Delft University of Technology facts for kids

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Delft University of Technology

Technische Universiteit Delft
Former names	Koninklijke Akademie van Delft Polytechnische School van Delft Technische Hoogeschool van Delft
Motto in English	Challenge the Future
Type	Public, Technical
Established	1842; 183 years ago (1842)
Budget	€ 914 million (2022)
President	Prof.Dr.ir. T.H.J.J. (Tim) van der Hagen [nl]
Rector	Prof.dr.ir. T.H.J.J. (Tim) van der Hagen
Academic staff	4,461 (including 1,353 faculty members of all ranks, 29.9% female, 49.6% international, full-time equivalents in 2023)
Administrative staff	2,804 (2023)
Students	26,417 (2023)
Undergraduates	13,568 (2023)
Postgraduates	12,316 (2023)
Doctoral students	3,327 (2023)
Location	Delft , Netherlands 52°0′6″N 4°22′21″E / 52.00167°N 4.37250°E / 52.00167; 4.37250
Campus	Urban (University town)
Nobel Laureates	Jacobus van 't Hoff Simon van der Meer Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
Colors	Cyan, Black and White
Affiliations	IDEA Climate-KIC CESAER EUA 4TU UNITECH SEFI SAE TPC ATHENS PEGASUS ENHANCE Alliance

The Delft University of Technology (often called TU Delft) is the oldest and largest public technical university in the Netherlands. It is located in the city of Delft. As of 2022, it is ranked among the top 10 engineering and technology universities in the world by QS World University Rankings. In 2023, it was ranked 2nd globally for civil engineering, 3rd for mechanical and aerospace engineering, and 3rd for architecture.

TU Delft has eight main departments, called faculties, and many research institutes. More than 26,000 students, including those studying for their first degree and those doing advanced studies, attend the university. It also has 3,000 students working on their PhDs and 4,000 staff members.

The university started on January 8, 1842. King William II created it as a royal academy. Its main goal was to train people to work for the government in the Dutch East Indies. Over time, the school grew and added more subjects. It became a polytechnic school in 1864 and a full university in 1905. In 1986, it officially changed its name to Delft University of Technology.

Famous Dutch scientists who won the Nobel Prize, like Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, and Simon van der Meer, have been connected to TU Delft. The university is also part of several groups of universities, such as the IDEA League and 4TU.

History of TU Delft

Royal Academy (1842–1864)

William II of the Netherlands, who started the Royal Academy in Delft.

TU Delft began on January 8, 1842. It was called the Royal Academy for the education of civilian engineers. Its purpose was to train engineers for the country and for industries. It also trained people to work in the Dutch colonies. The first director was Antoine Lipkens, who built the first Dutch optical telegraph. The academy's first building was at Oude Delft 95 in Delft. In 1863, new rules were made for technical education in the Netherlands.

Polytechnic School (1864–1905)

On June 20, 1864, the Royal Academy became the Polytechnic School of Delft. This new school trained engineers in different areas and architects. These skills were very important during the fast growth of industries in the 1800s.

Institute of Technology (1905–1986)

On May 22, 1905, the school's name changed again to Technical College (Institute) of Delft. This new name showed that the education was of a high academic quality. The Polytechnic was given the right to award university degrees. Around this time, about 450 students were enrolled. Queen Wilhelmina officially opened the new school on July 10, 1905. The first doctoral degree was awarded in 1905.

Most of the university buildings were in the center of Delft. Some were also in the Wippolder area. Student groups also grew with the university. The first one, Delftsch Studenten Corps, was started on March 22, 1848. In 1917, the Proof Garden for Technical Plantation was created. Today, it is known as the Botanical Garden of TU Delft. During this time, Toos Korvezee became the first female professor.

Delft University of Technology (1986–present)

After World War II, TU Delft grew quickly. The university started Studium Generale to share knowledge about culture, technology, and science. Because more students were joining, the first Reception Week for First Year Students was started in 1974. This week is now a tradition at TU Delft.

On September 1, 1986, the Delft Institute of Technology officially became Delft University of Technology. This name change highlighted the high quality of its education and research. In 1987, the Delft Top Tech institute was created. It offered advanced management courses for people in technology companies. On September 1, 1997, the 13 faculties of TU Delft were combined into 9. This was done to make the growing university run more smoothly.

