Posted in 2016

In the past months, you must have noticed the big amount of refugees requesting asylum in Europe. How challenging the issue might be for Europa, at the same time, this refugee crisis is a source of inspiration. It gives people the opportunity to act. And that is what’s happening: all around you people are taking initiative to make a change, also at the TU Delft. We would like to introduce you to: Engineers4Refugees.

A few TU Delft students thought it was their responsibility to act up. They founded Engineers4Refugees, promoted themselves and held information meetings. Around 50 engineers joined hands to develop a language and culture course for refugees. Together with ‘Vluchtelingenwerk NL’ and ‘Trainingen NL’, an accelerated language course was developed, with additional culture modules. Of course, modules about technology are also part of the programme. The TU Delft facilitates the classroom, food and drinks, while the students help with the culture lessons. The first course took place last week (see pictures), at the 6th of April, and was a big success!

Some numbers: in 2007, before the refugee crisis, around 250.000 asylum requests were registered annually (UNHCR, 2009). In 2015, 800.000 requests were registered in Europe (BBC, 2016). The average number of refugees European countries take in per 100.000 inhabitants is 260. The Netherlands is slightly above this with 266 refugees per 100.000 inhabitants. 16.500 asylum requests have been granted in 2015 in the Netherlands, (BBC, 2016), a little over 25% of the 59.000 requests registered (Trouw, 2016). This year, 2016, around 100.000 refugees are expected to request asylum in the Netherlands.

Do you want to know more, or help out? Check their Facebook page.

If you are used to studying at the southern part of the campus, you must have noticed that The Fellowship is undergoing some major renovations. Especially during the exam period, this inspiring (yes!) and motivating (absolutely!) study environment was missed. But, it’s all going to be worth it. Are you curious what deliciousness the New And Improved Fellowship will offer you? Read it here.

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Starting 4 April 2016, TU Delft will recycle all coffee cups used on campus. And you can play your part! Once you have finished your tea or coffee, please deposit your cup in the appropriate collection container. These containers are located at or near to the coffee machines. The cups from the coffee bars on campus will also be recycled. Please deposit stirrers, used teabags and other waste in the standard rubbish bin.

In addition to the option of using coffee cups more than once, recycling these cups represents the next step towards a more sustainable campus. The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Education and Student Affairs and Facility Management & Real Estate started recycling in February. In just two months, in excess of 200kg of cups have been collected for recycling.

But why recycle anyway? The used coffee cups are collected by Van Gansewinkel, a waste processing company. The cardboard is then separated from its plastic coating. Burning the plastic releases energy that can subsequently be reused. The cardboard is turned into pulp, which can then be recycled into paper.

For more information on the recycling process, have a look at: https://intranet.tudelft.nl/nl/services/fmvgict-pdc/gebouwen-en-terreinen/evenementen-reserveringen/eten-drinken/automaten/#c260950

Do you know where to study until 14 April 2016? The Library once again has extra long opening hours and extra study places available.

The Library is opened two hours longer than usual during the exam period. This way, you will be able to prepare for your exams every day from 08:00 to 02:00!

• As usual, the Library is fully equipped for a proper exam preparation during this XXL period. Whether you’re looking for a quiet place to study or prefer to mingle with other students; the entire Library is at your disposal.
• Feel the need to relax? Feel free to try out one of the massage chairs, play a game of chess or enjoy your freshly brewed coffee at Coffee-Star.
• The Math- and Mechanics Help Desk is fully staffed and ready to help you.

Don’t forget to make use of the parking discs. You can use a disk to reserve your workspace when you are away for a while, for example to get some lunch or do an exam. By setting the disk up at ‘your’ workspace, you can give other people the chance to sit in the spot until the time indicated on the disk. Read more about the parking disks here.

All faculties will be open at their regular hours.

Good luck with your exams!

Do you have an opinion about European politics? More specific, what are your ideas about the energy policy in Europe? For example, you might think that Europe has to fund solar panels, so 80% of the roofs are covered before 2050. Next Monday, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Kamp will visit the TU Delft and you get the chance to share your opinion with him. Who knows, your idea might even influence the actual energy policy!

Foto voor op de bewindspersonenpagina van Rijksoverheid.nl

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Dit is de onderzoeksvraag waar de Nationale DenkTank komend jaar gedurende vier maanden aan gaat werken. Een team van ongeveer twintig studenten en promovendi met verschillende achtergronden werkt samen aan visionaire, creatieve én praktische oplossingen voor een urgent maatschappelijk probleem. Het team kan daarbij rekenen op de input van experts uit de wetenschap, het bedrijfsleven en de overheid.

Misschien is meedoen aan de Nationale DenkTank misschien wel iets voor jou! Klik hier voor meer informatie over de DenkTank 2016 of om je aan te melden. Op 31 maart is er een interesseborrel in Amsterdam en inschrijven kan nog tot en met 17 april.

Afgelopen jaar deed Jorrit Vervoordeldonk, masterstudent Lucht- en Ruimtevaarttechniek en Management of Technology aan de TU Delft, mee met de Nationale DenkTank. We stelden hem enkele vragen om jullie een beter beeld te geven over hoe het is om deel te nemen.

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What improvements or changes would you suggest regarding the catering facilities on campus? Share your opinion about the restaurants and espresso bars but also the coffee and vending machines on campus. Also, what do you think of the idea of a bicycle repair shop or hairdresser on campus? Complete this 5 minute survey, let us know what you think and receive a voucher for a free hot drink! You can redeem the voucher at all espresso bars on campus. The results will be published after the end of the survey.

Op 19 april start er weer een nieuwe Nederlandstalige cursus “Presentatie Vormgeving”. Tijdens deze cursus leer je hoe je Photoshop, InDesign en Illustrator kunt gebruiken voor het maken van posters, verslagen, beeldcollages en portfolio’s. Gedurende vijf workshops worden de basisbeginselen van de programma’s behandeld voor mensen met weinig ervaring, maar komen ook zeker de fijnere kneepjes aan bod voor gevorderden.

De vijf workshops vinden plaats 19 & 26 april en 3, 10 & 17 mei 2016 van 19:00 tot 21:30/22:00 en worden gegeven door Carla Feijen. Zij is zowel beeldend kunstenaar als grafisch ontwerper en verzorgde in het verleden bij IO het keuzevak Presentatie Vormgeving als gastdocent.

Meer informatie & inschrijving

Did you ever wonder about the other side of academic life? Do you know what the life of a professor looks like? We dare to challenge your view. The University of Leiden developed a movie showing ‘behind the scenes’ of a university. And mind you, this is anything but boring.

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During the ICT maintenance weekend of 19 and 20 March you may experience service interruptions in the TU Network (both wired and wireless) and most other ICT services and applications on and off campus.

There will be maintenance work on various services and most applications will temporarily be unavailable on Saturday. One of the applications affected is Gateway. This means that it will not be possible to log in to a number of services and/or applications.

On Saturday, we expect the wired network to be up and running by 10:00, and the wireless network by 11:00, so you will be able to use Internet. All equipment in the buildings that is connected to the network should be fully functional also. The ICT services (such as e-mail, the printer and your data drives) and many applications may continue to be interrupted throughout the day. These interruptions can last from a few minutes to an hour. If you are connected and are working, please take into account that you may lose your work during such an interruption.

If the maintenance work on Saturday takes longer than expected, it will be continued on Sunday. More information can be found here. If you have any questions about the maintenance weekend, please contact the Service Desk in your building. If you would like to remain informed about all maintenance work and possible disruptions, please go here.