Greetings from Netherlands!

Hallo!! Groeten uit Nederland!

I’m currently just over half way in my exchange in Delft for my Bachelors of Product Design. So here is a little info of what I’ve learnt that you may find useful!

To begin I would highly recommend coming in Australia’s sem 2 (feb- june). It may be an original shock to the system of the extreme cold weather and high wind but by the time the first sun rays appears, the entire atmosphere and mood of the country shifts. Soon everyone is lively and every spare patch of grass has a picnic blanket with people having a BBQ, having some afternoon beers or playing a game of soccer. It also means you can experience the chaos of King’s weekend!

Second, you may have some hesitation towards the 20 week semester – a lot longer than what we are used to – but for being on exchange it’s actually perfect! When usually the sem would be coming to an end you get to do it all over again, this time with many new close friends and being so much comfortable in the new environment. It also means you can move a bit slower and not have to rush around checking things off your bucket list and really get amongst the cute town of Delft and get to know all its secret spots.

Third, I would highly recommend sorting accommodation out before you arrive – and avoid living in Rijswijk…. Whilst you can definitely move and sort it out once you arrive, it takes a huge stress off not having to be on the hunt for a place to stay.

Fourth, attend the Introduction Program week! I made some of my closest friends during this time. It’s right at the beginning and it’s the only time all the exchange students are together and can easily bond and do activities together.

Fifth, I would recommend taking the Identity and Portfolio class. The teachers for this class were my favourite and their approach was extremely encouraging to take a more personal approach to the task, making for your needs and to reflect your personality rather than a stock standard pdf. All my classes were direct equivalents of third year subjects mixing across both sems core subjects. If you have already done bio kitchen I would not recommend doing materials and manufacturing as they are very similar, both having biomaterials as a core assessment.

My closing note is that everyone’s experience is so different and so will yours. Time will slip away though so create a little list or set a purpose to your exchange, it could be anything from learning to ride a bike no handed or optimising the weekend trips to neighbouring cities and countries.

Veel plezier!

Sinead Connon
Bachelor of Design in Product Design
Technische Universiteit Delft, Netherlands
Global Exchange Scholarship

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