.chap ”I will wear my gown with pride.”The faculty of Chemical Engineering is often visited by Transylvanians. But rather than scaring the faculty’s employees, these mainly female visitors attract attention.
What are they doing here, and what has Professor Joop Schoonman got to do with it?
A group of European professors from universities participating in the ‘European Romanian Courses for Environmental Protection’ (EUROCEP) project are meeting in Delft this week to meet the various partners (from Belgian, German, French and Greek institutes). This group of approximately twenty people also includes visitors from the University of Brasov (Transylvania), a university that’s well known to Professor Schoonman, a former dean of the faculty of Chemical Engineering.
Five years ago, Schoonman passed around his hat to his Dutch colleagues, drumming up funds for the Romanian cause. ”I raised enough money for a couple of computers,” says Schoonman, who was dean at the time. The collection was the first of many actions the professor undertook as a result of a phone call from the Romanian ambassador in The Hague. The ambassador called to inquire about starting a cooperation initiative with the University of Brasov. Schoonman: ”Things have progressed slowly but steadily since that occasion.”
Schoonman visits the Romanian university two or three times a year to teach third- and fourth-year students, as well as staff members. Remarkably, the majority of his Romanian students are female, resulting in plenty of attention when they come to Delft as Erasmus students. Besides teaching, the professor has made other efforts. He donated equipment for a Thin Layer Laboratory and when an inventory of library books revealed that TU Delft had many duplicate technical books and magazines, he sent a list of titles to Brasov. The objective was not simply charity, but more an offer of useful resources to the Transilvanian university.
Though he admits that the current cooperation consists mainly of a lot of practical aid from Delft, Schoonman hastens to add that he has met plenty of talented Romanian scientists: ”I’ve worked at a number of internationally renowned institutes, such as MIT, but I believe it’s important to support universities in countries in less fortunate economic circumstances.” He mentions similar situations in Russia and Bulgaria and speaks of the ”devastating” effect that the Ceaucescu regime has had on the Romanian economy and, more particularly, on science and technology.
In the past year, the Faculty of Applied Sciences%which Chemical Engineering belongs to%has participated in the EUROCEP project, which is part of the Trans-European Mobility Programme for University Studies (TEMPUS). Visits from Romanian colleagues have involved a comparison of curricula and an introduction to various projects in Delft. Schoonman laughs, ”Once I introduced a group of Romanian visitors to Rector Magnificus Wakker, and he was most impressed to see that eight out of nine were ladies.”
The project has been running for a year now. Schoonman’s twenty visitors are in Delft for the first time to evaluate the cooperation efforts. Besides meeting the various partners and presenting their activities and the programme’s results, the Romanians will visit the TU’s Nuclear Facility (IRI) and the library. Schoonman will lecture about the not yet officially founded Delft Institute of Sustainable Energy. And a meeting with the new ambassador of Romania, a visit to ECN (the Dutch energy research centre) in Petten, and a leisurely tour of The Hague are among the additional activities planned.
Professor Schoonman values his involvement in the TEMPUS project and his enthusiasm for his current field of work, environmental issues, is unmistakable. In June, the University of Brasov rewarded Schoonman for his efforts with an honorary doctorate. Proudly, he recounts the ceremony and admits looking forward to wearing his gown in the Dies Natalis procession, during TU Delft%s anniversary. ”It really is a very special gown, the yellow trimmings are unusual as they are normally only for the Rector Magnificus, in Brasov. In Delft, I would never use my honorary doctorate title but twice a year I will wear my gown with pride.”
.chap ”I will wear my gown with pride.”
The faculty of Chemical Engineering is often visited by Transylvanians. But rather than scaring the faculty’s employees, these mainly female visitors attract attention. What are they doing here, and what has Professor Joop Schoonman got to do with it?
A group of European professors from universities participating in the ‘European Romanian Courses for Environmental Protection’ (EUROCEP) project are meeting in Delft this week to meet the various partners (from Belgian, German, French and Greek institutes). This group of approximately twenty people also includes visitors from the University of Brasov (Transylvania), a university that’s well known to Professor Schoonman, a former dean of the faculty of Chemical Engineering.
Five years ago, Schoonman passed around his hat to his Dutch colleagues, drumming up funds for the Romanian cause. ”I raised enough money for a couple of computers,” says Schoonman, who was dean at the time. The collection was the first of many actions the professor undertook as a result of a phone call from the Romanian ambassador in The Hague. The ambassador called to inquire about starting a cooperation initiative with the University of Brasov. Schoonman: ”Things have progressed slowly but steadily since that occasion.”
Schoonman visits the Romanian university two or three times a year to teach third- and fourth-year students, as well as staff members. Remarkably, the majority of his Romanian students are female, resulting in plenty of attention when they come to Delft as Erasmus students. Besides teaching, the professor has made other efforts. He donated equipment for a Thin Layer Laboratory and when an inventory of library books revealed that TU Delft had many duplicate technical books and magazines, he sent a list of titles to Brasov. The objective was not simply charity, but more an offer of useful resources to the Transilvanian university.
Though he admits that the current cooperation consists mainly of a lot of practical aid from Delft, Schoonman hastens to add that he has met plenty of talented Romanian scientists: ”I’ve worked at a number of internationally renowned institutes, such as MIT, but I believe it’s important to support universities in countries in less fortunate economic circumstances.” He mentions similar situations in Russia and Bulgaria and speaks of the ”devastating” effect that the Ceaucescu regime has had on the Romanian economy and, more particularly, on science and technology.
In the past year, the Faculty of Applied Sciences%which Chemical Engineering belongs to%has participated in the EUROCEP project, which is part of the Trans-European Mobility Programme for University Studies (TEMPUS). Visits from Romanian colleagues have involved a comparison of curricula and an introduction to various projects in Delft. Schoonman laughs, ”Once I introduced a group of Romanian visitors to Rector Magnificus Wakker, and he was most impressed to see that eight out of nine were ladies.”
The project has been running for a year now. Schoonman’s twenty visitors are in Delft for the first time to evaluate the cooperation efforts. Besides meeting the various partners and presenting their activities and the programme’s results, the Romanians will visit the TU’s Nuclear Facility (IRI) and the library. Schoonman will lecture about the not yet officially founded Delft Institute of Sustainable Energy. And a meeting with the new ambassador of Romania, a visit to ECN (the Dutch energy research centre) in Petten, and a leisurely tour of The Hague are among the additional activities planned.
Professor Schoonman values his involvement in the TEMPUS project and his enthusiasm for his current field of work, environmental issues, is unmistakable. In June, the University of Brasov rewarded Schoonman for his efforts with an honorary doctorate. Proudly, he recounts the ceremony and admits looking forward to wearing his gown in the Dies Natalis procession, during TU Delft%s anniversary. ”It really is a very special gown, the yellow trimmings are unusual as they are normally only for the Rector Magnificus, in Brasov. In Delft, I would never use my honorary doctorate title but twice a year I will wear my gown with pride.”
Comments are closed.