'Internationalisation' in TU Delft

International MSc student Harish Karakat is a newly elected member of the Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) Faculty Student Council. The second-year MSc student from India is the first international student ever elected to the council, which now also conducts its meetings in English.

All too often the talk about  internationalisation' seems like one-way traffic: Dutch sacrificed for English; Dutch students must integrate with international students; and this country and the TU must better accommodate international students because, you know, they might be Holland's future  knowledge workers'. Yet somehow lost in this translation is the here and now; specifically, how international students enrich this university in ways other than tuition fee euros and cents.

 The fact of the matter is that international MSc students are usually older and more mature than home-grown Dutch MSc students following the Bama track. Moreover, many international MSc students already have professional - often international - work experience, and hence arrive at TU Delft ready-equipped with the kind of vital interpersonal and intercultural skills that Dutch TU students need to learn.A perfect case in point is 30-year-old Harish (Hari) Karakat, a second-year MSC student studying integrated product.

 

Why did you decide to give up a successful professional career and return to university?

“Although I was working in IT, subjects like art, architecture and design fascinated me much more. Over the last few years of my job, I was simultaneously exploring options and experimenting with my abilities. Design was falling in line - it was time to quit my job and make the switch. Initially, I was reluctant to pursue a formal study program, but now I see that it does make a difference.”

Why TU Delft and not a university in Germany, where you’ve lived and worked?

“I applied to two universities in Germany and one back home in India, but I preferred TU Delft because the design faculty here is based on engineering and suits my background. And also of course because the IDE faculty is renowned throughout the world.” 

As an older, more mature student, is it a challenge for you having to deal with young BSc or MSc students?

“Well, it’s manageable, at least with FSC students. Last year I took a BSc first-year course and there I could clearly feel the difference in maturity levels. On the other hand, some fellow MSc students surprise me with their immaturity.”

 

TU Delft