Scientific directorThe Trail Research School has appointed professor Ben Immers as its new scientific director. Immers – who succeeds professor Henk van Zuylen – was also recently appointed as professor at TU Delft.
He has broad experience in the area of transport and traffic. In recent years he has been involved in research and applications of traffic management and incident management; advised national governments in transportation planning and network development; and remains actively involved research programs.
One-party state
In recent years two student political parties have served on TU Delft’s Student Council: Oras, which narrowly focuses on student associations, and AAG, which represents the wider interests of the student community. Now that AAG has decided to withdraw, students have less choice in the upcoming student council elections scheduled for May 26-27. Hans Krul, TU Delft’s executive secretary, is disappointed: “Last week, for instance, the chair of the Student Council expressed support for a system of selective intake. I think it it’s safe to assume that not all students are in favour of this, but there is a real danger that the diversity of opinions on such subjects will diminish in future.” Moreover, TU Delft is currently facing far-reaching decisions. Working cooperation with student representatives is a useful factor in this respect. Krul: “They keep the management on their toes. These are clever, involved students and discussing important issues…with them always adds weight to the arguments. Input from the student council has convinced us to alter our plans on several occasions.”
Mumps outbreak
The mumps virus is still circulating among TU Delft’s student community. The mumps virus is highly infectious and can be spread through coughing, sneezing or talking face-to-face. In rare cases, complications can occur, so students should be aware of the symptoms: these include fever, headache, and swelling of the cheeks and jaw. Should you suffer from these symptoms, check with your doctor.
Echo winner
Last week saw the presentation of the 10th annual Echo Awards, which are incentive prizes for talented young people who come from non-Dutch backgrounds. Each year two awards especially for science and technology students are awarded in association with the ‘Platform Bèta Technology’. And this year TU Delft couldn’t lose, as both nominees in this category were from TU Delft: Loubna Aammari, a second year student in computer science, and Youssef El Bouhassani, a fourth year aerospace engineering student. El Bouhassani was the chosen as the winner. As part of the award, he will attend a summer course held at UCLA (US) and also serve as an ambassador for young people facing study choices. This is a role that will suit him well, as his motivation for winning was, he said, his desire “to share my experiences and successes with others who are going through the same things I did”.
Beer test
Drinking beer the night before exams doesn’t negatively affect exam performance the next day. Researchers at the Boston School of Public Health had 193 students drink large quantities of beer the night before exams: each male student drank 1.5 litres of beer in one hour, while female students drank one litre in one hour. The next day they took exams. The large quantities of beer drunk the night before had no affect on exam performance.
Orange Loper
TU Delft has won the 2010 Oranje Loper Award, given to the Dutch university that provides its internationals students with the best selection of academic, social and cultural activities during the academic year. The university received the award on Tuesday, March 30, during Nuffic’s Annual Congress.
Studenten van de faculteit Industrieel Ontwerpen (IO) maken zich zorgen over de gevolgen van de toenemende studentenaantallen. Bij de faculteit is alles gericht op massaproductie, zo meent de facultaire studentenraad (fsr). Door intensieve campagnes voor meer studenten techniek hebben bijna alle faculteiten de afgelopen jaren meer studenten getrokken. Daarbij is onvoldoende gekeken naar de benodigde faciliteiten, vindt de fsr.
Volgens de studenten zitten collegezalen voller, zijn er minder afstudeerplekken, zijn er tijdens piekuren vrijwel geen vrije computers bij IO te vinden en zijn er zelfs wachtrijen voor een schroevendraaier.
De faculteit zou elk jaar met kunst- en vliegwerk proberen de onderwijsstructuur zo aan te passen dat alle nieuwe studenten een plek hebben. En dat kan niet zonder afbreuk te doen aan de onderwijskwaliteit, stelt de fsr.
Decaan Cees de Bont erkent dat de groei veel kunst- en vliegwerk vereist. “Gelukkig voorspellen de vooraanmeldingen nu een daling van vier procent. Vooral in het eerste jaar staat het bij ons op scherp.”
Juist om die reden heeft De Bont vorig jaar een numerus fixus ter sprake gebracht. “Dat is niet overgenomen door het college van bestuur. Mede vanuit de gedachte dat als je meer studenten naar de bèta-kant wilt halen, je vervolgens niet moet zeggen dat ze met te veel zijn.”
