20 19 June 2014 | year 56
Biweekly magazine of the Eindhoven University of Technology For the latest news: www.cursor.tue.nl/en and follow @TUeCursor_news on en
2 | For starters
19 June 2014
Four European universities to launch magazine
It takes 11,000 to tango In my article on our international community, eleven people share their opinions. They reflect on the international community we should embrace, instead of the one we merely are. Eleven people, all with different ideas about how nationalities could and should mingle more. Quotes vary from: ‘Why should we integrate more, there are no conflicts whatsoever’ to: ‘It broadens people’s horizons, and it’s enriching to spend time with other nationalities outside the lecture theater, too’. I largely agree with the words of Viktor Bonev, chairman of international student association Cosmos: “There’s no harm in taking baby steps, but we shouldn’t be afraid to take them.” Internationalization advisor Vincent Merk mentions that ‘it takes two to tango’, but I’d like to change that to ‘it takes 11,000 to tango’.
Judith van Gaal, editor Curs or
So come on, TU/e folk! Have lunch, strike up a conversation, or hit the sports center with someone who’s actually from another country. For this edition, Cursor has done their part by publishing more articles with an international twist in English.
Buddha back in art pond Zwarte Doos
More news on www.cursor.tue.nl/en
Clmn
The Dutch connection
Who decides I am Indian and not Dutch at all? Which country or community do actually I belong to? As I landed in a different country, I filled in the immigration card with my nationality to be Indian, but residence to be in the Netherlands. I still write down my permanent address to be the one in Kolkata, India, even though I have accepted my little spacebox as my home sweet home a long time ago. I spent the past two weeks in Thailand, and faced a similar crisis. Every time a stranger asked me “Where are you from?” I answer something like “I am from India but I live in the Netherlands” or “I‘ve travelled here from the Netherlands, but I am originally from India”. Surprisingly, this vague answer often led to interesting conversations. It especially intrigued both Indian and Dutch people to think that I belong with them! I met a Dutch at in a Thai travel agency who gave us a discount for our next daytrip, associating my life stories in Holland with his own childhood memories. An Indian group of tourists became intrigued with my good experiences in the Netherlands and almost booked their next trip to Holland right then and there! The loveliest part of these experiences was when I noticed two girls were speaking Dutch in local public transportation in Thailand. No matter how little I speak Dutch, the fact that I recognized their language worked miracles and we became friends immediately.
16 June - Expect challenging articles, innovative insights, and an exciting design: Technologist is a new magazine published by four European universities of technology, including TU/e. The first issue will appear on June 24. The slogan for Technologist is ‘Innovation. Explained.’ The magazine shows how universities can join forces to contribute to the development of technological innovations all over the world. These innovations may offer solutions for social challenges concerning renewable energy, food, health, communication, and mobility. TU/e will be submitting several articles for every issue.
We compared Dutch and Thai infrastructure, politics, food, weather and cultural differences and not for a single moment did they consider me to be a foreigner in their country. A trip to a foreign land made me less foreign among people from the foreign country of my current residence. It’s amazing to think how my connection to people around this world has expanded and has become deep-rooted, and more so every day I spend outside my own country. To associate myself with more and more people and cultures across the world was one of my childhood dreams. Thank you Holland for offering me such a precious gift, that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
10 June - For several years, dozens of shiny black eggs with solar panels on top bobbed around the pond aimlessly. But come August they’ll be back in solar business, because then the Buddha that was originally the center of Alex Vermeulen’s artwork SOH19 States of Nature will return. Buddha will be equipped with a new hydraulic system that can push the black statue out of the water when the sun shines, which was the idea originally. The system includes a safety that ensures the figure won’t come up in adverse weather conditions like strong winds or frost.
Green light H renovation oofdgebouw
13 June - The Su pervisory Boar d OK’d the reno The renovatio vation plans fo n will be divide r the Hoofdgeb d over three su before 2015, fo ouw. b-projects: the llowed by dem move of all resi olition and as and finally a tw dents bestos remed o-and-a-half-ye iation until mid ar reconstructio will be housin 2016, n. By the end g two departm of 2018, the bu ents, eight su services, and ilding pporting the Executive Board. Because the re novation plan s will be implem fully, the 14-p ented ercent baselin e -the annual of the budget portion that is earmar ked for housin be exceeded. g- will However, the Su pervisory Boar well as the Exec d as utive Board th ink it’s accept says Executive able, Board membe r Jo van Ham.
