Diss marches on

The Delft International Student Society (Diss) will hold its first of regular informal drink session, or borrel, next Wednesday night. Drinks will be provided by Diss and serve as a new point of contact between international students and their Dutch counterparts, the latter of which are seen as being largely absent for international events.

Next Wednesday’s borrel will also see the formation of Diss working committees, which will address various topics, ranging from raising Diss’ profile on campus and networking and event planning with other international student organizations, to addressing administrative issues, like dealing with Duwo.

Diss has been working hard to raise its profile on campus, as it’s the primary voice of international student concerns, and because the group is still relatively unknown, particularly among Dutch students. While one part of Diss’ mission is to represent international students’ interests, its other goal is to create a community of internationally-minded students, and to support, network and plan events with the disparate international student societies, like the Indian Student Association. Diss can help such organizations raise the profile of their events, or get official recognition – and funding – from the university.

This second part of Diss’ mission is not only for international students, but rather for all students. “International thinking is about more than just your passport,” says Arturo Orjuela, Diss’ secretary. Consequently, Diss was involved for the first time this year in both the Owee (for Dutch students) and the Iwee (for international students) opening weeks. In an attempt to achieve crossover between these two events, which are virtually separate, Diss co-hosted a World Café event, where students could meet and learn about different cultural activities. While about 40 people showed up, only ten were Dutch. According to Orjuela, one of these Dutch students said that he came to TU Delft because it was so “international”, yet he was surprised that there seemed to be hardly any regular ways for Dutch and international students to interact.

Diss welcomes more Dutch student involvement, not only for the mutual benefit and enjoyment of both Dutch and internationals, but because Dutch students can also help Diss accomplish its goals, as they speak the language and understand university bureaucracy better.

To help get more Dutch students involved, Diss plans to co-host more events with Dutch student groups. Unfortunately, Diss finds the process difficult, because Dutch bureaucracy is slow to change. “Many employees, teachers, teams and student organizations are still doing their jobs the way they did ten years ago, when ‘foreign’ students were few,” says Orjuela. “This is reflected by the reluctance to use English or at least bi-lingual communication. Some groups – like study associations – rarely or never offer activities for non-Dutch speakers, and they don’t stop to think: how is this going to work for non-Dutch students?”

Orjuela feels that an “international mentality” should be embedded from the very beginning, with the bachelor Owee, so that Dutch students understand that TU Delft is an international institution and that sometimes English will (and should be) spoken.

Office space

Diss was created two years ago in conjunction with the Delft student union (VSSD) and the student council. But unlike traditional Delft student societies, Diss doesn’t have official members nor a full-time board, meaning Diss’ board has less time to get things done.

Being board members of Dutch student societies is essentially a full-time job, a paid position done over a full work week, with funds also coming from membership dues and business sponsorships. The Diss board conversely is volunteer-only, and board members work for the board while simultaneously completing their university programs; hence, they have much less time to spend on getting things done.

Some Diss board members admit that while Diss is indeed important, their studies must and do come first. Without official members, Diss is incapable of collecting dues or getting sponsorships and is thus completely dependent on the university for funding. Diss says that Rector Magnificus Karel Luyben is supportive of its mission of increased interaction between Dutch and international students, yet he acknowledges that these efforts are still in their nascent stages. This is one reason for the new Diss working committees, which can help the Diss board accomplish more with limited resources.

Diss also doesn’t have an office space, meaning students cannot stop by to ask questions, and consequently the board must find areas to do their work ad hoc. Diss is however in negotiation with VSSD about getting office space on Leeghwaterstraat.

For Diss’ committees to function properly, more students must get involved, yet this is sometimes an issue. Jonathan Mugerwa, Diss’ current chairman, says international students are more likely to prioritize their studies above all else, since they pay so much more tuition than their Dutch and EU counterparts. Mugerwa thinks that Diss consistently reaches around 300 to 400 TU Delft international students, but adds that this is primarily for social events. The Diss chairman hopes this will change and wants TU Delft students to know that “we’re approachable. International students can contact us for whatever reason, to let us know how things are going or with ideas or suggestions they might have…. We have the network and know who to talk to about these things.”

At present however the students who do get involved are unlikely to speak up about issues troubling them, and this makes Diss’ job more difficult. “If we’re to effectively address certain issues – like housing and tuition – we need to show that it’s not only a group of people on the board but rather a large group of international students who have certain views on certain issues,” Mugerwa explains. “But for that to happen, international students must take an active role.”

If you’re a Dutch or international student and want to learn more about Diss or get involved, join them at Café Zondag (Voldergrachts 7) from 19:00-23:00 on Wednesday, September 28, or get in touch via www.diss-online.nl, board contact the International Office to be put on the mailing list, or search for ‘TUD international students’ under ‘organizations’ on Blackboard.

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Voormalig minister Plasterk reikte de prijzen uit. Hij noemde het niet alleen belangrijk dat studenten al in de bachelorfase onderzoekservaring opdoen, maar ook dat ze dit goed leren presenteren.

Hij verwees naar de ontdekker van het HIV-virus, Luc Montagnier. Toen die zijn collega’s tijdens een congres in slecht Engels probeerde uit te leggen wat hij had uitgevonden, begreep niemand hem. De Amerikaanse wetenschapper Robert Gallo, die het wel snapte, ging ermee aan de haal. Het had een haar gescheeld, of de Nobelprijs voor de geneeskunde was aan de Franse wetenschapper voorbij gegaan.

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