Teachers testedA faulty server resulted in the English language proficiency tests that are now compulsory for all TU Delft instructors being delayed for two weeks, but not cancelled.
“In the coming year, all of the TU’s approximately 1,900 instructors will be required to take a compulsory test, which includes a computerized test and oral test,” says Madeleine Bos, project leader for the “Testing Proficiency in English’ project. “All the Master’s degree programs will be taught in English. For this reason, we want to evaluate how high the instructor’s level of English proficiency is.” The student council had insisted on such tests and the 3TU partnership between the Netherlands’ three universities of technology . TU Delft, Eindhoven and Twente – also reached agreements about the desired levels of English proficiency. “The level is high,” Bos says. “After the test, the instructor is advised as to how he or she can achieve the desired level, and then it’s up to the faculty deans and the instructors to determine what this should involve.”
Educating seniors
At the end of September, TU Delft will offer a program of courses for the over-50s under the title, ‘Higher Education for Seniors Citizens’ (Hovo). The lectures are intended for senior citizens who would like to discover new fields of study, to resume an old scientific hobby or to learn more about new innovations in their own academic disciplines. All TU Delft faculties will contribute to the Hovo program, ensuring a very wide range of courses. Course participants can, for example, learn why our drinking water supplies are among the best in the world, how airplanes are manufactured, or about the reasons behind the current boom in ICT applications. Course participants can choose from ten different subjects, ranging from nanotechnology and drinking water purification, to aircraft manufacturing, architecture, transport and biotechnology. TU Delft instructors, both current and retired, will teach the courses. The program is focused on the interests, experiences and learning methods of senior citizens. Each course consists of five, two-hour lectures, and requires approximately two hours of self-study per week. Depending on the subject, the course fees range from between €130 and €175.
TOEFL tested
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the test that is the non-native English speaker’s ultimate ticket into university programs taught in English is facing increasing global competition from the International English Language Testing System (ILETS), a test that has long been the most popular test for foreign students wanting to study in the UK and Australia. The reason: taking ILETS is cheaper, and ILETS’s verbal part is administered face-to-face. TOEFL requires candidates to record their answers for later assessment by a panel of graders.
Music & Technology
Last Monday, 4 September, TU Delft celebrated the start of the new academic year with a festive event for students and personnel based on the theme: ‘Music & Technology’. The special guest for this event was Jaap van Zweden, lead conductor and artistic director of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Radio Chamber Philharmonic. Hans van Luijk, chairman of the TU Delft Executive Board, opened the proceedings. He was followed by Paul Rullmann, the Executive Board’s Education Portfolio Holder, who outlined the developments planned for education in the coming year. He then interviewed Jaap van Zweden about his music, talent for leadership and international career. Van Zweden then lead the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of music by Stravinsky. With this special gathering, TU Delft and the Executive Board continued a tradition started in 2003 of celebrating the start of the new academic year with the university’s students, professors, instructors, researchers and other personnel.
Cartesius Institute
The three Dutch universities of technology . TU Delft, Eindhoven and Twente . have jointly founded a scientific research institute in Leeuwarden, called the Cartesius Institute. The project was initiated by the province of Friesland. “The institute’s goal is to promote economic development in the north and develop sustainable innovations,” said TU Delft Rector, Jacob Fokkema. The institutes 30 researchers must strive to convert scientific knowledge into products and services that in some way benefits companies, social organizations and governmental agencies.
Teachers tested
A faulty server resulted in the English language proficiency tests that are now compulsory for all TU Delft instructors being delayed for two weeks, but not cancelled. “In the coming year, all of the TU’s approximately 1,900 instructors will be required to take a compulsory test, which includes a computerized test and oral test,” says Madeleine Bos, project leader for the “Testing Proficiency in English’ project. “All the Master’s degree programs will be taught in English. For this reason, we want to evaluate how high the instructor’s level of English proficiency is.” The student council had insisted on such tests and the 3TU partnership between the Netherlands’ three universities of technology . TU Delft, Eindhoven and Twente – also reached agreements about the desired levels of English proficiency. “The level is high,” Bos says. “After the test, the instructor is advised as to how he or she can achieve the desired level, and then it’s up to the faculty deans and the instructors to determine what this should involve.”
Educating seniors
At the end of September, TU Delft will offer a program of courses for the over-50s under the title, ‘Higher Education for Seniors Citizens’ (Hovo). The lectures are intended for senior citizens who would like to discover new fields of study, to resume an old scientific hobby or to learn more about new innovations in their own academic disciplines. All TU Delft faculties will contribute to the Hovo program, ensuring a very wide range of courses. Course participants can, for example, learn why our drinking water supplies are among the best in the world, how airplanes are manufactured, or about the reasons behind the current boom in ICT applications. Course participants can choose from ten different subjects, ranging from nanotechnology and drinking water purification, to aircraft manufacturing, architecture, transport and biotechnology. TU Delft instructors, both current and retired, will teach the courses. The program is focused on the interests, experiences and learning methods of senior citizens. Each course consists of five, two-hour lectures, and requires approximately two hours of self-study per week. Depending on the subject, the course fees range from between €130 and €175.
TOEFL tested
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the test that is the non-native English speaker’s ultimate ticket into university programs taught in English is facing increasing global competition from the International English Language Testing System (ILETS), a test that has long been the most popular test for foreign students wanting to study in the UK and Australia. The reason: taking ILETS is cheaper, and ILETS’s verbal part is administered face-to-face. TOEFL requires candidates to record their answers for later assessment by a panel of graders.
Music & Technology
Last Monday, 4 September, TU Delft celebrated the start of the new academic year with a festive event for students and personnel based on the theme: ‘Music & Technology’. The special guest for this event was Jaap van Zweden, lead conductor and artistic director of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Radio Chamber Philharmonic. Hans van Luijk, chairman of the TU Delft Executive Board, opened the proceedings. He was followed by Paul Rullmann, the Executive Board’s Education Portfolio Holder, who outlined the developments planned for education in the coming year. He then interviewed Jaap van Zweden about his music, talent for leadership and international career. Van Zweden then lead the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of music by Stravinsky. With this special gathering, TU Delft and the Executive Board continued a tradition started in 2003 of celebrating the start of the new academic year with the university’s students, professors, instructors, researchers and other personnel.
Cartesius Institute
The three Dutch universities of technology . TU Delft, Eindhoven and Twente . have jointly founded a scientific research institute in Leeuwarden, called the Cartesius Institute. The project was initiated by the province of Friesland. “The institute’s goal is to promote economic development in the north and develop sustainable innovations,” said TU Delft Rector, Jacob Fokkema. The institutes 30 researchers must strive to convert scientific knowledge into products and services that in some way benefits companies, social organizations and governmental agencies.
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