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| Thursday 29 June 2023 |
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| Hi there! Welcome to the last 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 current international EPA students 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 information about the EPA conference, practical information about when you arrive in the Netherlands, and the online Dutch beginners' course.
Thanks!
Thank you for reading our newsletter this past academic year! We hope that they were helpful to you in everything you need to before you come here. If not, feel free to reach out to any one of us! Now comes the fun part, have a great summer, and hope to see you on campus this upcoming fall in Delft! |
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| In this Newsletter |
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- EPA conference: Grand Challenge Accepted 2023
- Faculty introduction at The Hague campus
- Student mentor programme
- Online beginners course Dutch
- Practical information
- Things you need when you come here
- Summer in the Netherlands
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| Welcome by Director of Studies MSc EPA, Haiko van der Voort |
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All of a sudden summer kicked in. It has been nice, sunny weather for a while, but there were also some deadlines and exams in the way to fully enjoy it. They are past now. Life at Wijnhaven is much quieter these days. There is plenty of space for second year students to work on their thesis. Dentatus board is organizing for some outdoor activities and already for some meetings in September.
Foremost, we are anticipating on the start of the 2023-2024 season. That’s when you will join in! We will unite farewell and welcome on the upcoming “Grand Challenge Accepted” conference (August 24). Here EPA graduates will present their thesis work and alumni tell how EPA still inspires them in their daily work. That is along with a key note, some workshops and a not-to-miss beach party at night.
The good news is: you are welcome to join and get a taste of your future 2 years. You can enlist via link It is free of charges. For the beach party we ask for a small fee.
Haiko van der Voort
Director of Studies Engineering & Policy Analysis
Please note: Receiving this newsletter does not imply admission to the EPA programme. |
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| Özge Okur: EPA program manager |
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This year I have started as EPA program manager, which enables me to be more involved with the EPA structure and activities. It has been very exciting so far; students and staff members have been friendly and welcoming, which I believe is a typical experience for new starters in EPA.
You will also see me as one of the lecturers in the data science course. I have been really enjoying teaching this course for the past few years. I find EPA students very eager to learn, enthusiastic about approaching complex problems analytically, and also nice to interact with.
I hope to facilitate a wonderful learning experience for EPA students, working as a team with the Director of Studies, Haiko van der Voort, and the office manager, Lilian Hellemons. |
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| EPA conference Grand Challenges in August and programme |
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The final stage of the TU Delft Engineering & Policy Analysis Master programme is a half-year thesis research project. In this sixth EPA Thesis Conference “Grand Challenge Accepted 2023”, which will be held on 24 August 2023. EPA students will present the results of their individual research projects to staff members, external relations, employers, current and future EPA students, family and friends.
During the conference, there will be sessions on a wide variety of research topics such as climate change, safety and security challenges and data and modelling challenges.
We are happy to organize this event in the Wijnhaven Building, location of TU Delft in The Hague. |
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| Faculty introduction at The Hague campus (and Ommen week) |
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| The interesting culture here in EPA is the Ommen Week, as it is called here, it was basically all newly onboard EPA Students gathered and having fun days together. There were several serious games which were really interesting to be played. The games were also developed by the students and alumni of EPA, so it was also an introductory tools about what EPA students are doing. All in all, this event is engineered to help us know each other amongst our cohort. |
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| Student mentor programme and link to Welcome new students webpage |
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| One of the most helpful things to have when starting a new study year is having a close person to help us adjust with the new environment. And as new EPA students, the faculty is helping with coordinating second year students to help us adjust with the new environment. They are prepared to help us with all of the questions and motivate us during the several months starting EPA study. |
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| About Housing: Finding a Room |
Once you've decided to attend TU Delft, you should start looking for housing. Before arriving in the Netherlands, all students are strongly encouraged to guarantee their housing. You could use these links as guides to learn more about housing in the Netherlands.
Finding a room in the Netherlands can be challenging. We hope the following tips and advice will assist you in finding one if you haven't already. Here is some advice to find a room or accommodation provided by Charles, an academic counsellor of TPM. |
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| Online beginners course Dutch |
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| How do you order your coffee in Dutch? What is life like in a typical Dutch city? The Delft Dutch Course for Beginners will help you in your first steps learning Dutch and give you a head start getting around in the Netherlands. You are going to learn the language by following the daily life of Maria, an Argentinian student who lives in Delft. |
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| Helpful Phone Applications |
There are many phone applications that will help assist your daily life in the Netherlands. Here we listed some of them that we think are the most necessary for you to download on your phone.
- 9292: to check the public transportation schedule and plan your journey.
- DigiD: an online identity platform to access many services and government websites in the Netherlands.
- My TU Delft: to access personal information related to schedule, study progress, and exam registrations.
- Pulse: to access Brightspace, a TU Delft's learning platform, to get the course information.
- Outlook: to access email accounts and calendars.
- Buienradar: to check the weather forecast.
- Google Translate: to translate languages.
- Bank Account Application: to access online banking features from your phone. The application depends on which bank account you have.
- NS: to access personal information related to your journey with NS, the train in the Netherlands.
- Online stores: Bol.com (a webshop similar to Amazon), Zalando (an online retailer of clothes), Marktplaats (to buy and sell secondhand goods).
- Tikkie: to ask for your money back and pay back other people.
Note: Some applications will only be available to download if you have changed the region of your play store or app store to the Netherlands. |
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| Things you need when you arrive |
| Curious about what you need to organize before coming to the Netherlands? Do you want to check if you miss something regarding your preparations? Here we wrote some information that can be helpful for the first-timer in the Netherlands and TU Delft! |
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| Summer in the Netherlands |
There are plenty of activities you can do during the summer in the Netherlands. You can visit the beach, castles or islands. Here there is a list with recommendations for planning your summer (check it here). Also, besides staying in the Netherlands you can travel throughout Europe. Be careful that the UK is no longer from the EU. So, depending on your situation, you may need to apply for a visa.
If you like museums there is a very convenient option for having cheap access, the museum card. For only €65 per year, you can enter more than 400 museums in the Netherlands. |
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| Colophon |
Third edition Delft, the Netherlands, June 2023
Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management
Master programme EPA
Editors: Canan Tezgec, Haiko van der Voort, Joyce Zwetsloot, Toke Hoek
The 1st and 2nd edition of the EPA newsletter is still available online |
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| 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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