Instead of going back home to Norway, Karen Hatleskog Zeiner (28) decided to stay in Delft after graduating as an industrial design engineer in October 2006.
She now works as an urban designer at a Delft-based design office.
“I came to Delft in the summer of 1999, because the only university program in industrial design in Norway was extremely difficult to get into. There were only twenty available places. Going abroad had always seemed an exciting thing to do, so that’s what I eventually did. However, after finishing school, I first took a half-year course in philosophy, which is mandatory in Norway if you want to study certain university courses. Then I worked for a while and enrolled at the University of Bergen, where I studied history of art for a year. After having been on the waiting list for industrial engineering at Trondheim University for two years, I decided to enrol at TU Delft as I had heard positive stories about their industrial engineering program.
One of the first things I noticed in Delft, was that everything was so much more affordable compared to Norway. I’d buy all sorts of things to eat – whatever I felt like basically. I was surprised to find people making remarks about the expensive stuff I bought, as to me, it wasn’t expensive at all. Another thing I had to adjust to was the amount of rules related to cycling. In Norway, you are allowed to cycle on footpaths and side walks, for instance. But here people get angry if you accidentally walk on the cycling path.
Of course, compared to Norway, Holland is a very flat country and it’s very densely populated as well. Especially around here, cities basically merge into one another, which is something you don’t see in Norway with all its wide open spaces. Another difference in urban planning in Holland is that things are very strictly planned here: the boundaries between cities, open fields and industrial areas for example tend to be very clearly defined.
I also noticed a difference in mentality that I find quite interesting. Here, people are generally more pragmatic and individual freedom is rated highly, whereas in Norway, it is much more acceptable to make social or political decisions based on ideology.
As for student life, I think the Dutch system of living in shared accommodation is rather nice. Once you find yourself a place to live, you immediately get a social network that goes with it. For a foreigner like me, that was very positive. Norwegian students tend to spend more time by themselves. I actually found myself a room on the very first day I arrived in Delft. I had been told to go and check the notice board at Waltman’s book shop. When I got there, I found an ad for an instemming the same evening and to my surprise I got the room. That certainly was a good start to my life in Delft.”
Opportunities
“Although I miss my family and friends back home, I decided to stay and find a job in the Netherlands when I graduated last year. Over the past years, I have built up a large social network here, and I have a Dutch boyfriend. Apart from these social reasons for staying, I think Holland generally has more to offer me job wise. Not so much in pay – as design jobs are well-paid in Norway – but there is a long tradition of industrial design here, and there are so many specialised design companies. In Holland, you are simply spoilt for choice if you’re an industrial engineer.
I knew I wanted to work as an urban designer, and soon after graduating I found a job at ipv Delft, a design office that mainly focuses on street furniture, public space and bridge design. It’s right up my alley, basically, and a great opportunity for me to learn all about urban design. So far, I have been involved in the design of public transport facilities and outdoor furniture, as well as bridges, and I am getting to know all the various stages of the design process as the company is quite small. Some of my colleagues are very experienced urban designers and I find I am learning a lot from working with them.
Working life is rather different from student life and there are certain things I miss about being a student – flexibility mainly. I used to be able to go see my family and friends for about six or seven weeks each year, but now my visits are restricted to several weekends a year. But I don’t want to spend all my days off going to Norway, as there are other places I want to go as well. One of the bonuses of working in Delft is the vicinity of all these interesting cities, such as Antwerp or Amsterdam. You can easily go away for a day or a weekend without travelling far. And I think a lot of Dutch cities are generally very interesting; there are many museums for instance and things to do.
Then again, as cities are so close together here, I do miss Norway’s space and nature. When the weather is good, everyone wants to go to the beach or Delftse Hout, and consequently you have traffic jams and crowded beaches. Back home, that just doesn’t happen. Norway is much more spacious and I really miss having my own space sometimes.
Eventually I do intend to go back to living in Norway – after all, that’s where my roots are and where I have lived for 21 years . but I have no idea when. At the moment, I am perfectly happy in the Netherlands. To say I feel Dutch, though, would be one step too far. Although I speak the language very well, people still notice my foreign accent, and because of that I will always be considered a foreigner.”
