For all the talk about the internationalization of TU Delft, the university remains a pretty divided place on some levels, with Dutch and foreign students mostly studying and socializing in their separate camps.
WIS (Working Group for International Students) aims to change that by giving international students a platform to express their views and help integrate the TU’s student body.
Internationalization is a word that we hear being used a lot these days. Every week it seems there are news stories about the internationalization of TU Delft, or on a larger stage, a new international meeting of the World Economic Forum or World Trade Organization.
Most people have a good understanding of internationalization and globalization in the economic sense, which derives in part from the fact that the economy is something we all deal with every day. It takes just a quick trip to the market to see that many of the clothes we want to buy were in fact made in China, Italy, Pakistan… This is the essence of economic internationalization, and it’s now an everyday reality for us all.
Economics aside, the question is whether people have much insight at all into how internationalization effects institutes of higher education, like TU Delft. For those who really have no understanding of this issue, you need only to look at your personal situation at TU Delft and ask yourself the simple question: ‘What am I doing here?’
‘You’, as an international student, are a part of the process of globalization in its educational form. Globalization therefore is not just an aim that we want to reach; it is in fact the place where we are living and studying.
Development
According to Professor Dirk Van Damme, from Ghent University in Belgium, “Globalization and the transition to a knowledge society seem to create new and tremendously important demands and exigencies towards universities as knowledge-centers. Scientific research and development of technologies are crucial activities in a knowledge and information driven society and will become even more important in the future.”
Universities that aspire to have the quality label for research universities must develop international communication within the scientific community and quality norms for scientific personnel benchmarked to international standards.
However, as Van Damme adds, “the new role of universities as ‘knowledge centers’ stretches out to other functions than science and research. Universities are called upon to take up responsibilities in society and culture at large, to act as mediators in conflicts, to deepen democracy, to dynamise cultures, to function as centers for critical debate and ethical conscience.”
It is vital that Van Dammes’ ideas for universities be put into practice to create a truly international cooperative environment. We’re not just talking about handy work here; globalization should become a part of our hearts and minds. And globalization is not just related to technology; rather, true globalization now requires a new culture of flexibility, tolerance and cooperation.
In spite of this, it’s readily apparent that many of TU Delft’s international students are not completely integrated into their locality. Integration therefore must remain a high priority issue, and TU Delft students . both foreign and Dutch – need to work hard to promote integration among themselves and thus make TU Delft’s campus an internationally cooperative environment.
To reach these lofty goals, the student union VSSD, the parties of the student council (ORAS and AAG), and VeRa (an umbrella organization for student associations) have decided to promote WIS (Working Group for International Students). To do this, the various groups have held meetings with some international students to discuss the role that WIS should play in future.
The participants of those meetings agreed that international students should have their own representation. Of course it is possible that in future international students will have their own independent organization, but for now the decision was made to remain part of the existing Dutch student organization.
Integration
In essence, the idea behind WIS is to establish a group of around fifteen students who will meet periodically to discuss the various possible strategies for creating a more interactive and integrated relationship between Dutch students and international students. Under the preliminary proposal, this would involve about ten international students cooperating with about five representatives from the various Dutch organizations.
WIS’s main goal is to make international students feel that they are really a part of Delft, and not just some passing strangers who happen to spend a few years of their lives here. This goal in turn can be divided into two parallel strategies: the first is to provide a forum for international students to express their concerns directly to the university; while the second is to concentrate on organizing activities for students that will promote integration.
These activities will be organized by international students and will be open to all students of the university. In this way, the true integration of international and Dutch students will be achieved. Such integration is one of the main points of internationalization in higher education institutes.
Forming WIS represents the first step on the road to international integration. The hope is that a number of highly motivated international students will join WIS and begin working out its agenda, including deciding on which types of activities should be organized in future. This is a group that will be created by students, for students. If these hopes become reality, then in the near future all of TU Delft’s students can look forward to a more interactive and enjoyable atmosphere on campus.
