TU Delft is many things. A world leader in education, research and innovation in the applied sciences is but one accolade. Its rich history is intimately woven into the fabric of Dutch society.
TU Delft’s also a university without. ‘A university without’ seems like a strange characterization, but it’s one that rings true. TU Delft is without a true campus, without a true culture and without true housing. While these are all critical issues that need to be directly addressed by the university’s administration, it’s the housing crisis facing international students that the university must handle now, since TU Delft is taking a strategic approach that involves positioning itself as a leader in international education.
‘Internationalization’ takes many forms, but the most visible is attracting international students to the university’s MSc and PhD programs. By its very nature, internationalization draws from all corners of the globe, and therein lies the heart of the housing problem: people from many different countries and cultures have many different understandings of what constitutes adequate housing information. In the middle of it all is the administration of TU Delft, trying to figure out how to respond to the international student’s needs.
There is much talk about the new university-owned housing that is to be built. While this is a good development, it’s but a drop in the bucket and does nothing to address the problem now. Perhaps the greatest source of disenchantment between the university and its international student community is the lack of information being provided. The major problem is how the university is communicating housing information. Nowhere on the TU website is there English information plainly stating there is no university administered housing corporation or that the social housing market isn’t a viable option for international students. In fact, the available information seems to imply that it’s a relatively straightforward process to apply and obtain housing via the social housing corporation Duwo. This is misleading to prospective international students: Duwo’s waiting times for housing are too long for people following two-year or four-year graduate programs. Furthermore, outside of The Netherlands, university-owned and administered housing is an expected part of the institution’s infrastructure. A very dangerous situation can arise, whereby the lack of direct, open information will lead foreign students to expect housing information to eventually arrive, but it never does.
Insulting
Defenders of the current system seem to believe that there’s no problem or that students should be happy with what they can get and stop complaining. When pushed, these same defenders argue that the available ‘short-term’ and ‘shipping container’ housing adequately addresses the immediate housing crisis. Sorry, but both of these are non-arguments. Available short-term housing is often too expensive and is only valid for a one-year period, so it really just delays the problems. The space-box/shipping container housing is just insulting. Asking people to live in former shipping containers is outrageous. When did humanity become so devalued that we can be treated like cattle? Never mind the horrendous expense of the ugly metal boxes. I challenge the university’s administration to provide just one example of a native Netherlander who would be willing to go study in a foreign country where the only available housing is a shipping container! Another argument put forward by the system’s defenders is that the housing void can be filled by the Delft tradition of offering rooms via instemming. This ignores the ugly fact that there’s an unspoken social bias in The Netherlands where buitenlanders are systematically turned away from Dutch student housing.
There’s no quick solution to this colossal mess, but TU Delft can take a large step forward by offering more, and more useful and transparent, information via the university’s web portal. Be honest about the lack of a university housing corporation. Be honest about the fact that social housing isn’t an option for international students. Be honest about the cost disparities between the social and private housing markets. Provide basic information about finding housing. Provide photos of ‘short-term’ and ‘space-box’ housing, along with information, so prospective students can make an informed judgment. Finally, be honest about what a truly bureaucratic country The Netherlands is, in that something as simple as personal housing involves governmental approval.
Ayon Kumar Dey, TU Delft PhD candidate from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
TU Delft is many things. A world leader in education, research and innovation in the applied sciences is but one accolade. Its rich history is intimately woven into the fabric of Dutch society. TU Delft’s also a university without. ‘A university without’ seems like a strange characterization, but it’s one that rings true. TU Delft is without a true campus, without a true culture and without true housing. While these are all critical issues that need to be directly addressed by the university’s administration, it’s the housing crisis facing international students that the university must handle now, since TU Delft is taking a strategic approach that involves positioning itself as a leader in international education.
‘Internationalization’ takes many forms, but the most visible is attracting international students to the university’s MSc and PhD programs. By its very nature, internationalization draws from all corners of the globe, and therein lies the heart of the housing problem: people from many different countries and cultures have many different understandings of what constitutes adequate housing information. In the middle of it all is the administration of TU Delft, trying to figure out how to respond to the international student’s needs.
There is much talk about the new university-owned housing that is to be built. While this is a good development, it’s but a drop in the bucket and does nothing to address the problem now. Perhaps the greatest source of disenchantment between the university and its international student community is the lack of information being provided. The major problem is how the university is communicating housing information. Nowhere on the TU website is there English information plainly stating there is no university administered housing corporation or that the social housing market isn’t a viable option for international students. In fact, the available information seems to imply that it’s a relatively straightforward process to apply and obtain housing via the social housing corporation Duwo. This is misleading to prospective international students: Duwo’s waiting times for housing are too long for people following two-year or four-year graduate programs. Furthermore, outside of The Netherlands, university-owned and administered housing is an expected part of the institution’s infrastructure. A very dangerous situation can arise, whereby the lack of direct, open information will lead foreign students to expect housing information to eventually arrive, but it never does.
Insulting
Defenders of the current system seem to believe that there’s no problem or that students should be happy with what they can get and stop complaining. When pushed, these same defenders argue that the available ‘short-term’ and ‘shipping container’ housing adequately addresses the immediate housing crisis. Sorry, but both of these are non-arguments. Available short-term housing is often too expensive and is only valid for a one-year period, so it really just delays the problems. The space-box/shipping container housing is just insulting. Asking people to live in former shipping containers is outrageous. When did humanity become so devalued that we can be treated like cattle? Never mind the horrendous expense of the ugly metal boxes. I challenge the university’s administration to provide just one example of a native Netherlander who would be willing to go study in a foreign country where the only available housing is a shipping container! Another argument put forward by the system’s defenders is that the housing void can be filled by the Delft tradition of offering rooms via instemming. This ignores the ugly fact that there’s an unspoken social bias in The Netherlands where buitenlanders are systematically turned away from Dutch student housing.
There’s no quick solution to this colossal mess, but TU Delft can take a large step forward by offering more, and more useful and transparent, information via the university’s web portal. Be honest about the lack of a university housing corporation. Be honest about the fact that social housing isn’t an option for international students. Be honest about the cost disparities between the social and private housing markets. Provide basic information about finding housing. Provide photos of ‘short-term’ and ‘space-box’ housing, along with information, so prospective students can make an informed judgment. Finally, be honest about what a truly bureaucratic country The Netherlands is, in that something as simple as personal housing involves governmental approval.
Ayon Kumar Dey, TU Delft PhD candidate from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
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