Education

Duwo wants internationalisation centre

It’s tough for international students to arrange their own housing before arriving in Delft. Fortunately, the TU provides housing for many foreign students.

But, are these students really so fortunate?

Only MSc and exchange students qualify for the Short Stay Housing (SSH) provided by Duwo, the TU’s student housing association. Foreign BSc students must arrange their own housing. This must change, say AAG, a party in the Student Council. Last November, AAG and the TU’s executive board agreed on a housing guarantee concept for foreign students. AAG suggested that rooms (measuring eight sq. meters) should be provided for the first six months of their stay, with the possibility of extensions if no new foreign students applied for their rooms.

Is finding accommodation in Delft really such an exasperating task? And is AAG’s initiative a miraculous solution to all housing troubles?

Listening to Thomas Lørset’s story, it’s clear that many issues have yet to be resolved. The Norwegian architecture student chose Delft for his Erasmus year: ”The TU said it could provide housing and that was an important advantage; it influenced my decision.” Arriving in Delft, Lørset was pleased his housing had been arranged, even though he’d applied late. He was, however, disappointed by the size of his room, measuring six sq. meters, because it was too small for his computer and drawing table. Lørset then discovered that access to the shower was via a housemate’s room and that his own carpet and mattress were dirty. ”The dirt and dust were barely tolerable, but the stench of cat piss % that was really repulsive,” says Lørset. He contacted Duwo to request another room, but Duwo told him: ”It’s not that bad, it’s better than sleeping under a bridge, which is the alternative. You won’t find anywhere else.” Lørset is convinced that other rooms were available, but that Duwo couldn’t be bothered to help.

Stuck

With no alternative, Lørset went to several instemmingen, hoping to find a room; but with his poor Dutch and only a year to spend in Delft, he didn’t stand a chance. When he finally found a place in Rotterdam, however, Lørset’s next problem was giving up his Duwo room: ”I’d signed my contract alone, but, as my housemate’s signature was also on it, Duwo said we’d both have to quit the room or else my roommate would have to pay rent for both of us.” Fortunately, his roommate had a friend willing to take Lørset’s place.

Davie Iman Santosa, an MSc architecture student from Indonesia, is also disappointed with Duwo: ”I asked Duwo for a fridge with a freezer compartment, and Duwo said: ‘You live close to a supermarket, go buy fresh stuff every day.’ That’s not professional.” Santosa is ‘stuck’ at the Roland Holstlaan because he has a scholarship. Santosa believes his rent (575 guilders a month) is much too high for his tiny room and basic furniture. ”In the eighteen months I’ve lived here, my neighbours have changed two or three times. People find better, cheaper housing.” Security is another problem: ”When I first moved in here, refugees and tramps slept in the emergency staircase. And many of my friends have experienced break-ins.” However, Santosa adds that the new security guard and Internet access are important, if long overdue, improvements.

Burglaries

According to Alberto Bordallo, from Spain, and Andrea Califano, from Italy, the Roland Holst accommodation is ”fine for the first few months, but for four years it’d be disgusting.” The two computational mechanics researchers are neighbours. Bordallo has lived on campuses in Granada and Geneva, finding both better value than Delft. Califano, who was here two years ago on an Erasmus exchange, prefers his individual unit to the one he shared at the Sebastiaan Brug Hostel, but he can’t get used to his windowless kitchen. Despite the many inconveniences, both Califano and Bordallo say their first months rent is money well spent in return for guareenteed housing. As for security issues: ”We felt fine until we heard about the frequent burglaries.”

Duwo’s general director, Jan Benschop, claims to receive very few complaints, however.

Benschop: ”Satisfaction concerning issues such as security, interiors and location depends very much on a student’s background. We try to make our tenants feel at home. For example, when we’re expecting Indonesian guests, we replace the pans with woks.”

Owing to its close cooperation with TU Delft and the growing number of foreign staff and students, the SSH department has expanded greatly in the past few years. The number of units has increased rapidly too, currently totaling 900 furnished units, although Benschop claims ”housing all our MSc students last summer was a hell of a job.” As for interior decoration, security measures and cleaners, Benschop refers to the furnished units at Roland Holstlaan, Oost Indië Plaats and the Sebastiaan Brug Hostel as ‘hotel accommodation’.

Karnemelk

Benschop admits that foreign BSc students can’t be compared to Dutch BSc students. Duwo could more effectively help international students if the faculties encouraged students to make room reservations. ”If students just show up on our doorstep, there’s little we can do. Those who applied via the reservation system deserve priority and we don’t usually have vacant rooms.”

Concerning the proposed housing guarantee for international students, Benschop said that several hundred new housing units will be built in norhtern Delft. This, he claims, will create enough extra capacity for foreign students. ”We’d like to create an internationalisation centre, with recreational and social facilities. I can envisage regular ‘welcome to Holland’ meetings and guided trips to the supermarket to explain the differences between normal milk and karnemelk [buttermilk].”

If Duwo seems to be trying to run before it can walk, the TU’s International Office seems to be suffering from paralysis, with delays impeding its growth. Van Vegten, an AAG representative, admits that the housing units needed to implement AAG’s plan may take several years to materialise. Foreign BSc students, therefore, will have little or no prospect of increased support in the near future. However, if they’re lucky, their extra efforts to find accommodation may be rewarded with something better than sleeping under a bridge or, for that matter, Duwo’s Short Stay Housing.

