They came, they studied, and they helped the TU’s MSc program gain international notoriety. Graduates of the 1999 Master of Science International Programme received their diplomas last week.
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Last Thursday the Aula played host to the graduation ceremony of the MSc class of 1999. In keeping with Dutch punctuality, the ceremony began at precisely
3 p.m. In his opening address, Professor Wakker, the TU’s Rector Magnificus, praised the graduates and the program: ”TU Delft prepares students not only to work in the Netherlands but also for the international labour market.”
A main aim of establishing the TU’s MSc program was to make the TU an international pool of highly talented students. The program began in 1997, with 13 students in 6 courses. Today, more than 200 MSc students from 51 countries are enrolled in the program. ”Next year we will offer 16 different courses and expect around 150 students to enrol,” Wakker said. ”The program is definitely a success and I’m very proud of it.”
43 graduates received their diplomas during ceremony. But not all 99 students graduated, according to Annemarie Rima, director of the MSc Office: ”We started with 60 students in 1999, but eight students left for various reasons. 47 students are graduating this month, and the five remaining students will graduate in the coming months.” Four MSc graduates had already left the country and did not attend the ceremony, which was followed by dinner and a concert given by the 2000-01 MSc student choir.
Lottery
”They were what we Dutch call proefkonijnen (test rabbits),” Rima said, commenting on 1999’s graduates. ”This group really helped us in increasing international awareness of the faculties. They also offered constructive criticism, which helped improve the programs within their faculties. For instance we all now realise that there are many people at TU Delft who do not speak Dutch.” The MSc program also made a positive contribution to the TU’s new Bachelor-Master program, which starts next year. Rima: ”The Student Council first rejected the use of English for the MSc program, but now they agree.”
Liberato Lao, from the Philippines, an alumnus of the MSc program’s maiden year in 1997, attended the ceremony as the winner of a special lottery held annually by the TU Delft for MSc alumni. Lao was impressed with the program’s development: ”The first MSc group was a kind of experiment. It was not as good as I had expected. It was tough because the program was new and most TU faculties still didn’t know how to handle us. We offered constructive criticism as feedback for the next year’s group. Now, everything seems to be more organised.”
Tradition
Like last year, this year’s MSc graduates also published a yearbook. ”The yearbook is very nice,” Rector Wakker observed. ”I hope it will become a tradition.” Indeed, the yearbook, comprised of photos and stories written by the students, reflects the graduates’ experiences during their two-year stay in the Netherlands, as stated in the yearbook committees’ foreword: ”We learnt not only about academic issues but also about living far away from home, in another culture. We can say that this was a priceless experience.”
They came, they studied, and they helped the TU’s MSc program gain international notoriety. Graduates of the 1999 Master of Science International Programme received their diplomas last week.
Last Thursday the Aula played host to the graduation ceremony of the MSc class of 1999. In keeping with Dutch punctuality, the ceremony began at precisely
3 p.m. In his opening address, Professor Wakker, the TU’s Rector Magnificus, praised the graduates and the program: ”TU Delft prepares students not only to work in the Netherlands but also for the international labour market.”
A main aim of establishing the TU’s MSc program was to make the TU an international pool of highly talented students. The program began in 1997, with 13 students in 6 courses. Today, more than 200 MSc students from 51 countries are enrolled in the program. ”Next year we will offer 16 different courses and expect around 150 students to enrol,” Wakker said. ”The program is definitely a success and I’m very proud of it.”
43 graduates received their diplomas during ceremony. But not all 99 students graduated, according to Annemarie Rima, director of the MSc Office: ”We started with 60 students in 1999, but eight students left for various reasons. 47 students are graduating this month, and the five remaining students will graduate in the coming months.” Four MSc graduates had already left the country and did not attend the ceremony, which was followed by dinner and a concert given by the 2000-01 MSc student choir.
Lottery
”They were what we Dutch call proefkonijnen (test rabbits),” Rima said, commenting on 1999’s graduates. ”This group really helped us in increasing international awareness of the faculties. They also offered constructive criticism, which helped improve the programs within their faculties. For instance we all now realise that there are many people at TU Delft who do not speak Dutch.” The MSc program also made a positive contribution to the TU’s new Bachelor-Master program, which starts next year. Rima: ”The Student Council first rejected the use of English for the MSc program, but now they agree.”
Liberato Lao, from the Philippines, an alumnus of the MSc program’s maiden year in 1997, attended the ceremony as the winner of a special lottery held annually by the TU Delft for MSc alumni. Lao was impressed with the program’s development: ”The first MSc group was a kind of experiment. It was not as good as I had expected. It was tough because the program was new and most TU faculties still didn’t know how to handle us. We offered constructive criticism as feedback for the next year’s group. Now, everything seems to be more organised.”
Tradition
Like last year, this year’s MSc graduates also published a yearbook. ”The yearbook is very nice,” Rector Wakker observed. ”I hope it will become a tradition.” Indeed, the yearbook, comprised of photos and stories written by the students, reflects the graduates’ experiences during their two-year stay in the Netherlands, as stated in the yearbook committees’ foreword: ”We learnt not only about academic issues but also about living far away from home, in another culture. We can say that this was a priceless experience.”
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