The Executive Board of TU Delft would like to see faculties teaching more Bachelor’s programmes and all minors in English. This has emerged from the 2014-2020 Strategic Plan for the Internationalisation of Education.
In six years’ time, 40% of master’s students and ten percent of bachelor’s students should be from abroad. These, at least, were two aims in the 2020 TU Delft Roadmap, Freedom to excel. According to Director of Education and Student Affairs, Timo Kos, TU Delft will not hit these targets because the numbers of Dutch students are currently growing at a faster rate.
However, to reinforce the aim of greater internationalisation, a strategic plan (in English) has already been drawn up: Internationalisation of Education 2014-2020. This is intended to make education more international at TU Delft, and is based on five pillars.
For example, the bachelor’s and master’s curriculum should be more internationally oriented by 2020, with each Bachelor’s programme including at least thirty credits for subjects given in English. This will help students prepare for their master’s programme and will promote exchanges. The university is going to encourage – rather than oblige, at least for now – the faculties to teach their bachelor’s degree programmes in English. However, every minor will have to be given in English by 2016. At least three-quarters of all graduates must have international experience.
In addition, TU Delft is keen to attract more talented students from abroad to its master’s and PhD programmes. The university would first like to devise clear guidelines for recruitment of students, but international alumni have proved to be excellent ambassadors for the university in the past. TU Delft would therefore like to actively involve them in the process. The availability of grants and scholarships could have a positive impact on the intake of outstanding students from abroad.
Another pillar concerns open and online teaching: TU Delft wishes to deploy this in order to remain among the leading universities. For this reason, it would like to fully integrate online modules into its campus teaching, and to offer high-quality blended subjects (a combination of online and campus teaching), including those of other universities. Moreover, online teaching should be used by 2020 in every joint curriculum with other universities and in the developing countries in which TU Delft operates.
Enhancing the reputation of TU Delft is also part of the strategic plan. In the international student barometer (i-graduate), TU Delft has received a negative evaluation for such teaching aspects as the teachers and the size of the classes. It aims to score above average in these areas by 2020. At the same time, it would like to expand the number of joint curricula operated with other countries for structural exchanges, both physical and online.
Finally, TU Delft is keen for international students to feel more at home here, so that they can continue their careers in the Netherlands. The university would therefore like to include activities in the curriculum that promote integration, to offer Dutch-language courses, and encourage faculties to make internships possible. All activities organised by staff and study associations, and at least 20% of all student teaching assistant positions should be accessible to international students. New student accommodation should house a mixture of Dutch and international students.
The Student Council discussed the strategic plan on July 3 in an extra meeting with the Executive Board.
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