Deciding to come to Delft? We would help you with this newsletter!
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TU Delft
Friday 18 February 2022
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Hi there! Welcome to the first (of three) newsletters for all new Master students in EPA.
You have registered for the master's program Engineering and Policy Analysis (EPA)! You may still have doubts about whether you are going to follow this program or what studying at TU Delft actually entails. To help you make this choice, three international students have gathered all the information they need to help you!

Meet the team
We are a team of three current international EPA students, Morris, Imam and Ettore, , who also had doubts before deciding to come here, so we decided to join and write this issue from our own experiences to orient newcomers. This issue covers the uniqueness of the programme, reputation of TU Delft, teaching style, campus facilities and activities, budget, lifestyle in Delft, transportation and connectivity of the city, and things you should consider after deciding to come.
In this newsletter
 
  • Welcome by Director of Studies MSc EPA, Haiko van der Voort
  • Behind the scenes: meet Lilian Hellemons
  • Study association Dentatus
  • Meet Larry, Mocha and Coco!
  • Alumni about the master programme EPA
  • Student experiences of Rhys and Gerdus
  • Things to know about Holland: Dutch education and grading system, Two cities: Delft and The Hague
  • Information after deciding
 
Welcome by Director of Studies MSc EPA, Haiko van der Voort
 
As TU Delft scholar and EPA Director of Studies I have two offices, one in Delft and one at the 5th floor of the Wijnhaven building in The Hague. I try to spend my working days equally over Delft and the 5th. Nothing wrong with Delft, but somehow I am in The Hague more often. Why?

Well, that’s easy. I just take one step out of my door, and I am among wonderful people. EPA students combine ideals and analytics in an inspiring way. I like the way they let both their heart and mind speak. Breaking down huge challenges to a human scale is no small feat. It is easy to get lost in the complexities that are inherent to societal challenges on a global scale. They need idealism to take these challenges on. They need an analytical mindset to keep their feet on the ground.

I then see them deliberating in groups of three about what element should be put where in that huge simulation they are making. Impressive stuff for someone just passes by. In between these working session they shop at the local store, attend a lunch lecture, a fun workshop, a lecture or webinar. Sometimes it is hard to tell what is what.

When taking that step out of my door I am witnessing EPA-life. And that is worth the visit to The Hague.

Haiko van der Voort
Director of Studies Engineering & Policy Analysis

Please note: Receiving this newsletter does not imply admission to the EPA programme.
 
Meet study association Dentatus
Hey there! We are the 6th board of Dentatus, the study association of the EPA programme. As a study association, we are concerned with various day-to-day student topics such as education, career opportunities and social activities. More in general, our goal is to help students make the most of their time in the EPA programme.

When it comes to education, we aim to voice the concerns of the students to the course managers within the EPA programme. We are the first point of contact for many studying related issues and we communicate them to course managers and discuss them in periodic meetings with them. To help EPA students kick start their career, we organize various career events where they can get in touch with potential employers.
Dentatus is also involved in facilitating social activities to help you get to know your fellow students. Events like movie nights, drinks and games are organized on a regular basis!
 
Behind the scenes
 
As office manager of EPA, I will try to make everybody feel at home on the 5th floor and to build a strong EPA community, a kind of EPA family. Being quite new here, my experience so far is that EPA students are very social, hardworking students with a friendly attitude, always willing to help. On my part, I will do my utmost to not only assist with practical things like getting your entrance card working, office supplies, technical issues or making an appointment with our great director or other staff members, but to also make feel you feel welcome and have some great fun together!

Lilian Hellemons
 
Timeline Infographics
Please note that you have to finish the financial requirements as explained in the financial letter before the first of July.
 
Meet Larry, Mocha and Coco!
Meet Larry (left), Mocha (right), and Coco (back). These alpacas are the mascots of the EPA programme and together they work to boost the morale on the 5th floor. Their tasks include being adorable and cuddling!
 
Student stories of Rhys, Gerdus & Marion
 
Rhys Evens: "Hi, I am Rhys! I did my bachelor's in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, but I’ve always been interested in politics. When I found out about EPA, I thought it was the perfect bridge between my technical background and my political passion. I chose EPA to be able to work towards creating data-driven public policy in order to make smarter decisions in both the public and private sectors. So far, I am thoroughly enjoying my time at EPA. I love working in an international environment, so it has been great to meet students from all around the world." > read story

Gerdus van der Laarse: "The best part about EPA for me is, without a doubt, the people. Almost everyone is motivated and driven in a similar and sustainable way while coming from really diverse backgrounds. I also really appreciate that the program is practically oriented, with real-life case studies and problems often looked at." > read story

Marion Dugué: "My name is Marion, I come from France and did a joint-BSc in England in Mathematics and Physics! I applied to EPA to develop my analytical skills specifically in modelling and quantifying human behaviour, but most importantly develop the societal, political, and ethical perspective bridging science and policy-making. So far, that's exactly what I learnt!" > read story
 
Alumni about the master programme EPA
 
  • Rico Herzog - "Eventually, the curriculum was exactly what I have been looking for: Solving grand challenges with a combination of state-of-the-art technology and the social aspects inherent to every problem." > read story
  • Marie Sam Rutten - "When I started with EPA in 2018, I thought I would become something as a strategy consultant. However, in September, I started with the traineeship of the Dutch Government with a specialization in (inter)national security and justice, a decision I would have never made without EPA." > read story
  • Sahiti Sarva - "EPA enabled me to pursue a wide range of interests during the program and, I continue to do so now. Currently, I am working as a Research Consultant at the Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Team in UNDP. Parallelly, I take up gigs in data journalism and data analysis." > read story
  • Jason Wang - "Though many masters programs can claim the first two of these reasons, the latter places EPA in a different league – the program encourages students to flexibly find the tools and mental models that will make systemic change in the world. Cutting-edge research in topics like deep uncertainty, agent-based modelling and complexity science, or policy communication and participatory stakeholder engagement are emerging paradigms within public policy spaces too; the classrooms of EPA speak the languages of global challenges." > read story
 
About Holland
Everything you should know about education in the Netherlands and TU Delft: 
 
After deciding.
Steps you have to do after deciding to choose TU Delft as your university

Funding: The primary way of funding your masters here at TU Delft is self-funding. There are also various scholarship opportunities that could aid your financial needs. This link could guide you ahead for the same.

Make sure to pay for the housing portal, if you are going to look for housing through the university. The visa would be taken care of in the further steps after finalising the housing. Stay tuned for the second edition for all the information.
 
Colophon

First edition Delft, the Netherlands, January 2022
Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management

Master programme EPA
Editors: Morris Huang, Imam Abdillah, Ettore de Lacerda Arpini, Dentatus, Haiko van der Voort, Joyce Zwetsloot, Toke Hoek

Contact
If you have any questions about this newsletter or suggestions for possible new items or events, please contact the editorial office at internationaloffice‑tbm@tudelft.nl.
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