Today we slept through our alarms and cut it a little close. We woke up at 8:35 when we had to be ready by 8:45. Somehow though I managed to get ready and even get some breakfast before we left. We did not have the private bus so back to public transportation we went, taking the train to Delft to visit the InHolland campus there. The Delft campus is specifically designated for Aeronautical Engineering.

First we were taken into a classroom where we were introduced to the University and the students and staff we would be with today. Something I found interesting was how at the university only 5-10% of Dutch students are women compared with Pitt engineering where 30% of students are female. While engineering is a male dominated occupation, given the much more accepting and progressive culture, I would have assumed that there would be a more even percentage of female Tok male students here. The staff member seemed genuinely shocked when he heard Pitt’s percentage which makes me think it is a big deal. Furthermore, InHolland only has a student population of around 750 students and they are only allowed to take 4 students max from each country other than the Netherlands. My high school, which is relatively small, had a student population of 953 and it is simply unimaginable going to a college smaller than my high school. With such a small school there is no sports, few extracurriculars, and focus is very much put on your studies. This just shows how different each countries approach is when it comes to secondary education. We then had a lecture about the history of aeronautical engineering. It was interest to see the progression of the airplane and how the uses of it have changed so much. Going from used only for war and the military, then becoming very large commercial jet engines that transported hundreds of people. To finally shrinking in size with the current needs for sustainability. It goes to show how markets adjust to the ever-changing needs of the consumer.

After the lecture we ate lunch, which was alright. We then got taken to see their prototyping building where they are currently set to launch a small satellite in 2027. It was really quite cool to see. The students have been working on it for three years already and again it goes to show the differences in approaches to education. InHolland takes a much more hands on approach, giving students real-world experience. American universities however emphasize the lecture approach. Students sitting in classes, taking notes and tests, being taught by professors. In my opinion, both approaches are effective but the hands on approach keeps students more focused and energetic with their workload and it is something I would prefer we do as well.

We were then taken into a warehouse where we got to build airplanes. Let me tell you, this was like my worst nightmare, I absolutely despise manuals and building things… I majored in accounting for a reason. That’s probably one of the reasons that our team finished last in the performance category but at least we got more style points than one of the groups. After, we headed to a gelato store and got freaky milkshakes for Luzia’s birthday. Thank you again, Frank and Dr. Bursic. We also went on a canal tour of the city, which although not as big as Amsterdam, was still very interesting. At 5:30 we took the train back home to Rotterdam.