Extra teachers and evening lectures to handle student increase 17 June - In order to handle the increase of new students, the Executive Board will be paying for the appointment of fifteen extra lecturers for the upcoming academic year. A small part of lectures will be schedules in the evening. These measures are a result of a memo from the task force Accommodating Growth, which the University Council considered ‘weak’ last Monday. They had hoped for more structural proposals with an eye on the future.
Bipashyee Ghosh of Innovatio , Master student n Sciences
According to the Rector, departments have been invited to submit their long-term plans some time ago already. The plans should make clear how departments expect to handle possible growth, and how they’ll cope with a possible shrinkage. So far, the Executive Board has received only a single multi-year plan, submitted by Applied Mathematics. The board hopes to be able to distill a format from that plan, for other departments to use.
Research | 3
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4 burning questions 1 ’s on What f your o r e ov ? the c ation t r e s dis
3
2 Wh a peo t do yo ple u te a whe t par ll ties n abo ut y they a s our rese k arch ?
What person, technology, or device has been essential for your research?
4 does How efit n e b ty socie ur work? yo from
Peter Pasmans | Applied Physics Following atoms with ultrafast lasers and electrons 1 | cover Ultrafast electron diffraction makes use of the so-called ‘pump-probe’ technique. An artistic illustration of this technique is shown on the cover. The black dots form a hexagonal lattice of atoms, as in graphene, which are still ordered on the left. The red ‘pump’ laser pulse heats the lattice, causing the atoms to vibrate more and to lose their ordering (towards the right). The green ‘probe’ electron pulse is used to monitor this structural change over time. 2 | parties The typical timescale on which atoms move in a lattice
3 | essential The great support of the technicians in the group has been essential for our research experiments, but the enthusiasm of my promotor has also been very important.
4 | society benefit There are many research areas where the use of ultrafast electron diffraction could lead to better and new insights. Examples include research on superconductivity for reducing electrical transportation losses or research on protein dynamics for understanding and curing of certain diseases.
is 100 femtoseconds. To get an idea of how fast that is: 100 femtoseconds in relation to 1 second is comparable to 1 second in relation to 300 000 years. Ultrafast electron diffraction makes it possible to follow changes in the ordering of atoms at these ultrashort timescales. We have explored fundamental limits of this technique with the ultimate, future objective to be able to follow atomic processes in complex molecules such as proteins.
David Caicedo Fernández | Electrical Engineering
Smart lighting systems
1 | cover On the cover we see a typical modern ‘open office’, with 3 | essential The prototype of a new kind of occupancy sensor, room for many work stations and a large window that allows daylight to come in. The diagram above shows how data from two kinds of sensors, one measuring occupancy and the other illumination levels, are used to control the artificial lights in such workplaces. The sun is also shown, because even though we cannot control it, it plays an important role.
2 | parties We want to minimize the energy used for lighting in office buildings, while still providing enough light for the people to work. That means we have to find a happy medium between keeping on the artificial lights at all times (ensuring that there is always enough light) and turning them off during the day (at the risk of people not having enough light on cloudy days). I developed algorithms to control the lights based on data from detectors measuring motion and light levels.
developed by Philips, has been essential. I used it to develop and test algorithms for detecting occupancy.
4 | society benefit Reducing the energy used by artificial lighting in office buildings has obvious financial and environmental benefits. We are trying to accomplish this without distracting the workers, who won’t like the lights switching on and off as if they were in a club.
Adrian Cioroianu | Applied Physics Strength of polymer networks 1 | cover The cover of my thesis shows an artist’s impression of a 3 | essential My work belongs to the very broad field of theoretical bridge constructed with polymer networks. Just like bridges, polymer networks achieve outstanding structural stability with the least amount of material.
2 | parties The cells in our body, the tissues in our internal organs, they all use networks of polymeric materials to stay in one piece - quite literally. These networks are the workhorses that maintain structural stability and integrity. It is therefore paramount to understand, investigate and predict how these structures behave under mechanical loading, as they are constantly subjected to deformations, wear and tear.
physics. Some say that a modern theoretical physicist needs nothing more than a computer and unrestricted access to scientific journals to pursue research. I couldn’t disagree more. Over the years I’ve enjoyed fruitful collaborations with many other researchers, but if I were to name one person that has been indispensable for this research project, it would be my day-to-day supervisor, dr. Kees Storm.
4 | society benefit
I believe that this work is relevant and useful to anyone interested in biomedical materials, particularly those looking to designing bio-mimetic materials to replace or support natural biomaterials. Looking further ahead, I think my work also provides interesting directions for bio-inspired synthetic materials. The materials that we are made of possess some amazing functionalities that we would love to be able to copy in man-made materials.
