More international students participated in De Delftse Bedrijvendagen (DDB) this year than in previous years. The career fair aims to bring students and companies together, but are international students benefiting from the event too?For international students, getting work experience is one of the important things they try to do while studying at the TU.
”Work experience in the Netherlands is very important,” says Albert Akovuku, a first-year Technical Management MSc student from Uganda. ”That way we can learn to apply what we study before going home after two years.” Work experience can be gained during summer internships or thesis-related internships. But for some students, like Hirokazu Shibata, a first-year Chemical Engineering MSc student from Japan, internships are something new: ”Internships aren%t common in Japan. Professors like their students to stay at the university.”
What are the chances of international students getting internships at Dutch companies? This year, some second-year MSc students managed to get internships, but certainly not all. Aryamir, an Indonesian Technical Management student, was one of those who failed: ”I tried to get an internship by applying to several companies directly; but unfortunately I didn%t get one.”
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Many international students had hoped that the DDB career fair would be a good opportunity to arrange internships, as the event’s main objective is to create links between students and companies. The annual DDB fair consists of three parts: presentation days (when companies come to the Aula), workshop days, and interview days. As many as 1,060 students attended the presentation days, following presentations or just visiting company stands. ”Not all of them followed the next two parts, of course,” says Berend Julsing, a member of the DDB organising committee. ”Around 360 students followed the workshops and 230 students attended the interview days.”
While most Dutch students know that the event is organised annually, many international students aren’t aware of this. This year, therefore, the organising committee tried to reach as many students as possible, including international ones: ”We sent information about DDB to all third-year students and older. The difficulty is, we don’t have all the international students’ addresses,” says Fokkema, another DDB-committee member. Consequently, they also used other promotional methods to get their message out: ”We put posters in all campus building, hung banners in front of the Aula and also placed Dutch and English advertisements in Delta. And everybody can visit our website.”
The exact number of international students attending the presentation days in the Aula is unknown. Fokkema: ”We don’t record all of them, but we did notice them when we sent information in Dutch and they replied asking for s.”
Proactive
Fifteen international students attended interviews, and while interviews with companies aren’t 100% guarantees for receiving an internship, they can improve a student’s chances. ”Interviews are orientation-based, so students become more familiar with companies, and companies cansupply more information to students,” says Fokkema, ”Once students have contacts, it’s easier and more comfortable to apply for an internship.” Shibata: ”I can get more information about Dutch companies at DDB. But afterwards, I think it’s better to personally contact the companies I’m interested in.”
For Magdalena Dartono, a first-year MSc student from Indonesia, the DDB was a new experience: ”Companies here give more information about themselves than in Indonesia and they are more open. Here we have to be proactive at the interviews. But although the DDB is professionally organised, whether we get internships or not will depend on the companies themselves.”
Some international students failed to attend DDB because it was too late for them to sign up. These students criticised the deadline for presentation participation, complaining that it was set too far in advance of the presentation days.
Fortunately, though, there are other ways to improve ones chances of getting an internship. Aryamir: ”It’s easier if you have good relations with your professors. They can refer you to companies.”
More international students participated in De Delftse Bedrijvendagen (DDB) this year than in previous years. The career fair aims to bring students and companies together, but are international students benefiting from the event too?
For international students, getting work experience is one of the important things they try to do while studying at the TU. ”Work experience in the Netherlands is very important,” says Albert Akovuku, a first-year Technical Management MSc student from Uganda. ”That way we can learn to apply what we study before going home after two years.” Work experience can be gained during summer internships or thesis-related internships. But for some students, like Hirokazu Shibata, a first-year Chemical Engineering MSc student from Japan, internships are something new: ”Internships aren%t common in Japan. Professors like their students to stay at the university.”
What are the chances of international students getting internships at Dutch companies? This year, some second-year MSc students managed to get internships, but certainly not all. Aryamir, an Indonesian Technical Management student, was one of those who failed: ”I tried to get an internship by applying to several companies directly; but unfortunately I didn%t get one.”
Banner
Many international students had hoped that the DDB career fair would be a good opportunity to arrange internships, as the event’s main objective is to create links between students and companies. The annual DDB fair consists of three parts: presentation days (when companies come to the Aula), workshop days, and interview days. As many as 1,060 students attended the presentation days, following presentations or just visiting company stands. ”Not all of them followed the next two parts, of course,” says Berend Julsing, a member of the DDB organising committee. ”Around 360 students followed the workshops and 230 students attended the interview days.”
While most Dutch students know that the event is organised annually, many international students aren’t aware of this. This year, therefore, the organising committee tried to reach as many students as possible, including international ones: ”We sent information about DDB to all third-year students and older. The difficulty is, we don’t have all the international students’ addresses,” says Fokkema, another DDB-committee member. Consequently, they also used other promotional methods to get their message out: ”We put posters in all campus building, hung banners in front of the Aula and also placed Dutch and English advertisements in Delta. And everybody can visit our website.”
The exact number of international students attending the presentation days in the Aula is unknown. Fokkema: ”We don’t record all of them, but we did notice them when we sent information in Dutch and they replied asking for s.”
Proactive
Fifteen international students attended interviews, and while interviews with companies aren’t 100% guarantees for receiving an internship, they can improve a student’s chances. ”Interviews are orientation-based, so students become more familiar with companies, and companies cansupply more information to students,” says Fokkema, ”Once students have contacts, it’s easier and more comfortable to apply for an internship.” Shibata: ”I can get more information about Dutch companies at DDB. But afterwards, I think it’s better to personally contact the companies I’m interested in.”
For Magdalena Dartono, a first-year MSc student from Indonesia, the DDB was a new experience: ”Companies here give more information about themselves than in Indonesia and they are more open. Here we have to be proactive at the interviews. But although the DDB is professionally organised, whether we get internships or not will depend on the companies themselves.”
Some international students failed to attend DDB because it was too late for them to sign up. These students criticised the deadline for presentation participation, complaining that it was set too far in advance of the presentation days.
Fortunately, though, there are other ways to improve ones chances of getting an internship. Aryamir: ”It’s easier if you have good relations with your professors. They can refer you to companies.”
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