The 184th anniversary of TU Delft last Thursday revolved around the farewell of Tim van der Hagen, the Rector and Executive Board Chair. It was a celebratory event with plenty of praise and two honours, but also of concern about the situation of the world and that of TU Delft itself.
The Delft promise of 3,500 new social housing student rooms by 2030 is unachievable. DUWO and other social housing corporations have been unable to build much in recent years and have little certainty about future projects. Moreover, new figures paint a distorted picture.
The elective course architecture and colonialism will not be returning, despite a petition to retain it having been signed 200 times. The lecturers are disappointed about a lack of communication and support from the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. The dean states that it was always clear that the course would be a one-off.
The number of women professors at TU Delft remains far below the national average and its own target, even though five years ago that target was considered realistic. What went wrong and how can things be improved? Delta discussed this with Vice-Rector Hans Hellendoorn and Acting Chief Diversity Officer Cynthia Liem.
The fire in the student flat on Van Hasseltlaan last weekend was started deliberately. Owner DUWO has hired security guards to prevent a repeat occurrence.