4 | Special internationalization
19 June 2014
From having an internation Text | Judith van Gaal Illustration | Sandor Paulus Photos | Bart van Overbeeke Mexicans, Chinese, Italians, Russians and Brazilians and many more other nationalities. Whereas the TU/e population is getting to be more and more international, the contacts across national borders are often still limited. The intention is to get an international community and more exchange. If it is to arrive at this ‘international community’, the university has quite a long way to go.
“Those three kisses on the cheeks, I just can’t get used to them”, sighs the Italian Valentina Bonito (26), a doctoral candidate at Biomedical Engineering. Together with nine other colleagues she is attending the Intercultural communication and cooperation training. In this course, doctoral candidates of all kinds of nationalities -including Dutch candidates- learn about things to take into account when dealing with other cultures. For example, they are shown pictures of a peach and a coconut. Their symbolism only becomes clear after the explanation of teacher Vincent Merk: “With the ‘peaches’ it is easy to reach the kernel and they have little trouble sharing private information. The shell of ‘coconuts’ is harder to crack. While a Dutchman at a seminar may tell everybody that he is married with two children, a Chinese student sticks to giving away his job title.” That differences may occur just a small distance across national frontiers is shown when Hannes Gemoets from Flanders (23, a doctoral candidate at Chemical Engineering and Chemistry) indicates that the Belgians are often somewhat less open than the Dutch. “Belgians may be coconuts, yet I do see that -once you have cracked that hard shell- their contacts are closer.” Both Valentina and Hannes have meanwhile got accustomed to the Netherlands and are dealing with different nationalities. The Italian: “I try to avoid only mingling with Italians, which is by no means so self-evident for everybody. I often see a separation during lunch. She (pointing at a Dutch doctoral candidate) is one of the few Dutch people who joins the ‘international table’.”
Getting in touch with the Dutch proves to be difficult At HR Services Mathilde Kockelkoren, project assistant internationalization, recently interviewed eighty international staff members especially doctoral candidates,
trainee design engineers, postdocs and associate and assistant professors. The goal was to find out which activities the target group needs, how they could feel more at home and how the gap may be bridged. Although she has not formed any conclusions just yet, Kockelkoren is prepared to explain her findings. “They appreciate that TU/e devotes time and attention to them. It was remarkable that only few foreign staff members are aware of things that can be done at the university and in the environment. They do not know cultural institutions like Parktheater and the Effenaar, for instance. In their native countries they are used to more activities taking place on campus. Although they are often quite prepared to learn Dutch, they do not do so because the expenses are not always reimbursed. Foreign staff members miss a social aspect at lunch. Whilst most international staff members are used to having a hot lunch, they see the Dutch having their prepared sandwiches at their desks. They don’t always know the Common Room. Also, international staff members would in many cases like specific activities – such as learning to ride a bicycle, following a workshop for repairing punctures or a debating night. What exactly they want and when may also differ from culture to culture. Often they found it rather difficult to get in touch with the Dutch. In this respect the strict separation between work and private life seems to be a factor. Few of them also were aware of the existence of the buddy system, whereby another staff member shows them around.” Before long the Education and Student Service Center will be holding a survey among students about the international community at TU/e. The strategic plan for 2020 states the intention of TU/e to develop into a truly international university. Why, though, does TU/e want cultures to mix anyway? And what should this look like? Karen Ali, director of the Education and Student Service Center: “We need more engineers and we need to seek them abroad, among other
things. We would like them to stay here and find jobs in the region. This implies that they must feel at home. In addition, we want to prepare Dutch students for living and working within an international environment and therefore need students with an international mindset. To achieve this, the idea is to come up with an integral approach. To get acquainted, for the introduction, the education, facilities and for student life. The introduction is largely a mixed event now, and we have the Common Room which is visited by different nationalities, subjects in the curriculum to promote integration. The Student Advisory Body will be a mixed body soon, as two international students will join in. And there may also be an intro for Master students. We have to keep working at this, though. There will always be things that you will have to do especially for foreign students. Think of assistance in finding accommodation and visas. Still,internationalization should no longer be a separate activity. I dream of TU/e being the home of a truly international community, which is tangible as soon as you arrive on campus.” Jan Fransoo, dean of the Graduate School, adds: “This subject is also being discussed within the Graduate School. We don’t so much want to move towards an international community, but towards a total community - of which all Master students, doctoral candidates, design engineers and alumni form part. Both nationally and internationally. We have just started to find out how we can realize this. Something else we would like is for ties to get closer between the different nationalities and for TU/e staff members and students to work in an international environment. It differs per study program how far they have progressed in this. It stands to reason that study programs with a limited international intake -such as Applied Physics and Mechanical Engineering- are less advanced in this than programs with a big intake, such as Electrical Engineering. The process is getting under way and it will never stop. We can give an extra impetus to it, however. For one, the study
