Education

Beacons beckoning over the border

International students arrive in Delft with high hopes of making it big, hungry for a better education and better life. But many of these students are also finding out that this isn’t the end of the world, that in fact there are also great opportunities abroad for fascinating research and career-
boosting internships.

While TU Delft and the Netherlands are the places international students have traveled to from afar to pursue their educations and careers, some internationals are also starting to discover the advantages of simply studying in a European Union country; that is, studying in a EU country like the Netherlands opens up a whole other world of opportunity just over the border, in bigger EU countries like France and Germany, which can offer even better opportunities than here.

Every EU country is different, with differing opportunities in various domains and varying work cultures, but this is surely a gateway worth exploring. For this author, the EU gateway has proved invaluable, leading to my current MSc internship at a leading research institute – France’s Inria (Cairn Labs). For TU Delft international students looking for better opportunities than they’ve thus far found in the Netherlands or who are perhaps even out of local options and thus desperate for help, Inria is a fine example of the beacons of hope and opportunity beckoning across the border.

From the infancy of computer science to the digital dominance of today, Inria’s history dates back more than 40 years, with a strong focus on five major fields of computational research. Inria’s eight research centers are located in different regions of France. Each year Inria welcomes students from around the world for research training experiences through its Internships program. Undergraduate, MSc and PhD students come and work in an Inria research team for short or long terms.

“It’s very important for research teams to welcome people from different countries and different universities,” says Olivier Sentieys, the head of Inria’s Cairn Labs. “The main advantage comes from the diversity of cultures and skills. This brings in multi-dimensional thought and enriches social and scientific activities in the group. For French students and researchers, discussing with foreign people also helps them to improve their English. Moreover, in our lab, approximately 65% of the people come from around 11 different countries.”

Inria isn’t the only research institute in France for engineers, of course. There are many other public scientific and technical research establishments, including CEA (Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission), CNRS (National Center  of Scientific Research), EADS (European Aeronautic Defense and Space company), which offer equal opportunities for students with electrical engineering and ICT backgrounds.

For international students who depend on huge bank loans from their home countries to manage the high educational and living costs of life abroad in the Netherlands, foreign research institutes can also ease these financial burdens, as, along with offering fascinating research projects, these institutes also offer very competitive salaries to interns and young researchers. TU Delft’s International Office also offers separate Erasmus placement grants for the students going abroad for internship or placements.

One of the biggest advantages of doing an internship in these research institutes is that to more opportunities ahead, either for permanent jobs or for continuing on as a PhD. These research institutes serve as mid-way points between companies and universities, where one does not feel like an employee hired for a fixed job or like a student with the usual university-bound restrictions. Moreover, with many other research institutes nearby, one is able to network with lots of different people and enjoy the cross-pollination of ideas between the various fields.

“I’d already known of Inria as a centre of excellence for research in computer science and automation, so it was an obvious choice to look to for opportunities,” says Vivek Dwarakanath, an Inria PhD student from India. “Research here is quite focused yet gives one freedom to spend time on broad-based topics. After working in industry for several years, I wanted to spend few years being in a research environment. Thanks to the informal atmosphere here, I’m really enjoying my life as a researcher.” 

French lessons
International students who come to the Netherlands experience some cultural differences and it takes time to settle in this new country.  The Netherlands however is in many respects an easier place compared to the cultural differences one can expect to encounter in France, where most people speak only French, making it hard for non-French speakers initially. However, most institutes in France regularly organise French lessons for their international students and researchers.

Further, with respect to students groups, Dutch students at TU Delft have very close-knitted groups that often don’t fully admit international students. But in France, on the contrary, student groups are much more open and welcoming, making it easier to gel well and find more students to befriend, including many from the African French-speaking countries.
“We enjoy more English speaking international students coming here because it helps us improve our English,” says Adrien Manikon, a French university student. “But most importantly it gives us a new excuse to party hard with new themes and make some great new friendships.”

