‘A lot of Dutch students don’t even know about Erasmus Student Network’

“I’m doing a master’s in applied physics, now going into my second year. I have been here at TU Delft for about five years now. I was actually born in Delft so I’m very local. It’s nice living here but sometimes it feels like my world is very small so I try to get to know as many other people as I can.

I did an exchange programme in Denmark during the third year of my bachelor’s. I wanted to go to a completely new place and start from scratch and I realised that I would meet a lot of international people, which was interesting for me. When I got there, there was an ESN (Erasmus Student Network) section there so that’s how I got to know about the organisation. I didn’t really know that there was one at TU Delft. I feel like a lot of Dutch students don’t even know about us, so it’s actually one of our goals to change that.

I thought it was a great organisation, helping international students find their way around a new place. They have some really nice trips, which also helps students get to know the area by going outside of the city they’re in.

‘It was a big change living on my own and having to figure out everything by myself’

For me, the exchange experience was very special because before that I lived with my parents. It was a big change living on my own and having to figure out everything by myself and it definitely made me more independent but also more outgoing. You are forced to make friends in that situation. At home I had friends from high school and it was easier to connect, but there I had to put myself out there. It was so much fun to meet people from all over the world and everyone had an interesting story. I wanted to get that feeling again here.

I joined the board of ESN last year and my role is being the Public Relations Coordinator, so I do most of the social media and everything that goes out to the public. It was quite hard last year with Covid because one of the very few things we had was our online presence so I had to figure out how to let people know we were still here. We had no exchange students during that time, but I think we managed. This year is definitely off to a better start because we have exchange students again.

We’re an open organisation so you don’t need a membership. We just rely on the fact that people know we’re there and they can come to our events. We’re currently looking for some new board members, including a Culture Coordinator, a Treasurer and someone to replace me doing PR.

When I graduate, I think I would like to stay in the world of physics, not necessarily doing a PhD, but maybe doing research for a company. I’m interested in green and sustainable companies so this year my plan is to look for companies that interest me and find something that fits me well.”

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Heather Montague / Freelance writer