associations now focus particularly on Dutch students, but it would be nice if they were also open to doctoral candidates and staff members. Personally I would like to see more international staff members among the support staff. Wouldn’t this go quite naturally if there were going to be more international students and staff members? That is the chicken and egg story. Perhaps we would have more international growth if the foreigners we have among us now would feel more at home.” It turns out to be difficult for international students and staff members to build up a network in
the Netherlands and Dutch people on campus hardly get to know the internationals. Other nationalities sometimes prove to look ‘across their borders’ to a limited extent as well. That we now only have an international community -and are not one yet- is confirmed by almost everybody we talked to for this article. Statements like ‘there is still a lot of work to be done’ and ‘we are only at the beginning’ can be heard regularly. The interviewees mention different reasons for this and also come up with solutions and things that could be improved. Rector Hans van Duijn regularly
Special internationalization | 5
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nal community to being one
talks to international students, in any case once or twice every year in an organized form - at the Student Advisory Body. Only three weeks ago he spoke to a group. “There are quite a few things we are already doing and international students are quite satisfied with TU/e and Eindhoven. Still, we should be disciplined enough to comply with our own agreements. When I hear that lecturers regularly fall back on Dutch again, when lectures should be taught in English, that does frighten me. That’s why I have told the deans and the Study Program Managers to devote attention to this. Even little things may make a big
difference. For instance, bear in mind as a lecturer that resits are in English. We also need to take into account that international students may not be as assertive and may have trouble raising their issues higher up. So it is good if they can tell us about these issues with a certain degree of anonymity.
‘Don’t fall back on Dutch’ Foreign students should feel welcome here. We gradually need to start building that community,
in particular with associations and lecturers.” Vice Rector internationalization Aarnout Brombacher is actively involved with both establishing contacts with various foreign universities and with, in cooperation with the TU/e Graduate School, setting up joint research and study programs with these institutions. “From my own experience I know how vital it is that there should be a good intrinsic connection, but that it is also important for foreigners, whether students or staff members, to feel ‘at home’ soon after arriving somewhere. This begins at the first introduction and continues into the
everyday talks at the various coffee tables about the weather and the latest football matches. However fascinating such a discussion may be, if it is held in Dutch in the presence of colleagues from abroad, people will feel excluded for a long time. These are small details that everybody needs to be alert to and aware of.” Viktor Bonev is chairman of the international study association Cosmos and came to TU/e from Bulgaria in 2012. He has always felt at home in the Netherlands. “It has a lot to do with my own personality as well. I easily make
contact with everybody. What was also helpful was my being in a group that included different nationalities, as well as Dutch students, during the introductory period. I am still friends with them. I’ve learnt a lot from the Dutch; many of them are very open. I think there are great benefits to be had -for all studentsfrom learning to work in an international environment at an early stage.” Although Viktor thinks that mutual relations among the various nationalities are improving, there are also a number of things that could be better. “I often hear from international Master students that their contacts with Dutch
6 | Special internationalization
19 June 2014
After the 2013 cantus.
students only increase in frequency in the third quartile. That is rather late. We try from Cosmos to engender as much awareness as possible in the study associations, because they have a lot of contact with Dutch students. Some associations may be doing this better than others. That also depends on how many international students there are in a program and on their subjects and the language of communication. For example, if there is an event, it is not always announced in English. And then people wonder why
international students or staff members stay away.” “I’ve also noticed that the atmosphere is different in various places at TU/e. At MetaForum it is quite normal for various nationalities to mingle. Now we try during the Intro Cosmos to draw more attention to this. We see that some study associations need some time to get used to our presence. We would like to see more Dutch students in the Common Room, but their numbers are increasing already. In addition, I would
advocate English as the language of communication about major TU/e projects. Think of the Solar Team and the Robocup. It would help in any case if most of the communication were in English. On the other hand, things would also be better if the international TU/e staff members and students also learn Dutch. The fact is that they sometimes spend a very short period here and Dutch is a difficult language to master. We can take this step by step, but we shouldn’t be afraid of making these steps.”
