Today we took a 9 a.m. train ride to Delft to visit InHolland University of Applied Sciences. InHolland is a branch campus that focuses solely on aeronautical engineering. We were taken around the campus by two students, and we first got a presentation about the university and aeronautics. The University of Applied Sciences offers a four year bachelor program. 700 students attend the university, with 35% being international students. This branch is 85 years old and has 42 teachers. What surprised me the most, was the number of females that attend the university. The man said it was around 5%-10% female, which is a lot less than I expected because in the U.S., more and more women are studying engineering. Next, they began talking about aeronautics and the history and aviation. The story of course started with the Wright Brothers. The lecturer then started talking about all of the innovations made and the different eras of flight. From 1903 to 1945 was the pioneering age, which consists of the invention and innovation to make planes fit for war. From 1945 to 2000 was the commercial age, as people started seeing it’s potential as a means of transportation around the world. And from 2000 to present is considered the age of sustainable growth, because we need to find ways to make planes more environmentally friendly. The pioneering age was the most interesting because I think that’s where most of the innovation came from. The planes were innovated so quickly and countries found ways to attach lethal weapons to them.

We then had lunch that was provided to us by the university which reminded me of Eatery food. Following lunch, we were shown two other buildings on campus. One building was the lab for the research and experimentation, and the other building was for the construction and testing of the objects. It was really cool to see the students in there doing their work. We were also taken to a flight simulator that doesn’t currently work, but several students are working on making it fully operational. To finish up the tour, we broke into groups of four and had 45 minutes to build the best plane with the materials we were given. It was fun and interacting. My team, The Dutch Bros, should have won, but we lost by 0.5 points.

After InHolland, I presumed we were taking a train ride back to Rotterdam; however, we stayed in Delft for Freak Shakes and another boat tour through Delft. The Freak Shakes were delicious, and while we were waiting for them we saw our first rain in the Netherlands. The boat ride was amazing, and Delft honestly reminded me of smaller version of Amsterdam because it has canals and bridges. It’s just not as busy.

I would say my favorite part of the day was the unexpected Freak Shakes and boat tour. The canal boat tours are always amazing.