Global Exchange on Two Wheels – The Netherlands

Hey! I’m Liam and I’m now a month into my exchange to TU Delft in The Netherlands. In this post, I’m providing a quick recap of my first time in Europe at one of The Netherland’s best universities. Whether you’re interested in applying for Exchange to TU Delft, or a Dutch university in general, I hope this blog post will give you some useful information!

TU Delft

The University of Technology Delft is located in Delft, a small student town in The Netherlands located comfortably between Den Haag and Rotterdam. It’s about an hour outside of Amsterdam by train, but don’t let that persuade you thinking there isn’t much to do. Delft is straight out of a fairytale – the town is ringed with canals, beautiful walkways and the Nieuwe Kerk, a leaning church that has been standing before William Shakespeare was born.

I got here just before TU Delft’s Introduction Week period started, which is a comprehensive program for Master’s and Exchange students. It has a variety of activities which you do with your randomly-assigned group – everything from Campus Tours to Singalong Parties are sorted for you! I hope you like beer!

Take every opportunity that arises and you’ll meet tons of new friends from almost every country you can think of. You’ll learn a lot about cultures you’ve never interacted with, and learn tips from the locals about the best places to visit in their countries. The best part? I now know how to swear in Swedish. Don’t tell my mum.

Studying in Delft

TU Delft offers many courses for technical degrees, and it’s famous for it’s world-ranking Architecture and Aerospace faculties. It’s EEMCS (Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science) faculty isn’t far behind.

I chose the Electrical Sustainable Energy Systems, which is a course package that is planned for you – you don’t need to pick and plan exact classes. It includes a wide variety of renewable energy classes – we learn everything from hydrogen fuel cells to power grid cybersecurity. As an Electronic Engineering student back at UTS, this is right down my alley. The course quality is exceptional, but intense. There’s plenty of maths! Like UTS, TU Delft is a practically-focused university – practical work is first and foremost, so many subjects launch you straight into worked examples and lab sessions.

Something I found amazing was that each faculty has it’s own dedicated bar and study association and they’re busy every night with many students. It might have something to do with the 1€ beers! The Aerospace faculty bar has a table made from an airplane engine fuselage. Everyone here is very passionate about their fields, students and teachers alike!

Accommodation

There are many options available through TU Delft for accommodation, albeit competitive. I have absolutely loved the International Student House (Professor Schermerhornstraat) so far. I would highly recommend picking some form of shared accommodation.

Prof S. (so named because no international student can pronounce it in Dutch) is an awesome balance between a private and a shared space. You get a spacious apartment and private bathroom plus a shared kitchen among 8 roommates. It’s a great way to socialise and cook together while still maintaining a private space when you need it.

Our unit had a “cooking evening” where all of us cooked our country’s meals and made an absolute feast. It’s one of my favourite parts of humans as a species – we uniquely find joy and connection with cooking meals for each other. By far one of my favourite parts of my exchange so far!

Getting Around

The Netherlands is one of the greatest countries in the world for cycling lovers – there are 1.3 bicycles for every person here. And it shows. No helmets needed, The Netherlands has the most extensive network of bike paths on planet Earth, totaling in at over 35,000km of that iconic red asphalt. That’s nearly 90% of the way around the Earth’s equator!

One of the trickiest parts of getting around for Australian students is making sure to cycle on the right side of the path! There are dedicated cycleways absolutely everywhere, and the Dutch will get quite cross if you don’t use them correctly. Once you realise how integral they are to transport, you’ll start getting annoyed at people walking on them too!

And no, you don’t need to make the three-hour ride to Amsterdam if you fancy a weekend trip. The public transport, while on the pricey side, is exceptional. Trains are quiet, comfortable and makes getting to beautiful Dutch cities like Utrecht, Den Haag and Leiden a breeze.

It’s amazing how close parks and farms are to massive cities. You can take a 10 minute bike ride to visit beautiful nature reserves and see farm animals!

But why limit yourself to The Netherlands?

Outside Travel

The Netherlands sits in its own cosy little alcove on the northern tip of Europe, so it’s a piece of cake to visit Belgium, Germany and many more just by taking a train trip. Trains are so convenient that flying is often slower.

Grab yourself a Eurail Pass for unlimited train travel (for a specified number of days) and head absolutely anywhere you desire. You don’t need a plan.

Okay, maybe you sort of need a plan, because many trains require reservations, especially high-speed rail in France. Make sure to book these reservations in advance. You may also wish to book a couchette sleeper for longer trips, such as my overnight trip from Basel to Amsterdam. Book Hostels in any cities you want to visit – many are as cheap as 30€ a night and include breakfast for not much more. I’ve already been to Oktoberfest in Munich, Zurich in Switzerland, Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium and a bunch of other smaller towns that were gorgeous too.

Tips

I was fairly prepared before leaving for The Netherlands, but there are still a few things I wish I knew.

• Bring Australian powerboards and AU-EU adapters. At least three of each. This might seem excessive, but it may surprise you when you realise how many things you need to plug in from home. Your phone, laptop, headphones, powerbank, iPad, and so forth. They’re cheap, so bring a few to avoid having to buy tons of adapters here.
• Bring iconic Australian souvenirs! Vegemite and Tim-Tams are great to feed to your mates on Exchange. Just watch their face screw up when they try Vegemite. Bring an Australian flag for the TU Delft Flag Photo and maybe for a little patriotism too.
• Disposable cameras are awesome. They’re an instant hit at parties and take incredibly nostalgic photos on your travels. Grab one. Or twenty. Your mates will love you. Protip: When you get your photos developed, ask for the negatives back – you’ll receive a film reel as an awesome physical memoir!
• Book flights early. If you’ve just been accepted for exchange, book them now! Use code STUDENT with Emirates to get 10% off airfare, fully flexible flights, and a whopping 40kg of baggage allowance. You can thank me later.

Liam Davies
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
Technische Universiteit Delft
The Netherlands

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.uts.edu.au/thinkglobal