It takes a bit of getting used to when you first come to TU Delft to study. How do first years handle this? Delta follows bachelor and master students during their first year at TU Delft. Part 1: After the OWee and IP.
(Photos: Kim Bakker)
Oscar (18, bachelor Applied Physics)
“I enjoyed the OWee! We drew lots and I ended up at at the corporal student association DSC. I’m going to find out what their introduction period is like. I am curious how they will treat me during the initiation. At the time it may not be nice, but later you look back on it positively. Both my parents were student club members in Utrecht and always have good stories about it. I also like the idea of creating a fraternity and making friends for life. It is one way of stepping outside the study bubble.
In the week after the initiation, DSC members are opening up their student houses to interview new potential flatmates. Apparently 80% of the freshman find rooms this way. So it is a lot easier than if you are not a member. I will try to get a room this way.
I know you do have quite a lot of obligations as a member of a student club. It will be a challenge to combine it with studying Applied Physics – which is super interesting, apart from the mathematics. In any case, I plan to attend all the lectures and tutorials. And I want to work too, maybe at a café. I have played tennis for a very long time too, but I won’t do so in my first year. I think I will join DSC’s tennis club.
I may become a full-time member of DSC. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. In the end, my study is the most important thing. Just imagine that my study goes completely wrong and it is a huge disaster. Then I would have to give up the student association.”
Siri (25, master Design for Interaction)
“I am half Dutch but grew up in Norway so feel mostly Norwegian. Two years ago, after doing my bachelor in Norway, I came to the Netherlands to connect with my Dutch roots. I started working at Lely, a company that makes agricultural robots, as a UX designer. They work with the TU Delft, which got me interested in my master’s. And Delft is nice. It is comfortable and close to Rotterdam and The Hague. I don’t miss a thing.
At the moment I am living in a studio in Rotterdam, but am looking for a flat. Then my boyfriend can partly move in with me. He is Belgian and works in Kortrijk, on the border with France. If I had a flat he could live partly in Belgium and partly in the Netherlands. I would not need to travel to Belgium every month anymore. I always go to Norway for the Christmas holidays. Christmas is very important there.
I really enjoyed the IP. I had no idea that TU Delft’s campus was so big, but I have now gotten to know it. We had a treasure hunt on the first day which made us go around the whole campus. We visited labs on another day.
I have not really partied, but I don’t really feel the need to do so. I am 25 and am less interested in parties than I was when I was doing my bachelor. I think everyone in my group felt more or less the same way. In any case, I did not have the impression that anyone really missed the parties.”
IJsbrand (17, bachelor Molecular Science and Technology)
“My study is split between Delft and Leiden. I am looking for a room in both towns, but my first choice is Delft. I think Delft is prettier. But while there are plenty of rooms on offer, the demand is very high. So the choice will probably fall on whichever I can get a room in. I am looking forward to exploring a new town, all those quaint streets and pleasant cafés.
During the OWee I slept on an air mattress in the dormitory at X. It was less comfortable than my own trusty bed. I really enjoyed the OWee. It was a lot of fun and the activities were really great. I especially enjoyed visiting the student associations. I have sung in a choir since I was five years old and want to become a member of either Krashna Musika or Groover. I will first check how much of my time they will take. I may also join a sports association next year.
I am also looking forward to being able to work only on the study subjects that I really enjoy instead of having to do the obligatory subjects as well. But I’m also looking forward to student life. And to living on my own. And to being a really independent individual. I do need to practice cooking though. At the moment I often make burritos or pasta with cheese sauce and salmon. But the latter does not really fit in a student budget.”
Aqdas (22, master Civil Engineering)
“When I started looking for a master’s, I thought: not America. The work-life balance there is just as bad as in India. I heard it was better in Europe. And TU Delft at that moment ranked second in the field.
I’m amazed by the fact that everything is within a 15 minute bike ride. I feel calm, life here feels simpler than in Mumbai, where I’m from. The quietness is completely opposite from there, where there a lot of people on the streets until 02:00.
I really liked the IP, I had a really nice group. I went to a party organised by the Indian Student Association. There’s also a Muslim student association, right? I am looking out for that one too.
I got a room on the Stieltjesweg. It is meant for international students and I have a two year contract. My mum gave me frozen food items to get through the first week, but after that I will have to cook myself. I learned to cook only two months before I got here. I might try cooking Dutch food as well, because I have a very, very, very low spice tolerance.
I would really like to learn Dutch, but for now my studies are more important. I might do the intensive summer course the TU Delft offers next year. If I have a week or so left, I might invite my family over. I can use this year to look around and plan stuff, so I can show them around.”
Dorsa (19, bachelor Computer Science and Engineering)
“I really enjoyed the OWee. My group was lovely, as were our mentors. It was great getting to know them. I think I have made friends for the rest of the year. But I really need some sleep and an alcohol detox.
We visited a lot of student associations during the OWee, but I did not become a member anywhere. I want to concentrate on my study during my first year and get my binding recommendation on continuation of studies (BSA). If all goes well, I want to play badminton at the student badminton club in my second year. I am very much looking forward to student life. I’m looking forward to enjoying studying together in the library, going to lectures, and parties at the weekend.
I can get to Delft by train in half an hour, so that’s doable. I will have to see how it goes. If there are a lot of problems with the trains, I may well look for a room. I want to leave home at some point anyway and really be independent. But until then, I am happy to spend this period with my parents. My father was the one who encouraged me to do this bachelor. He told me that he did not have the opportunity to study at TU Delft, but I do. So if I wanted to, I should definitely do it.”
Manas (24, master Systems and Control)
“I’ve only been in the Netherlands for five days. Before that I had never even been outside India. I actually like the weather, but I don’t know about the winters yet. I like the Dutch too. They are very direct and follow rules. In India discussions go round and round, and we somehow always find a way to bypass the rules. And it is so quiet on the streets! At home it is only quiet at midnight on a Sunday. Also, people look very stress-free here.
I really enjoyed the IP. I got to meet a lot of new people. I like learning new languages, so I keep asking everyone how to say hello in their language. I’d like to learn Dutch as well. Every day I get more excited about studying here and exploring. I have already seen things here that I studied in India, but had not seen in real life yet. It’s very exciting to see.
I have a room in Rijswijk. On my first day here, I bought a bike. I ran half marathons, so the five kilometre bike ride is fine with me. The rules will take a bit of getting used to, though. I immediately got caught by a policeman for holding my phone on the bike. I told him it was my second day in the Netherlands and he was very helpful. He told me to learn the rules and to always switch on the lights whenever I bike at night.”
Anne-Fleur (19, bachelor Clinical Technology)
“I had a hockey grant to study for a year in Boston after secondary school. I played hockey fanatically there. I have now signed up for Laga, the rowing association. Your student time is the time to try out new things and I can always go back to hockey. I also wanted to join a social club, and Laga is this too. I may want to start competitive rowing, but not in my first year. I know from my hockey history how much time top-class sport takes. I may join the club eight – rowing five times in the week and partying on top.
Both my parents studied at TU Delft and I always heard good stories about it. When I heard about Clinical Technology – medicine with a technical aspect – my mind was made up. I really enjoyed the OWee, though I’m exhausted now. That I am having my breakfast at four in the afternoon says enough. I managed to get a place to sleep via via in a zaaktokohuis (with members of DSC and Virgiel, Eds.) on the Jacoba van Beierenlaan. Eighteen people live there and every evening is fun. I am looking for a room as I don’t feel like travelling an hour and a half.”
- This is the second part of a series. Want to know how these students fared three months after the article above? Then read part 2.
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