Technology treat at TU Delft

October 09, 2016 05:00 pm | Updated November 01, 2016 11:41 pm IST

An analytical approach to engineering and plenty of work options gave him the experience of a lifetime, writes Bharadwaj Reddy.

Bharadwaj Reddy

Bharadwaj Reddy

I finished my bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from VIT University in 2013. Beyond the books and the classroom education, my course gave me ample global exposure that led me to pursue master’s in electrical power engineering at Delft University of Technology with specialisation in power electronics and solar energy.

Delft University of Technology, popularly known as TU Delft, is the largest and the oldest Dutch public technical university located in Delft, Netherlands. People in this city speak their native language Dutch, but most of them can understand and speak English.

Delft is a small city with a rich history and is famous for its unique royal delft blue pottery. It has several beautiful canals and is almost heavenly for nature lovers. TU Delft has a student-friendly campus with excellent infrastructure. It is now becoming popular in India among students who want to pursue master’s in electrical, aerospace, sustainable energy, civil engineering and architecture.

Once a student gets a confirmation of admission into any master’s programme of Delft, issues relating to visa and residence permit are taken care of by the university. All master’s programmes at the university are of two years’ duration. The first year mostly involves course-work and the second is for carrying out an internship and master’s research thesis either at the university or a company.

TU Delft has an amazing programme called “Introduction week” for international students, which enables them to interact with students from all over the world.

The education system at the university is quite different from that of India. Most of the lectures are given through presentations, and the interesting part is that they are recorded. So, students who have missed the lectures can listen to them at their convenience. Every subject at Delft is more analytical and it makes students think and apply engineering principles without having to remember a bunch of equations and formulae. The student-professor relationship is quite open and students can call professors by their name, which is part of the Dutch culture.

At first, I was bit shocked to see the cultural difference, but over time I got used to it. A fascinating part of the Dutch culture is that people ride bicycles to work and for normal day-to-day activities.

All master’s courses are in English, and hence, learning the Dutch language is not mandatory. However, for the students who want to learn Dutch, the university provides free courses.

During the first year, most of the students do not opt for part-time jobs as the workload is high. However, you can find part-time work inside the university as a teaching assistant or work in a startup company. During the second year, you can do a paid internship and research thesis at a company. This can help you earn your living expenses. I did this for a year at Philips Lighting in the Netherlands.

The most interesting part of TU Delft is that it has one of the largest European technology incubators — YES!Delft. It enables students to build and grow technology in companies, helps them connect with innovative minds and inspiring them to pursue their passion.

Other than academics, one can travel inside the Netherlands and its neighbouring countries such as Germany, Belgium and France by train or bus at a low cost. After graduating as a master’s student from TU Delft, one has plenty of research opportunities. You can start your own tech company or join a leading technology company in any part of Europe.

The writer is research and development engineer, Inductive Systems

Europe (ISE) BV, the Netherlands.

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