.
The most exciting aspect of the course was our visit to a building that we had just received a lecture on. It was amazing to stand in the center of the building, surrounded by models and drawings! When we visited ‘l’Hotel van Eetvelde’ designed by Victor Horta, our lecturer brought models and many precious authentic drawings of the architecture, which gave us a better understanding on how this building was realized from some abstract lines on paper to reality. This was a unique experience: the building, owned by a gas company, is closed to the public. But thanks to the university’s connections, we were shown around the building, took photos and could ask the lecturer questions pertaining to its architectural details and design.
In addition to lectures and excursions, the course included an interesting ‘European Dimension Program’, one of which was ‘cantus’, Latin for ‘sing’. Cantus is a traditional Flemish student activity that mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking lots of beer. The cantus was led by a K.U. Leuven senior student who was responsible for keeping order. This meant that he could punish whomever he thought disrupted order at the cantus. After a few drinks, this led to great fun. An Athens student from Paris was punished for applauding during the singing. His punishment: he had to drink a glass of beer upside down . that is, drinking while doing a handstand, his feet pointing to the ceiling!
The course concluded with a visit to Bruges. We toured the city and ended by eating one last delicious Belgian waffle and tightly embracing our newfound friends . a perfect ending to a very sweet course.
Details
The next Athens-session is from March 12 to 19. Deadline for registration is January 24. Athens’ various courses are designed for MSc students or final year BSc students (with at least 120 ects achieved). The courses are offered in either English or French. Each course includes 30 hours of scientific course work, as well as 10-15 hours of ‘European Dimension’ activities. The allocation and number of ECTS credits is a local decision (i.e. it’s up to your faculty). Detailed information about courses offered in March is available on the Athens website. Athens courses are free, and students who participate receive a 140 euro grant from TU Delft. Participants must pay their own travel, accommodation and living costs, plus a small sum for social events. Completed registration forms must be sent via the Athens website. A copy of your registration form – signed by you and your faculty’s exchange/programme coordinator . must also be delivered to TU Delft’s Student Facility Centre (Julianalaan 134) before 24 January 2005, 5.00 pm.
http://www.intersek.ntnu.no/athensreg/defaulte.htm

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