WIS wants you! If you would like to get involved in the internationalization process, joining WIS could be your first step. If you’re interested in joining WIS and would like to attend a meeting, please send an introductory email to: wis@vssd.nl
Internationalization is a word that we hear being used a lot these days. Every week it seems there are news stories about the internationalization of TU Delft, or on a larger stage, a new international meeting of the World Economic Forum or World Trade Organization.
Most people have a good understanding of internationalization and globalization in the economic sense, which derives in part from the fact that the economy is something we all deal with every day. It takes just a quick trip to the market to see that many of the clothes we want to buy were in fact made in China, Italy, Pakistan… This is the essence of economic internationalization, and it’s now an everyday reality for us all.
Economics aside, the question is whether people have much insight at all into how internationalization effects institutes of higher education, like TU Delft. For those who really have no understanding of this issue, you need only to look at your personal situation at TU Delft and ask yourself the simple question: ‘What am I doing here?’
‘You’, as an international student, are a part of the process of globalization in its educational form. Globalization therefore is not just an aim that we want to reach; it is in fact the place where we are living and studying.
Development
According to Professor Dirk Van Damme, from Ghent University in Belgium, “Globalization and the transition to a knowledge society seem to create new and tremendously important demands and exigencies towards universities as knowledge-centers. Scientific research and development of technologies are crucial activities in a knowledge and information driven society and will become even more important in the future.”
Universities that aspire to have the quality label for research universities must develop international communication within the scientific community and quality norms for scientific personnel benchmarked to international standards.
However, as Van Damme adds, “the new role of universities as ‘knowledge centers’ stretches out to other functions than science and research. Universities are called upon to take up responsibilities in society and culture at large, to act as mediators in conflicts, to deepen democracy, to dynamise cultures, to function as centers for critical debate and ethical conscience.”
It is vital that Van Dammes’ ideas for universities be put into practice to create a truly international cooperative environment. We’re not just talking about handy work here; globalization should become a part of our hearts and minds. And globalization is not just related to technology; rather, true globalization now requires a new culture of flexibility, tolerance and cooperation.
In spite of this, it’s readily apparent that many of TU Delft’s international students are not completely integrated into their locality. Integration therefore must remain a high priority issue, and TU Delft students . both foreign and Dutch – need to work hard to promote integration among themselves and thus make TU Delft’s campus an internationally cooperative environment.
To reach these lofty goals, the student union VSSD, the parties of the student council (ORAS and AAG), and VeRa (an umbrella organization for student associations) have decided to promote WIS (Working Group for International Students). To do this, the various groups have held meetings with some international students to discuss the role that WIS should play in future.
The participants of those meetings agreed that international students should have their own representation. Of course it is possible that in future international students will have their own independent organization, but for now the decision was made to remain part of the existing Dutch student organization.
Integration
In essence, the idea behind WIS is to establish a group of around fifteen students who will meet periodically to discuss the various possible strategies for creating a more interactive and integrated relationship between Dutch students and international students. Under the preliminary proposal, this would involve about ten international students cooperating with about five representatives from the various Dutch organizations.
WIS’s main goal is to make international students feel that they are really a part of Delft, and not just some passing strangers who happen to spend a few years of their lives here. This goal in turn can be divided into two parallel strategies: the first is to provide a forum for international students to express their concerns directly to the university; while the second is to concentrate on organizing activities for students that will promote integration.
These activities will be organized by international students and will be open to all students of the university. In this way, the true integration of international and Dutch students will be achieved. Such integration is one of the main points of internationalization in higher education institutes.
Forming WIS represents the first step on the road to international integration. The hope is that a number of highly motivated international students will join WIS and begin working out its agenda, including deciding on which types of activities should be organized in future. This is a group that will be created by students, for students. If these hopes become reality, then in the near future all of TU Delft’s students can look forward to a more interactive and enjoyable atmosphere on campus.
WIS wants you! If you would like to get involved in the internationalization process, joining WIS could be your first step. If you’re interested in joining WIS and would like to attend a meeting, please send an introductory email to: wis@vssd.nl
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