Good examples Some examples of what is already being done at TU/e • International recruitment and contacts. Fairs are visited, there are contacts with partner universities. There will be an international recruitment campaign to enhance the international name awareness and attract more students from abroad. • Facebook group that international students can turn to with questions and comments. • Introduction for international staff members and students. Since 2008 the introduction for Dutch and foreign students has mostly been a joint event. • The Common Room is below the ground floor of the MetaForum and is intended to be a place where all nationalities can come together. • The international study association Cosmos was set up at the end of 2012 and is intended to organize activities for various nationalities and to assist international students and doctoral candidates wherever it is necessary. • The buddy program. For students in particular at the IE&IS Department. For staff members there are plans to breathe new life into the buddy program again. The idea is for students and staff members who have been here longer to show newcomers the ropes. • Training courses in Intercultural Communication & Cooperation (especially intended for doctoral candidates and trainee design engineers). • The subject ‘cultural integration process’. This is taught at Electrical Engineering. Its aim is to make Dutch students aware of the international setting and the cooperation with internationals. Hereby Dutch students accompany international Master students in the habituation process. This way, those students also gather experience in leading a multicultural team. At IE&IS the free elective course ‘international negotiation’ is taught. There is also a subject about ‘communication skills’, in which a technical design is presented in an understandable and interactive manner within an international setting. • Events like Connect with my Culture, whereby different nationalities show some national characteristics. • The Get in Touch program, which organizes activities for the partners of staff members. • Before long two international students will join the Student Advisory Body -a sounding board for the Executive Board. Formerly these sounding boards were separated.
Jim Stolk is president at the FSE, the umbrella association of study associations, and sees differences in the approaches adopted by the various study associations.
“Don’t be afraid of making steps” “The awareness is increasing more and more. This is a more natural phenomenon in younger study associations. They communicate in English more. I myself study Industrial Design, where you see that different nationalities mingle quite well. We also have international students in committees. Within the ‘old four’ -Thor, Van der Waals, Japie and Simon Stevin- this awareness is also on the increase, although the process is slower. And occasionally the executive committees want things but come up against resistance from the grassroots. I see quite some differences between national and international students. Often they are more focused on their studies. I understand that, especially when your stay here is shorter. And it also makes sense that they cling together, especially at night when many Dutch students are no longer on campus. Although we also try to draw their attention to activities, somehow you do see few international students. Like the other night, at the BorrelXL. And the reason? It would appear strange to me if the international study association Cosmos were given the same status as the other study associations. After all, they are serving a niche market, the target group is fairly limited. Whether students go in for any other
activities outside their study is an element which I think lies outside the responsibility of TU/e. And why should more integration be needed? There are no conflicts at all. International experience can also be gathered abroad by Dutch students. Don’t impose anything, just let it seep in gradually.” Willem van Hoorn is internationalization adviser with HR Services (DPO). “It is quite normal for a foreign staff member or student to get used to a new country, and it takes some time. Getting used to the Dutch culture is even more difficult, due to the strict separation between work and private life. The Dutch are more task-oriented than relation-oriented. We are
“Especially, do not impose anything” helpful and that is noticed. Still, it is mostly from 9 to 5 that we are so. International collegues would also like to meet Dutch people outside working hours. I do see that the general awareness has increased considerably over the last few years. I think we are already doing a lot, and this is confirmed by fellow universities and employers in the region. At DPO we have a program for partners of international staff members who come along and that clearly distinguishes us as an employer. I know that some international colleagues finally decided on TU/e because of that program. If I was to determine things myself, I would make everything at TU/e take place in English. And I would set up a food court on campus, where we can meet and have a hot meal during lunchtime which may come from all global cuisines. People in policy
Special internationalization | 7
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The Holi festival in 2013 on TU/e campus.
positions may need to create the conditions, but if we want to get this done we shall all have to make a joint effort. First and foremost it is a mindset that needs to change. And that is not simply done by turning a switch.”