It’s tough for international students to arrange their own housing before arriving in Delft. Fortunately, the TU provides housing for many foreign students. But, are these students really so fortunate?

Only MSc and exchange students qualify for the Short Stay Housing (SSH) provided by Duwo, the TU’s student housing association. Foreign BSc students must arrange their own housing. This must change, say AAG, a party in the Student Council. Last November, AAG and the TU’s executive board agreed on a housing guarantee concept for foreign students. AAG suggested that rooms (measuring eight sq. meters) should be provided for the first six months of their stay, with the possibility of extensions if no new foreign students applied for their rooms.

Is finding accommodation in Delft really such an exasperating task? And is AAG’s initiative a miraculous solution to all housing troubles?

Listening to Thomas Lørset’s story, it’s clear that many issues have yet to be resolved. The Norwegian architecture student chose Delft for his Erasmus year: ”The TU said it could provide housing and that was an important advantage; it influenced my decision.” Arriving in Delft, Lørset was pleased his housing had been arranged, even though he’d applied late. He was, however, disappointed by the size of his room, measuring six sq. meters, because it was too small for his computer and drawing table. Lørset then discovered that access to the shower was via a housemate’s room and that his own carpet and mattress were dirty. ”The dirt and dust were barely tolerable, but the stench of cat piss % that was really repulsive,” says Lørset. He contacted Duwo to request another room, but Duwo told him: ”It’s not that bad, it’s better than sleeping under a bridge, which is the alternative. You won’t find anywhere else.” Lørset is convinced that other rooms were available, but that Duwo couldn’t be bothered to help.

Stuck

With no alternative, Lørset went to several instemmingen, hoping to find a room; but with his poor Dutch and only a year to spend in Delft, he didn’t stand a chance. When he finally found a place in Rotterdam, however, Lørset’s next problem was giving up his Duwo room: ”I’d signed my contract alone, but, as my housemate’s signature was also on it, Duwo said we’d both have to quit the room or else my roommate would have to pay rent for both of us.” Fortunately, his roommate had a friend willing to take Lørset’s place.

Davie Iman Santosa, an MSc architecture student from Indonesia, is also disappointed with Duwo: ”I asked Duwo for a fridge with a freezer compartment, and Duwo said: ‘You live close to a supermarket, go buy fresh stuff every day.’ That’s not professional.” Santosa is ‘stuck’ at the Roland Holstlaan because he has a scholarship. Santosa believes his rent (575 guilders a month) is much too high for his tiny room and basic furniture. ”In the eighteen months I’ve lived here, my neighbours have changed two or three times. People find better, cheaper housing.” Security is another problem: ”When I first moved in here, refugees and tramps slept in the emergency staircase. And many of my friends have experienced break-ins.” However, Santosa adds that the new security guard and Internet access are important, if long overdue, improvements.

Burglaries

According to Alberto Bordallo, from Spain, and Andrea Califano, from Italy, the Roland Holst accommodation is ”fine for the first few months, but for four years it’d be disgusting.” The two computational mechanics researchers are neighbours. Bordallo has lived on campuses in Granada and Geneva, finding both better value than Delft. Califano, who was here two years ago on an Erasmus exchange, prefers his individual unit to the one he shared at the Sebastiaan Brug Hostel, but he can’t get used to his windowless kitchen. Despite the many inconveniences, both Califano and Bordallo say their first months rent is money well spent in return for guareenteed housing. As for security issues: ”We felt fine until we heard about the frequent burglaries.”

Duwo’s general director, Jan Benschop, claims to receive very few complaints, however.

Benschop: ”Satisfaction concerning issues such as security, interiors and location depends very much on a student’s background. We try to make our tenants feel at home. For example, when we’re expecting Indonesian guests, we replace the pans with woks.”

Owing to its close cooperation with TU Delft and the growing number of foreign staff and students, the SSH department has expanded greatly in the past few years. The number of units has increased rapidly too, currently totaling 900 furnished units, although Benschop claims ”housing all our MSc students last summer was a hell of a job.” As for interior decoration, security measures and cleaners, Benschop refers to the furnished units at Roland Holstlaan, Oost Indië Plaats and the Sebastiaan Brug Hostel as ‘hotel accommodation’.

Karnemelk

Benschop admits that foreign BSc students can’t be compared to Dutch BSc students. Duwo could more effectively help international students if the faculties encouraged students to make room reservations. ”If students just show up on our doorstep, there’s little we can do. Those who applied via the reservation system deserve priority and we don’t usually have vacant rooms.”

Concerning the proposed housing guarantee for international students, Benschop said that several hundred new housing units will be built in norhtern Delft. This, he claims, will create enough extra capacity for foreign students. ”We’d like to create an internationalisation centre, with recreational and social facilities. I can envisage regular ‘welcome to Holland’ meetings and guided trips to the supermarket to explain the differences between normal milk and karnemelk [buttermilk].”

If Duwo seems to be trying to run before it can walk, the TU’s International Office seems to be suffering from paralysis, with delays impeding its growth. Van Vegten, an AAG representative, admits that the housing units needed to implement AAG’s plan may take several years to materialise. Foreign BSc students, therefore, will have little or no prospect of increased support in the near future. However, if they’re lucky, their extra efforts to find accommodation may be rewarded with something better than sleeping under a bridge or, for that matter, Duwo’s Short Stay Housing.

Editor Redactie

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