Hoe verdeelt de TU Delft het geld dat zij krijgt vanuit het ministerie van wOCW in Den Haag binnen onze universiteit? Daartoe hanteert de universiteit een uitgebreid verdeelmodel.
In het verleden maakte een faculteit een begroting op basis van de te maken kosten. Dit leidde ertoe dat faculteiten over elkaar rolden om aan te tonen dat hun kosten echt hoger waren dan die van een andere faculteit. Daarom wordt na 2000 het geld toegewezen op basis van prestaties. Het levert een groep geld op als de wetenschappers publicaties produceren. Ook de instroom van studenten, het uitgeven van diploma’s en het realiseren van promoties worden beloond.
 

Geldstromen
De eerste geldstroom (die van het ministerie) is de laatste jaren niet voldoende meer om ons allemaal aan het werk te houden en de kwaliteit te leveren die van ons als TU Delft verwacht wordt. Daarnaast brengt het ministerie geld onder bij instanties als NWO en haar dochterstichtingen STW, FOM en de KNAW. Door onderzoeksvoorstellen te schrijven, moeten universiteiten proberen een deel van dat geld te bemachtigen: dit is de tweede geldstroom, onder andere in de vorm van Veni-, Vidi- en Vici-subsidies.
Er is ook een derde geldstroom, afkomstig van bedrijven, instanties als Senternovem en de Europese Unie. De industrie stopt minder geld in hun eigen onderzoeksafdelingen en haalt haar kennis bij de universiteit. Een mooie manier van samenwerken.

Op deze projecten worden promovendi en postdocs aangesteld. Zij leveren ook voor de afdelingen geld op, door publicaties en proefschriften te schrijven. Deze leveren zogenaamde BTA-punten op. Hierbij geldt: hoe prestigieuzer het tijdschrift waarin wordt gepubliceerd, des te meer punten. Projecten in de tweede en derde geldstroom leveren ook aanzien en illustreren het maatschappelijk nut van de TU Delft.

Door deze methodiek van verdelen weet je als afdeling waar je aan toe bent en heb je het idee dat je hier zelf op kunt sturen.
Het cvb heeft laten weten in 2011 geen BTA-punten meer mee te rekenen bij de verdeling van het geld over de faculteiten. Omdat een BTA-punt geld waard is, word je niet meer beloond voor beter presteren. Door het bevriezen van het allocatiemodel is er onzekerheid binnen de gelederen. Je krijgt hetzelfde bedrag als vorig jaar, maar: de kosten stijgen. Je weet dus zeker dat er niet genoeg geld binnenkomt. Er worden en zijn veel projecten binnengehaald. Maar er is een eind aan de inspanning die de staf, zowel wetenschappelijk als ondersteunend, kan leveren. Medewerkers hebben hun best gedaan om meer BTA-punten te behalen, maar worden daarvoor niet beloond.
Conclusie: met het bevriezen van het allocatiemodel zijn de incentives om te publiceren en meer promoties te verwezenlijken e.d. weggehaald. Hiermee lijken wij meer in de richting te gaan van een systeem op basis van vraagbegroting in plaats van de huidige outputfinanciering.

Het cvb worstelt, samen met de decanen en directeuren over de komende herijking. Herijking staat voor synergie en samenwerking. Het zal ons allemaal raken: er is niet genoeg geld om alle personeelsleden aan het werk te houden. Een logisch gevolg zal zijn: reorganisatie. Transparantie in het verdelen van middelen is hierbij een vereiste.
Allocatiemodel, BTA-punten. Wat wordt hiermee bedoeld? Als het goed is ligt het laatste OR-Signaal Nu op uw koffietafel, met daarin een open brief aan het college van bestuur (cvb). Hierin staan veel argumenten en overpeinzingen waarom dit geen goed beleid is. Ook u kunt uw mening geven op onze weblog: or.weblog.tudelft.nl .