“Dutchmen are helpful. But mostly from 9 to 5” Vincent Merk is ‘International Community’ adviser with STU and gives training courses in intercultural communication and cooperation. “At TU/e we are predominantly multicultural. We should move towards being intercultural, though. From different cultures living next to each other towards cultures living with each other. In the courses I teach I always make sure that different nationalities are mixed. During breaks, however, you see that the Dutch will group together, as will the Italians, the Chinese, etc. Now events like Connect with my culture mostly attract international students. The big masses do not come. It broadens the horizon and enriches people when nationalities do mix more. You can create a foreign environment here. As it should be outside the classroom: mixed living, mixed sports, during leisure time. Things are better than they used to be. The range of the offer in the refectory has improved, more texts are in English- for instance at Cursor and Studium Generale.” Vincent Merk, originally from France, has recently written a vision document in which he makes proposals for arriving at improvements. He pleads for a three-step approach. “First the infrastructure
needs to be in order, which means everything you see on campus. Think of the signposting system, longer opening hours of the refectory, mixed living units, more international events.” The second step concerns the internationalization of the curriculum, education and communication. “More training courses in English and in Dutch and in intercultural skills. More bilingual announcements. And also use more international students in brochures and in films.” The third step goes into values and standards and behavior. “Many foreigners find the Dutch to be quite direct, but they often appreciate this. When students from a southern European country come here, they expect to be led by the hand. First you need to recognize the cultural differences and then to respect them.” Merk is of the opinion that we shouldn’t pamper international students too much and that this process needs to be tackled from both sides. “It takes 2 to tango.”
Total number of foreign staff members: 1,637 of whom 999 on payroll and 638 not on payroll. Of those 1,637 there are 625 from the EEA and 1,012 from elsewhere.
Top 10 international staff members China Italy Germany India Iran Turkey Belgium Greece Russia Spain
237 146 117 110 98 79 73 72 62 52
Source: Dienst Personeel en Organisatie
This academic year TU/e (reference date December 1, 2013) has 207 registered international Bachelor students and 544 registered international Master students. In total there are 76 nationalities among the students.
Top 10 international students China India Greece Italia Mexico Romania Germany Belgium Indonesia Iran
168 91 58 40 31 31 29 28 19 19
Source: Education and Student Service Center
8 | Special internationalization
19 June 2014
s Text | Judith van Gaal and Freke Sen dia ime wik Photos | istockphoto and
TU/e’s Tra
The Netherlands | Loosdrechtse
Plassen
out this summer? Not yet sure where you’ll be laying some time to In dire need of inspiration? Then take ch students and staff ‘flip through’ our travel guide, in whi in their home countries. introduce you to special locations
Bob Olde Hampsink and Jolijn van de Laar bachelor students of Innovation Sciences
Plassen with study association “We recently visited the Loosdrechtse day’. A day there is over before Intermate for their ‘active member by powerboats, passing you know it. We traveled everywhere villages, and swimming’s little cute beautiful waterways, seeing the small beaches for a barbecue. allowed, too. We moored at one of h. It’s just a typically Dutch place Another plus is that it’s easy to reac with lots to see and do.”
The Netherlands Loosdrechtse Plassen USA Blue Ridge Mountains
Morocco Ras El Ma
Mexico Hierve el Agua
Cameroon Limbe
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ca Mexico | Hierve el Agua, Oaxa
avel Guide Raul Quiñonez Uribe Master student of Biomedical Engineering
favorite hotspots in Mexico. Hierve el Agua in Oaxaca is one of my les you to stand on top of enab ally actu It’s a solidified waterfall that . The view and sensation of standing what it used to be: a huge waterfall to this, Hierve el Agua is located just there is simply breathtaking. Added one of the nicest cities in Mexico aca, an hour’s drive from the city of Oax ry over the years. Oaxaca is also that has upheld our traditions and histo d ronomy, as far as variety is concerne known for its exquisite Mexican gast my to visit a nd mme reco y nitel as well as the quality of the food. I defi of many places that will surprise you! one just is a Agu el ve Hier try coun
Lithuania Lake Ungurinis
China Fenghuang
India Nainital -KausaniMukteshwar
10 | Special internationalization
China | Fenghuang
Jiayi Zeng Bachelor student of Innovation Sciences
shwar India | Nainital -Kausani- Mukte
Lithuania | Lake Ungurinis
in the province of Hunan, Fenghuang is a small, ancient town home town of my mother. the is It es. inhabited by ethnic minoriti original houses, and the It is beautiful because of its old and us ethnic minorities living water and the people there. The vario And the food is great, too! . kind in Fenghuang are generally very rice fields and part of ese Chin by ded Also, the town is surroun thern Great Wall. the Chinese Wall is nearby: the Sou
