Experience the difference | old articles from pantheon//

Once in a while we will publish an old article from a previous edition of pantheon//. This week’s article was written in juni 2012, by Joris van Dijk,  relating the theme “do it yourself”.

The field of Built Environment becomes more international by the day. Engineers around the world encounter similar problems, but hardly6 ever seem to work towards the solution together.

This is something happening on all different levels, even on national scale; think about integration between universities, faculties and even within our own faculty of Architecture. But focussing on global interaction, one out of three students within our master program is international!

This large percentage seems to live a very separate life from Dutch students. If both groups do meet, it most often only happens in mandatory setting if project teams are mixed, but why does it stop here? Most logical reason for this could very well be the many student and study associations in Delft, which represent a large portion of the Dutch student’s social life. Especially this social event nearly all are in Dutch, which makes them less inviting and in many cases a reason for internationals to organize their own.

Much can be won on both work- as social level by sharing knowledge, experiences and leisure time. Not only will bring you this in contact with people you usually might not even notice, but it is part of your future  network. The opportunity they took by going abroad visiting the Netherlands, could be the start of a later trip you might take. In the meantime, you get mucht out of it by looking at your projects differently, tasting other national dishes, improving your English and help in organizing/ finalizing your upcoming international adventure.

Apart from the awesome time you will most definitely have in really any other country, having been abroad also is a great way to improve your skills and not unimportant you chances in finding a job. For many reasons also companies in your own country working on a national scale, will very much see these kinds activities as a big advantage. Obviously this becomes even more essential if corssing borders is part of your future passion.

It doesn’t matter if you are in your Bachelor or Master, having a gap year, or done studying, use the time to explore the world. Start travelling, do an internship or work abroad, all great opportunities that might only come your way this one time.//