Dineke Heersma,voorzitter ondernemingsraad

De or bespreekt dit soort zaken in haar vergaderingen. Deze kunt u bijwonen. Er is spreekrecht voor toehoorders.
 

While TU Delft and the Netherlands are the places international students have traveled to from afar to pursue their educations and careers, some internationals are also starting to discover the advantages of simply studying in a European Union country; that is, studying in a EU country like the Netherlands opens up a whole other world of opportunity just over the border, in bigger EU countries like France and Germany, which can offer even better opportunities than here.

Every EU country is different, with differing opportunities in various domains and varying work cultures, but this is surely a gateway worth exploring. For this author, the EU gateway has proved invaluable, leading to my current MSc internship at a leading research institute – France’s Inria (Cairn Labs). For TU Delft international students looking for better opportunities than they’ve thus far found in the Netherlands or who are perhaps even out of local options and thus desperate for help, Inria is a fine example of the beacons of hope and opportunity beckoning across the border.

From the infancy of computer science to the digital dominance of today, Inria’s history dates back more than 40 years, with a strong focus on five major fields of computational research. Inria’s eight research centers are located in different regions of France. Each year Inria welcomes students from around the world for research training experiences through its Internships program. Undergraduate, MSc and PhD students come and work in an Inria research team for short or long terms.

“It’s very important for research teams to welcome people from different countries and different universities,” says Olivier Sentieys, the head of Inria’s Cairn Labs. “The main advantage comes from the diversity of cultures and skills. This brings in multi-dimensional thought and enriches social and scientific activities in the group. For French students and researchers, discussing with foreign people also helps them to improve their English. Moreover, in our lab, approximately 65% of the people come from around 11 different countries.”

Inria isn’t the only research institute in France for engineers, of course. There are many other public scientific and technical research establishments, including CEA (Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission), CNRS (National Center  of Scientific Research), EADS (European Aeronautic Defense and Space company), which offer equal opportunities for students with electrical engineering and ICT backgrounds.

For international students who depend on huge bank loans from their home countries to manage the high educational and living costs of life abroad in the Netherlands, foreign research institutes can also ease these financial burdens, as, along with offering fascinating research projects, these institutes also offer very competitive salaries to interns and young researchers. TU Delft’s International Office also offers separate Erasmus placement grants for the students going abroad for internship or placements.

One of the biggest advantages of doing an internship in these research institutes is that to more opportunities ahead, either for permanent jobs or for continuing on as a PhD. These research institutes serve as mid-way points between companies and universities, where one does not feel like an employee hired for a fixed job or like a student with the usual university-bound restrictions. Moreover, with many other research institutes nearby, one is able to network with lots of different people and enjoy the cross-pollination of ideas between the various fields.

“I’d already known of Inria as a centre of excellence for research in computer science and automation, so it was an obvious choice to look to for opportunities,” says Vivek Dwarakanath, an Inria PhD student from India. “Research here is quite focused yet gives one freedom to spend time on broad-based topics. After working in industry for several years, I wanted to spend few years being in a research environment. Thanks to the informal atmosphere here, I’m really enjoying my life as a researcher.” 

French lessons
International students who come to the Netherlands experience some cultural differences and it takes time to settle in this new country.  The Netherlands however is in many respects an easier place compared to the cultural differences one can expect to encounter in France, where most people speak only French, making it hard for non-French speakers initially. However, most institutes in France regularly organise French lessons for their international students and researchers.

Further, with respect to students groups, Dutch students at TU Delft have very close-knitted groups that often don’t fully admit international students. But in France, on the contrary, student groups are much more open and welcoming, making it easier to gel well and find more students to befriend, including many from the African French-speaking countries.
“We enjoy more English speaking international students coming here because it helps us improve our English,” says Adrien Manikon, a French university student. “But most importantly it gives us a new excuse to party hard with new themes and make some great new friendships.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Public_Scientific_and_Technical_Research_Establishment

Editor Redactie

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