International students compare experiences at Twente and Delft
With growing numbers of foreign students at Dutch universities, the question of how international students experience their stay easily arises. What do students of the University Twente and Delft University of Technology think about their respective academic and social lives?
Good communication is essential in interpersonal relationships. It is particularly crucial in international settings where knowledge must be transferred, such as between a professor and his foreign student. While Chiraag Gokaldas, a master's student in Separation Technology from South Africa at the University of Twente (UT), experiences no linguistic problems, he does observe a difference in the relationships between professors and international versus Dutch students. `The professor and international student relationship is really professional, which is fine. Nevertheless, I think that Dutch students on the social dimension have a better relationship with professors. There are more smiles and get-togethers among them,' opines Gokaldas. Camilo Suarez-Mendez, a Colombian master's student in Biochemical Engineering at Delft University of Technology (TUD) says that it is indeed an exception that professors are difficult to understand, but at some times their ability to capture cultural nuances seems to be weak. `For example, in their evaluations, they don't take into account that English isn't our mother tongue, while Dutch students are allowed to answer questions in Dutch,' he says.
About if and how students are challenged, opinions vary. Gokaldas says that he is not more challenged or inspired than in South Africa, although he thought he would be. `We are getting acquainted with advanced technology, but we are not really pushed to be scientifically critical,' he says. Pavan-Kumar Chilukuri, a Process Design and Development master's student from India at the UT, thinks this has to do with the Dutch education system in general. `Unlike in India, you're not inspired to plunge deeply into a problem, but rather to solve it in a creative and practical way,' he says. Conversely, Min Zhang, a Chinese master's student in Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management at TUD is confident that she has learned to be scientifically critical in that she has learned to solve problems in a `comprehensive, logical and systematic way.'
Apart from the academic challenges facing foreign students, they must also make years of living in a foreign country habitable. It seems there is yet some effort needed to make this happen. At both universities, the international and Dutch student communities are considered to be separate, which is not a big surprise for Gokaldas. According to him, people from all over the world tend to stick to their own community, `It's very natural for Dutch students to mingle more easily with their Dutch friends living here.' Zhang confirms this by stating that even within the international community there are different nation-based communities.
The four students are, nevertheless, unanimously in favor of being more in touch with Dutch students. Besides the appeal of having more friends, they consider communication with Dutch students useful. Chilukuri elaborates, `It's good to know the cultural “do's and don'ts” and the way Dutch people think, especially if you would like to stay here longer.' At the UT a big international student party is organized every month by the student organization SMIT. `These parties are quite nice because you get the chance to meet international friends you haven't seen for a while, but it would be nice if more activities are organized where both communities can socialize,' says Gokaldas. Zhang muses that if an international social gathering is basically students gathering from different countries, why shouldn't Dutch students join as well? `International students like to mingle with Dutch students,' she says enthusiastically.
International students apparently consider their stay here to be a bit more then pursuing a scientific degree. Suraz-Menzed asserts, `Being able to experience a multi-cultural and multi-national environment is an opportunity to broaden your vision of life not only academically but socially as well.'
Samir Saben
Pava-Kumar Chilukuri and Chiraag Gokaldas |
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