Studenten zouden volgens De Bont beter gebruik moeten maken van de hele week. “Een 10-uursrooster kan helpen, maar studenten zijn daar vaak niet blij mee. ’s Avonds en ’s ochtends is veel capaciteit onbenut. Hoe ver moet je gaan om studenten in de watten te leggen? Als je niet bereid bent te werken op vrijdagmiddag 18.00 uur, waar hebben we het dan over?”
Daarnaast is volgens de studenten met het twee jaar geleden ingevoerde bachelorprogramma bij IO niet het beloofde niveau van integratie gehaald. In plaats van losse vakken volgen zij nu gecombineerde colleges. “Als je één onderdeel niet haalt, moet je het vak volgend jaar opnieuw doen”, zegt fsr-voorzitter Daan van de Kamp.
Docenten proberen volgens Van de Kamp aan meer dan driehonderd studenten individuele feedback te geven. Om al die studenten in het gareel te houden en het overzicht te behouden, zou er een ‘schoolse’ aanpak worden gehanteerd.
Studenten zouden als ‘makke lammetjes’ precies op de deadline moeten inleveren wat docenten van ze verwachten en soms zouden vakcoördinatoren planning ‘voorkauwen’. “Wij zijn voor het ontwikkelen van een eigen studiestijl, voor individuele ontplooiing”, zegt Van de Kamp. Overkoepelend probleem is volgens hem dat de faculteit een langetermijn visie mist.
De Bont bestrijdt dat. “Mijn visie is dat het nieuwe bachelorprogramma versnippering tegengaat door geïntegreerde vakken aan te bieden in een mix van ontwerpen en theorievakken. Ook staat de Delftse IO-er voor een bepaald kwaliteitsniveau en dan zijn naast ontwerpen ook andere vakken belangrijk.”
De fsr stuurt een brandbrief naar het college van bestuur.
Scientific director
The Trail Research School has appointed professor Ben Immers as its new scientific director. Immers – who succeeds professor Henk van Zuylen – was also recently appointed as professor at TU Delft. He has broad experience in the area of transport and traffic. In recent years he has been involved in research and applications of traffic management and incident management; advised national governments in transportation planning and network development; and remains actively involved research programs.
One-party state
In recent years two student political parties have served on TU Delft’s Student Council: Oras, which narrowly focuses on student associations, and AAG, which represents the wider interests of the student community. Now that AAG has decided to withdraw, students have less choice in the upcoming student council elections scheduled for May 26-27. Hans Krul, TU Delft’s executive secretary, is disappointed: “Last week, for instance, the chair of the Student Council expressed support for a system of selective intake. I think it it’s safe to assume that not all students are in favour of this, but there is a real danger that the diversity of opinions on such subjects will diminish in future.” Moreover, TU Delft is currently facing far-reaching decisions. Working cooperation with student representatives is a useful factor in this respect. Krul: “They keep the management on their toes. These are clever, involved students and discussing important issues…with them always adds weight to the arguments. Input from the student council has convinced us to alter our plans on several occasions.”
Mumps outbreak
The mumps virus is still circulating among TU Delft’s student community. The mumps virus is highly infectious and can be spread through coughing, sneezing or talking face-to-face. In rare cases, complications can occur, so students should be aware of the symptoms: these include fever, headache, and swelling of the cheeks and jaw. Should you suffer from these symptoms, check with your doctor.
Echo winner
Last week saw the presentation of the 10th annual Echo Awards, which are incentive prizes for talented young people who come from non-Dutch backgrounds. Each year two awards especially for science and technology students are awarded in association with the ‘Platform Bèta Technology’. And this year TU Delft couldn’t lose, as both nominees in this category were from TU Delft: Loubna Aammari, a second year student in computer science, and Youssef El Bouhassani, a fourth year aerospace engineering student. El Bouhassani was the chosen as the winner. As part of the award, he will attend a summer course held at UCLA (US) and also serve as an ambassador for young people facing study choices. This is a role that will suit him well, as his motivation for winning was, he said, his desire “to share my experiences and successes with others who are going through the same things I did”.
Beer test
Drinking beer the night before exams doesn’t negatively affect exam performance the next day. Researchers at the Boston School of Public Health had 193 students drink large quantities of beer the night before exams: each male student drank 1.5 litres of beer in one hour, while female students drank one litre in one hour. The next day they took exams. The large quantities of beer drunk the night before had no affect on exam performance.
Orange Loper
TU Delft has won the 2010 Oranje Loper Award, given to the Dutch university that provides its internationals students with the best selection of academic, social and cultural activities during the academic year. The university received the award on Tuesday, March 30, during Nuffic’s Annual Congress.
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