Karen Hatleskog Zeiner. (Photo: Sam Rentmeester/FMAX)
“I came to Delft in the summer of 1999, because the only university program in industrial design in Norway was extremely difficult to get into. There were only twenty available places. Going abroad had always seemed an exciting thing to do, so that’s what I eventually did. However, after finishing school, I first took a half-year course in philosophy, which is mandatory in Norway if you want to study certain university courses. Then I worked for a while and enrolled at the University of Bergen, where I studied history of art for a year. After having been on the waiting list for industrial engineering at Trondheim University for two years, I decided to enrol at TU Delft as I had heard positive stories about their industrial engineering program.
One of the first things I noticed in Delft, was that everything was so much more affordable compared to Norway. I’d buy all sorts of things to eat – whatever I felt like basically. I was surprised to find people making remarks about the expensive stuff I bought, as to me, it wasn’t expensive at all. Another thing I had to adjust to was the amount of rules related to cycling. In Norway, you are allowed to cycle on footpaths and side walks, for instance. But here people get angry if you accidentally walk on the cycling path.
Of course, compared to Norway, Holland is a very flat country and it’s very densely populated as well. Especially around here, cities basically merge into one another, which is something you don’t see in Norway with all its wide open spaces. Another difference in urban planning in Holland is that things are very strictly planned here: the boundaries between cities, open fields and industrial areas for example tend to be very clearly defined.
I also noticed a difference in mentality that I find quite interesting. Here, people are generally more pragmatic and individual freedom is rated highly, whereas in Norway, it is much more acceptable to make social or political decisions based on ideology.
As for student life, I think the Dutch system of living in shared accommodation is rather nice. Once you find yourself a place to live, you immediately get a social network that goes with it. For a foreigner like me, that was very positive. Norwegian students tend to spend more time by themselves. I actually found myself a room on the very first day I arrived in Delft. I had been told to go and check the notice board at Waltman’s book shop. When I got there, I found an ad for an instemming the same evening and to my surprise I got the room. That certainly was a good start to my life in Delft.”
Opportunities
“Although I miss my family and friends back home, I decided to stay and find a job in the Netherlands when I graduated last year. Over the past years, I have built up a large social network here, and I have a Dutch boyfriend. Apart from these social reasons for staying, I think Holland generally has more to offer me job wise. Not so much in pay – as design jobs are well-paid in Norway – but there is a long tradition of industrial design here, and there are so many specialised design companies. In Holland, you are simply spoilt for choice if you’re an industrial engineer.
I knew I wanted to work as an urban designer, and soon after graduating I found a job at ipv Delft, a design office that mainly focuses on street furniture, public space and bridge design. It’s right up my alley, basically, and a great opportunity for me to learn all about urban design. So far, I have been involved in the design of public transport facilities and outdoor furniture, as well as bridges, and I am getting to know all the various stages of the design process as the company is quite small. Some of my colleagues are very experienced urban designers and I find I am learning a lot from working with them.
Working life is rather different from student life and there are certain things I miss about being a student – flexibility mainly. I used to be able to go see my family and friends for about six or seven weeks each year, but now my visits are restricted to several weekends a year. But I don’t want to spend all my days off going to Norway, as there are other places I want to go as well. One of the bonuses of working in Delft is the vicinity of all these interesting cities, such as Antwerp or Amsterdam. You can easily go away for a day or a weekend without travelling far. And I think a lot of Dutch cities are generally very interesting; there are many museums for instance and things to do.
Then again, as cities are so close together here, I do miss Norway’s space and nature. When the weather is good, everyone wants to go to the beach or Delftse Hout, and consequently you have traffic jams and crowded beaches. Back home, that just doesn’t happen. Norway is much more spacious and I really miss having my own space sometimes.
Eventually I do intend to go back to living in Norway – after all, that’s where my roots are and where I have lived for 21 years . but I have no idea when. At the moment, I am perfectly happy in the Netherlands. To say I feel Dutch, though, would be one step too far. Although I speak the language very well, people still notice my foreign accent, and because of that I will always be considered a foreigner.”
Karen Hatleskog Zeiner. (Photo: Sam Rentmeester/FMAX)
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