Today was full of surprises and a super fun day!! It was my roommate and friend from home Luiza’s birthday (happy birthday Luiza), and we had a visit to InHolland campus in Delft! I was so excited for this presentation because it was all about aeronautical engineering, which I thought of going into and is really interesting to me!

We learned that InHolland is a bachelors program and that each campus focuses on different types of engineering. InHolland has a “learning by doing” approach to university engineering programs, and this was very clear in their curriculum, and even our visit today. I loved this approach to learning and I wish I saw more of it in the US. We visited their composite lab and project center, and saw a few of the different projects students are working on as well as the space in which they do it. There was a 3D printed prototype for a satellite that they are planning to launch on a SpaceX rocket. The satellite will communicate with the ground using infrared rays and will collect data about levels of certain greenhouse gases like NO2 in the atmosphere. I thought this was especially cool and I couldn’t believe they had undergrad students working on a project that seemed so high tech, it was really impressive. And, it was yet another example of how sustainability and helping with climate change is so engrained in The Netherlands culture. I also loved learning about their flight simulator!!! The student who gave us a tour of it was so smart, it was really relevant and a great enhancement of the aeronautical curriculum. I also liked seeing how college in The Netherlands still has clubs like us because it was technically a club.

Additionally, we learned about the history of aeronautical engineering and a lot about concept to customer. We saw a timeline of how the wishes of customers in society drive the innovation of planes. Ie, there have been different booms in aeronautical technology in different periods of history, with military plane innovation surrounding the world wars and then comfort and commercial innovation following. They said that now, we are in a world where the demand might be shifting to drive innovation to create more sustainable planes or cheaper flights, or both!! It was really interesting to see photos and examples of this relationship in the context of concept to customer, it was really clear how they impact each other, more than some other industries. It did make me think about how this cycle can be seen honestly everywhere.

Then, two students took us to have a plane building contest. We learned about drag and lift forces and balancing the center of mass along with attack angles of the wings. This was fun because I had learned about most of this during physics this year and it was so cool to see it in action. It really gave me an appreciation for their applied science approach and applying what they learn in the classroom. Even though my team lost, it was still so much fun! I also got to talk to the two girls, who were students and my age, and they were from Germany and Romania. They both said they loved studying in the Netherlands and it gave them a unique opportunity to study in English.

After this activity, Dr. and Mr. Bursic surprised us with ice cream and a boat tour of Delft! The ice cream was so unique, we had milkshakes with all sorts of crazy toppings and it was so yummy after a long visit. I loved the boat ride too, it was so amazing to get to see Delft in this way because I did not expect to see this much of the city, just the InHolland visit. We learned a bunch of fun trivia about Delft, our tour guide was very knowledgable. Delft reminded me of a mini-Amsterdam in the best way. There were canals, though much smaller, and the same brick row houses characteristic of Amsterdam. We also grabbed dinner in the city, I had a caprese flatbread, and it was my favorite dinner I’ve had on the trip! It was such a cute little town and I’m so happy we decided to be spontaneous and explore it today :)))))).