Each month Page 4 asks a member of TU Delft’s foreign community to share their thoughts with us. This week we meet Daniel Dahinden (23), from Switzerland.
A chemical engineering undergraduate at ETH Zurich, he is here as part of the Unitech program, having studied previously in Sweden.
How does the TU compare to ETH Zurich?
There’s more choice in the educational system here. The TU offers lots of electives, and the class sizes are smaller, which is nice. At ETH we have more foreign professors, however.
What is Unitech?
It’s a program organized by 30 companies and 8 European universities, including TU Delft. Students spend one year abroad, at least 3 month on internship and the rest of the time studying management and business. It’s aimed at getting more young students involved in management.
Do you like the program?
Very much, it’s like European education 500 years ago, when part of a student’s education involved traveling from country to country to study.
Why Delft?
I could choose between London, Paris, and Delft, and I chose Delft because it was the most flexible. Here I could determine my own course load and take all the courses I wanted. Plus, I’d heard that Dutch people were very open.
And are they?
Definitely, socially it’s been really easy to make friends here. The Dutch are spontaneous people and open to new experiences, much more so than in Sweden and Switzerland, where people are pretty distant and closed.
Why won’t Switzerland join the EU?
We’ve only just voted to join the UN! Swiss people are afraid of losing their personal freedom and independence.
How has Switzerland, a small country with a small army, managed to stay independent for so long?
Because we’re small, we’re not that attractive, and because we’re in the mountains, it’s difficult to attack us. We’ve always been neutral.
What’s the greatest challenge for mankind in the 21st century?
To properly handle all the information and communication we face each day. To avoid information overload, which results in people forgetting to take the time to think for themselves, to know what they really want and not just what advertisers and media companies tell them they want.
Do you have a favorite cultural outlet?
Jazz music. I play the saxophone. I love jazz because it takes me out of my daily life. It’s deep music, not like Pop. Sometimes you have to think about the music to understand it. Jazz stimulates my mind. Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon are my favorites.
Where’s your favorite place in Delft?
There’s a bench on the Delft harbor where I like to sit for ten minutes in the morning, when the sun is rising, blue sky above, reflections in the water, it’s a place of energy, of awakening, and you feel a connection to nature, which is missing here in Delft.
What causes you anxiety?
The idea that I don’t have enough time, that I will run out of time before I do everything I want to do. I have somany ideas that I’ll need to live to be 200 years old to accomplish it all.
How do you pay for your studies?
Unitech gives me some money, I work part-time, and my parents support me. My father is a civil engineer and mayor of our town.
What country would you like to live in?
Canada, Switzerland or New Zealand. I like Holland, but there’s not enough space to live here permanently. I miss the views you have when living in the mountains.
How would you like to die?
With the knowledge that I gave something to this world. And I’d like to die at a moment when I am feeling free, as I do when I’m snowboarding alone down a mountain or sailing on the sea.
Each month Page 4 asks a member of TU Delft’s foreign community to share their thoughts with us. This week we meet Daniel Dahinden (23), from Switzerland. A chemical engineering undergraduate at ETH Zurich, he is here as part of the Unitech program, having studied previously in Sweden.
How does the TU compare to ETH Zurich?
There’s more choice in the educational system here. The TU offers lots of electives, and the class sizes are smaller, which is nice. At ETH we have more foreign professors, however.
What is Unitech?
It’s a program organized by 30 companies and 8 European universities, including TU Delft. Students spend one year abroad, at least 3 month on internship and the rest of the time studying management and business. It’s aimed at getting more young students involved in management.
Do you like the program?
Very much, it’s like European education 500 years ago, when part of a student’s education involved traveling from country to country to study.
Why Delft?
I could choose between London, Paris, and Delft, and I chose Delft because it was the most flexible. Here I could determine my own course load and take all the courses I wanted. Plus, I’d heard that Dutch people were very open.
And are they?
Definitely, socially it’s been really easy to make friends here. The Dutch are spontaneous people and open to new experiences, much more so than in Sweden and Switzerland, where people are pretty distant and closed.
Why won’t Switzerland join the EU?
We’ve only just voted to join the UN! Swiss people are afraid of losing their personal freedom and independence.
How has Switzerland, a small country with a small army, managed to stay independent for so long?
Because we’re small, we’re not that attractive, and because we’re in the mountains, it’s difficult to attack us. We’ve always been neutral.
What’s the greatest challenge for mankind in the 21st century?
To properly handle all the information and communication we face each day. To avoid information overload, which results in people forgetting to take the time to think for themselves, to know what they really want and not just what advertisers and media companies tell them they want.
Do you have a favorite cultural outlet?
Jazz music. I play the saxophone. I love jazz because it takes me out of my daily life. It’s deep music, not like Pop. Sometimes you have to think about the music to understand it. Jazz stimulates my mind. Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon are my favorites.
Where’s your favorite place in Delft?
There’s a bench on the Delft harbor where I like to sit for ten minutes in the morning, when the sun is rising, blue sky above, reflections in the water, it’s a place of energy, of awakening, and you feel a connection to nature, which is missing here in Delft.
What causes you anxiety?
The idea that I don’t have enough time, that I will run out of time before I do everything I want to do. I have somany ideas that I’ll need to live to be 200 years old to accomplish it all.
How do you pay for your studies?
Unitech gives me some money, I work part-time, and my parents support me. My father is a civil engineer and mayor of our town.
What country would you like to live in?
Canada, Switzerland or New Zealand. I like Holland, but there’s not enough space to live here permanently. I miss the views you have when living in the mountains.
How would you like to die?
With the knowledge that I gave something to this world. And I’d like to die at a moment when I am feeling free, as I do when I’m snowboarding alone down a mountain or sailing on the sea.
Comments are closed.