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jaargang 42, 3 februari 2000 English page

BIA Welcome Record Number of Foreign Guests Paula van de Riet The foreign population is on the rise at TUE, with an end not yet in sight. Last year 11% of the TUE population was non-Dutch. That percentage is expected to increase again this year by at least a few per cent. Besides welcoming this wholeheartedly, one of the responses at TUE has been to combine all activities concerning international relations in one organisation: the Bureau for International Activities (BIA). ‘Internationalisation’ has become one of the TUE’s central policies. We talked to Leo Robben, head of BIA, and staff members Tanya den Haan and Hennie Keuker about BIA’s first operative year. Tanya den Haan, Sophie Ronde, staff members of BIA, Leo Robben, head of BIA and Hennie Keuker, staff member of BIA. Foto: Bram Saeys “Last year we ‘processed’ a record number of foreign students and staff,” says Leo Robben. “I feel we have really done a lot. We have made great progress in many areas, including for example co-operation with Chinese universities and the University of Pretoria. We have assisisted in setting-up two master classes for this year entitled Computational Science & Engineering and Materials Research & Engineering. Funding for all sorts of projects and scholarships has been streamlined. And we have created our website. Having said this, we’re very much aware that we’ve still got a long way to go.” One of the truly mammoth tasks has been to continually supply visitors with accommodation. Not only are there more visitors, they are staying longer. The average period of residence in 1994 was nine months, this is currently up to almost one year. The number of visitors has just about doubled since 1994. Hennie Keuker co-ordinates accommodation for all foreign guests. “If guests are signed up with us at least two months beforehand, we guarantee furnished accommodation,” says Ms Keuker. “As you can probably imagine, this is not always easy. We have some 120 different houses, apartments and rooms permanently available. This year we expect at least 500 guests. We’re always looking for new places to offer our visitors for hire, so call us if you can help. We sometimes rent out places for staff or students who are abroad.” Somehow, BIA manage to never turn anyone away, although guests are occasionally given temporary accommodation. “In the past, most of our clients were students. These days more staff apply, some of them with their families. Recently, we’ve been seeing quite a few people from Eastern Europe, but TUE gets visitors from almost everywhere you can think of,” Ms Keuker continues. Police According to Mr Robben, BIA staff member Sophie Ronde has done good work in gaining the confidence of the local alien registration office. Ms Ronde is responsible for matters regarding work and residence permits of TUE guests. Her efforts have resulted in one less obligatory visit to the local police, who now issue temporary permits at her request. However, a personal visit to the police station for a definite permit remains necessary. BIA officer Tanya den Haan routinely offers guests who are uneasy about their visit to the police station her company during their appointments. “I don’t mind going along at all. I understand that visiting a Dutch police station might not be the easiest thing to do for someone who doesn’t speak our language, or who doesn’t know what to expect from the police,” she says. Ms Den Haan hosts incoming guests at an informal weekly TUE introduction day in which she tries to show people the ropes. “I try to give people the information they need to operate independently from the word go. But I’m here to help, so I also tell them to speak up if they have problems or questions.” BIA are also thinking about general insurance coverage for TUE guests. “We would like to offer visitors automatic, general coverage on arrival until we sort out their exact details. However, we have not yet been able to find an insurer who has what we need, this is mostly due to the fact that insurers have difficulty pinpointing the risks involved. Hopefully we will solve this problem in the coming year,” says Robben./.

²Right of Complaint On April 1 last year an individual right of complaint for students went into effect. Since that time not one student has reported with a complaint to the ‘Studenten Service Centrum’ (SSC). This was shown by the SSC annual report. Marcel Visschers, tutor and dean, sees two reasons for this: “I think students don’t have all that many problems. And if they have them, they can often be solved by other organisations, like the exam committee.” So is the right of complaint still necessary? “That’s not under discussion. The law says we are obliged to have a department of this kind at TUE,” says Visschers. Tae-bo Billy Blanks, who doesn’t know him? More tae-bo tapes are sold in the US than Big Macs. In the TUE sports centre some 150 students routinely take part in the newest fitness fad. Marieke Holtrop, aerobics instructor, is enthusiastic about this new form of aerobics. “I don’t know any other kind of aerobics that’s as much fun. It’s a mixture of combat sports like karate, taekwondo, boxing and aerobics. You do all kinds of thrusts and kicks to music.” But tae-bo is more than hitting and kicking. Ms Holtrop likes the mental aspect of it. “You learn to pass your fatigue limit, which I think is very positive.” Less Damage Thêta trailer The damage caused by the accident with rowing club Thêta’s boat wagon on the A2 near Den Bosch is less than expected. The trailer is not a total loss. According to Vincent Bohte, the rowing club’s chairman, the trailer can be fixed for 15,000 guilders. The boat wagon was involved in an accident on Friday January 21 when the driver was forced to make an emergency stop, causing the trailer to jackknife. No personal injuries were caused by the accident. Thêta also transports boats for other clubs. The trailer was loaded with 25 boats. Seventeen boats were seriously damaged.

OGO Doing Well This year all faculties have started introducing Ontwerp Gericht Onderwijs (OGO) or design oriented studies, although the way this is done differs for each faculty. Most students and staff at TUE are pos-itive about OGO. Students feel they are creating something together, that they are freer and can apply what they’ve learned. Teachers have more direct, personal contact with students and feel they have gained more insight into the learning and educating process. The downside is that some students in working groups do less than others, it is also not always easy to make joint appointments for interfaculty projects. Lecture Noble Prizes Prof.dr. Vliegenthart held a lecture on Noble prizes for Studium Generale on January 26. He talked about the background of the prize and answered many questions on the Noble prize. For example, why does this prize have so much prestige all over the world? According to Vliegenthart this has to do with the quality of the work done by prize winners and the period in which the prize was founded. He also talked about the rules for awarding the prize. These seem a bit out-of-date. For example, the prize for Chemistry and Physics may not be awarded to more than three people at once, even though usually a whole research team works on a new discovery. Tele-Studies at TM The Technology Management faculty is planning a digital tele-studies environment. The experiment is meant mainly for part-time students at the faculty. In the long-term the project will be extended and included in regular TM courses. The faculty have received two hundred thousand guilders from the Executive Board to start the project. The first subjects should be ‘on the air’ by the first semester of the next academic year. This month the faculty is taking stock of which subjects would be suitable for the ‘TM Studieweb’.