Elese – Delft University of Technology – The Netherlands
Semester 2, 2024
Bachelor of Design / Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
Travelling solo across the world and then living and studying for another 6 months in a totally new country, was crazy to think about before I left Australia. I can now say that it was absolutely exhilarating, and I would highly recommend anyone to give it go!
Hi, I’m Elese and I study Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering. I went on exchange for a semester at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) at the Netherlands.
Me jumping around at this UNESCO site called Kinderdijk in the Netherlands
Some tips on travel preparation and student accommodation:
– Download Whatsapp and verify with your phone number before you leave.
– You can pay the extra fee for TU Delft university to further guarantee that you have a room somewhere, as finding accommodation in the Netherlands is a bit difficult.
– If you already arrived in the Netherlands and are still struggling with finding a place to live, check out university Whatsapp and local Facebook groups.
Language:
Luckily Dutch people speak good English so it’s easy to ask for help. I did learn some Dutch words on Duolingo which was helpful to for basic etiquette, following signs and directions, and grocery shopping.
Transportation:
– For general train travel around Europe, there is the Eurail pass to get a discounted deal.
– The Flixbus is a cheaper alternative compared to EU trains and worked out nicely for shorter trips.
– For trains in the Netherlands, you can look at the transportation website to get the ‘40% flex deal’ during off-peak hours.
– For cycling in the Netherlands, I rented a bike through a company called Swapfiets. Alternatively, you can find used bikes from this site called Marktplaats.
Euro summer
Exploring central Europe during the summer felt like a dream. Being exposed to a new environment with new languages, beautiful architecture, and exciting activities made me feel like a kid again. I learnt to not let my embarrassment of being a solo tourist overshadow my excitement to try new things. Hostel living was also lot of fun too as I got to hear stories from other all sorts of travellers. If you are planning to go to big cities like Berlin and Amsterdam during the Summer, I recommend booking the main attractions a few weeks in advance, since these places book out fast.
I saw this beautiful lake called Kӧnigssee in Germany.
Life in the Netherlands
The cold itself didn’t destroy me like I expected it would. Honestly, Brisbane winter mornings without central heating are kind of worse. However, biking through the rain and wind was a bit painful at times.
I did very quickly appreciate the Dutch cycling culture. Their cycling infrastructure is fantastic and made it easy to explore places, and to meet up with friends. One of my favourite moments in the Netherlands was when I went on biking day trips to smaller Dutch towns with some of my friends.
Here is a trip I did on the way to Brielle where my friends and I cycled through the Dutch countryside.
It was also so much fun to go for a night out in a different city like Amsterdam and still come back home because the public transport is not as bad as Brisbane. The pub culture is also plenty of fun with different faculty bars open different days of the week, and the city of Delft offering lots of cool hangout spots for drinks and food. I’ll always remember the times when my friends and I would have some ‘kapsalon’ after a night out.
As an international student, there were lots of opportunities to meet interesting people along the way during orientation week, within my student accommodation, and when working with other students during my classes.
This is Utrecht, my favourite city in the Netherlands.
Studying at TU Delft
As a bachelor design/engineering student, you can apply to different design course packages/minors. The course I chose focusses on applying prototyping in the design process. I found that they provided lots of resources like how they let us borrow 3D printer and a VR headset which we could outside of uni. They also gave turning, machining, sewing, 3D printing, laser cutting workshops.
As fun as this course was, it did not come without its challenges. A major difference compared to QUT was their mandatory amount of contact hours, so I learnt to become more disciplined.
I took part in a challenging group project which involved working with a Dutch design studio, and working with new types of technology I had not yet tried yet in my uni course. Sometimes there were moments when my team had to navigate miscommunication issues which not only affected the dynamic within the team but with the external stakeholders from the design studio. Through this, I learnt to become more confident to ask questions and share my thoughts, even in areas where I felt like I had little experience.
Me demonstrating my assignment which involved showing how we could design and manufacture with Augmented Reality.
Coming back from travelling also made me appreciate things we have back home like our early morning cafe culture, and our nice beaches. Though now that the exchange has given me a taste of what it is like to study, explore, and meet people overseas, I’m excited to embark on another experience like this in my future.
Find out more on how you can apply: Student Exchange