Indre Kalinauskaite PhD student at Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences
try is a lake called ‘Ungurinis’. One of my favorite places in the coun be it’s because of the lake’s The name refers to a fish, an eel. May or because of its deep waters. shape -long and relatively narrowice age. My favorite thing about The lake came into existence after the and is relatively undiscovered by it is that it’s surrounded by forests find peace and quiet. For just people. So every time I go there I can experience nature and become a moment, or even two hours I can waters of the very deep lake. mesmerized by the mysterious dark rn to the car with blue hands, retu ys After a relaxing swim we alwa blueberries. In the picture you because the forest is full of fresh wild bridge. It reminds me of an see my dear friend chilling on a foot Lithuania in summers so much. amazing summer. This is why I miss
Bipashyee Ghosh Master student of Innovation Sciences
of the best itineraries for those Nainital -Kausani- Mukteshwar: one from a distance. Kausani is also who want to witness the Himalayas and it’s famous for its tea gardens known as the ‘Switzerland of India’, es. You can taste tea made from rang in the backdrop of the Himalayan e enjoying the panoramic view of freshly plucked tea-leaves here, whil drive to Mukteshwar to witness an the Himalayas. From here you can t seven peaks of the Himalayas at even more fascinating view of at leas forests and other vegetation of full once. The ranges are green and during winter. Finally, you come during summer, and covered in snow t around a huge lake in the down to Nainital - a touristic city buil can almost touch the clouds while foothills of the Himalayas. Here you ral beauty and peacefulness of natu boating on the lake. I enjoy the trip from the hustle and bustle, these places. It is a perfect getaway s in India. I went there in 2011 pollution and restlessness of big citie ere were a sight for sore eyes. and the green mountains everywh
19 June 2014
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USA | Ridge Mountains
Max Sumrall Master student of Computer Science and Engineering
Morocco | Ras El Ma
Cameroon | Limbe
s’ are the ones that everyone Of course in America the best ‘hotspot Disney World, the Grand are, Squ s knows about: Manhattan, Time Bridge, etc. I’m from Virginia on Canyon, Las Vegas, the Golden Gate are the beautiful Blue Ridge the East Coast , and one thing we have from the top of one of them, is Mountains. The best way to see them Rag Mountain Hike. This hike is and the most popular hike is the Old on. It has a long rock scramble the most exciting one I’ve ever been so much. Once at the top, it offers which is why most people enjoy it hours from Washington DC. great views. It is located about two all along the East Coast, and so nds The popularity of this hike exte hundreds of miles away just there are many people who drive from best weather, the crowds cause to hike here. On the days with the ng to be far away from any town, lines to form. It’s a very strange feeli dle of nowhere all of a sudden. and to find a line of people in the mid
Richard Forgwe Bachelor student of Software Science nest cities in Cameroon. It is Limbe is one of the smallest and clea of beaches and a nice ocean located along the coast, and has lots nical garden where I like to go to breeze all day long. There is a bota sound of the rolling waves which relax. From there, you can hear the eroon’s only oil refinery is makes me feel closer to nature. Cam amazing destination because located in Limbe. The complex is an ed to the middle of nowhere. it looks like New York City was mov Mount Cameroon volcano, and I The city is located at the foot of the It was astonishing to see how was there the last time it erupted. s transformed into a mountain as roads and a plantation of palm tree I go to Limbe just to eat roasted the lava flows passed. Sometimes h, sinceit’s the local specialty. sea fish from the area along the beac
Moumen Khatiri cleaner GOM
ide town in northern Morocco. Kaboyawa (Ras El Ma, ed.) is a seas re I’m from. I visited Kaboyawa for It’s close to Berkane, which is whe been there at least thirteen the first time when I was 18, and have town among Moroccons, but you times since. It’s a very well-known oyawa has it all: sea, beaches, Kab hardly see any foreign tourists. sell fresh fish everywhere. forests and mountains. And people I really go there to relax. I lie out Fresh fruit, too. Oh, those melons… , ng the day, and when the sun sets on the beach and swim a little duri se! the grill? Fresh fish, of cour the barbecue comes out. What’s on
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19 June 2014
Why universities are switching to English and how you can get better at it
The Global Language Text | Angela Daley Photo | Bart van Overbeeke As you sit in your classes and listen to your professors lecture in English (hopefully, without too many Dutchisms) you may wonder why exactly English has become the lingua franca -a shared language used by speakers of different native tongues- of the scientific and academic world (and business and diplomacy and … the list goes on and on…). Why not French, German or, gosh, even Dutch? And while it’s useful to be able to communicate with people from disparate linguist backgrounds, are there any disadvantages to switching to one common language?
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Ou Français? More than 98 percent of all scientific articles published today are in English, but that hasn’t always been the case. A few hundred years ago, as a member of the European learned community, you would’ve been expected to read and write Latin if you wanted to engage in meaningful discussion with your peers. Once Latin lost its dominance as science’s lingua franca, scientific discourse splintered into local languages. Researchers worried that the loss of a common tongue would slow scientific progress, so by the middle of the 19th century, they had settled on three primary languages - French, English, and German. Then, to put it mildly, we all got a bit angry with Germany. After WWI, the German language lost its prominence in the scientific world when German scientists were shut out of the new scientific organizations created by researchers from the US, England, France and Belgium. Things went from bad to worse for Deutsch when, in 1933, the German government dismissed one fifth of the nation’s physics faculty and one eighth of its biology professors for cultural and political reasons. Many fled mainland Europe for America and England and adopted the language of their new homelands - English. Britain’s colonial history and former dominance as a world power and America’s influence politically and culturally have also exerted an enormous influence on English becoming the world’s common language. And though for many of you it may feel natural for English to
dominate the linguistic landscape, there are many who disagree with the switch to this global lingua franca.
“His lectures are funny because his English is so bad” “Academia should be open to everyone. That knowledge should be free for everyone to use and to read. I think it’s good that it’s settling on a particular language”, says Nikolina Kukoc, bachelor’s student, Sustainable Innovation. “I think English brings the world together,” says Wouter Ligtenberg of the Computer Science and Engineering Department, continuing, “But there are sometimes problems. I have one teacher and, in Dutch, he’s a really wonderful instructor. But his English is really bad and the quality of his lecture suffers. They’re even funny because the English is so bad and that’s not a good thing.” The above quote illustrates one of the biggest frustrations for some academics who argue that a lack of fluency in English gives them a sort of “second class citizen” status regardless of their other intellectual abilities. According to the article, The Rise of English: The Language of Globalization in China and the European Union, author Anne Johnson summarizes the debate as such, “Should ability in a language (which is native to some, and to which educational access for the rest is unevenly spread) count for
more than one’s field-related expertise? Those who reply to this question in the negative accuse English-only systems of violating the equality of opportunity, and many believe that lingual and cultural rights, like other human rights, should not be left to market forces but instead be protected.” Professor of Applied Physics, Erwin Kessels, argues that while English is necessary at higher levels of scholarship, a student’s first foray into academic life is best done in his or her mother tongue, “I’m not against teaching in English if there are foreign students in a class but I think that we should be mostly teaching in Dutch at the bachelor level. Most of the students are Dutch and they’re coming to us straight from high school. They haven’t learned how to speak eloquently in Dutch yet. They need to learn to speak well if they’re going to become Dutch scientists. You learn a lot of other skills at university than just what you’re studying.”
Major obstacle for improving English is fear of making mistakes Regardless of the debate, however, for now, English is here to stay. And though you may be fluent, everyone could use a tune up from time to time. As busy academics,
gone are the days when you could spend hours honing your abilities, so here are some quick tips for giving your English a boost. First of all, linguists and language teachers alike agree that there’s no one “best practice” for improving your English. Local English instructor, Roz Burden, explains, “Some people learn more through reading, others seem to get a lot out of making vocabulary lists. I find that adult learners often face one major obstacle for improving their English and that’s their fear of making mistakes. They don’t want to look stupid so they don’t speak as much as they should. But speaking is crucial to improving. You can’t speak a language without speaking a language.” Nikolina Kurac (Bachelor of Innovation Sciences) is Croatian but describes herself as bilingual because, “Growing up, I read in English. English books were cheaper than books in Croatian so I bought those. You need to read if you’re going to become really fluent. It makes you more confident because you then have this inner voice that helps you to voice the words.” Want to quickly build your English vocabulary? According to theories of language acquisition, doing so effectively could all depend on what your mother tongue is. The conventional method of increasing your vocabulary -translation to your own language and memorizationis okay if your mother tongue is closely related to English, like Dutch or German. But for languages not closely linked (Chinese, for instance)
the learning process becomes more efficient when the translation step is removed and the new words are directly linked to actual objects and actions. For example, during dinner with a native English speaker (or someone more advanced than you) they would help you identify different food items, objects and verbs related to eating. Roz Burden offers yet another method: “Another way to build your vocabulary is by grouping things that are conceptually related and practicing them at the same time. For example, naming things and events related to transportation when you travel to another city or learning all of the terminology connected with a favorite sport.” Lastly, don’t forget to take advantage of TU/e’s resources. The university’s Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication provides classes for students and staff in English and Dutch, offers courses in intercultural communication, has a translation desk and administers language tests. Prof. Erwin Kessels offers some final advice for students as they advance through academia and enter an increasingly English-speaking work world: “Not everyone will speak perfect English but you will have to figure out how to handle that. This will be a part of your professional life. When you go out into the real world, you’ll quickly learn that you will have to try a little bit harder to understand someone.”
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