In the early 1990s, most students were male. To encourage more female students, the "Girls Study Technology" days were started. Since 2006, all university buildings are located outside the old city center of Delft. In 2007, the three main technical universities in the Netherlands, TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, and University of Twente, formed a group called 3TU.

On May 13, 2008, the building of the Faculty of Architecture was destroyed by a fire. Luckily, the architecture library, with thousands of books and models, was saved. The Faculty of Architecture is now in the university's former main building.

University Logo

The logo of TU Delft has changed several times over the years. The current logo uses the university's three colors: cyan, black, and white. The letter "T" has a flame on top. This flame represents the fire that Prometheus brought to humans from Mount Olympus. Because of this, Prometheus is sometimes seen as the first engineer. He is an important symbol for the university.

Campus Life

At first, all university buildings were in the old city center of Delft. In the second half of the 1900s, they moved to a separate university area. The last university building in the city center was the library, which moved to a new building in 1997. On September 12, 2006, the plan for the new university area, Mekelpark, was approved. This plan turned the area around Mekelweg into a new campus center. The new park replaced the main road, making the campus safer for bikes and people walking.

Mekelpark

Entrance to the Mekelpark, with the statue of Prometheus, a symbol of the university.

A new university area called Mekelpark opened on July 5, 2009. It is named after Jan Mekel, a professor and World War II resistance fighter. Mekelpark replaced old parking lots and bike paths. Its long walkway, 832 meters, makes it easy to get between university buildings. Stone benches line both sides of the walkway.

Aula

The TU Delft Aula was designed by Van den Broek en Bakema. It opened on January 6, 1966. It is a good example of Brutalist architecture. The Aula is at the start of Mekelpark. It has the main university restaurant and store, as well as lecture halls, auditoriums, a conference center, and university offices. All PhD defense ceremonies and important university meetings happen here.

Library

TU Delft Library

The TU Delft Library was built in 1997. It is located behind the university's Aula. The roof of the library is covered with grass, which helps with insulation. The building lifts from the ground on one side, so you can walk up to the roof. A steel cone sits on top of the library, giving it a unique shape. The library won the Dutch National Steel Prize in 1998. It also hosts the 4TU.Centre for Research Data, which stores research data for technical sciences in the Netherlands.

Cultural and Sports Center

The TU Delft Sports and Culture Center, now called X, is located at Mekelweg 10. It opened in 1995 and has been expanded and renovated since then.

TU Delft Museums

Three museums are connected to the university: Science Centre Delft, Mineralogy-geology museum, and the Beijerinck and Kluyver archive.

Science Centre Delft opened in September 2010. It shows visitors current TU Delft research projects, like the Eco Runner and Nuna vehicles. The Mineralogy-geology museum has about 200,000 geological, mineralogical, and crystallographical items. Some items date back to 1842 when the university was founded.

Botanical Garden

The TU Delft botanical garden started in 1917. It was called the Proof Garden for Technical Plantation. It was created to help with the development of tropical agriculture in the Dutch colonies. The garden has over 7,000 different types of plants, including tropical and subtropical plants, herbs, and ornamental plants. It covers almost 2.5 hectares. More than 2,000 unique species are kept in the university's greenhouses. The botanical garden is open to the public.

Echo Building (Building 29)

Echo building

The 'Echo' building on the TU Delft campus has lecture halls, project rooms, student study areas, and research offices. It is an energy-producing building. It aims to save energy and look to the future. In 2023, Echo won the World Prix Versailles award in the Campuses category.

TU Delft | The Hague Campus

TU Delft campus at Turfmarkt 99 in The Hague. This building is shared with Leiden University.

In September 2016, TU Delft opened a new campus in The Hague. This location is close to government offices and international groups. TU Delft uses the 5th floor of the Wijnhaven Building in The Hague. This building is shared with Leiden University. In 2023, TU Delft announced plans to open another shared facility with Leiden University in The Hague by 2025. This new location will hold about 600 TU Delft students.

University Departments (Faculties)

TU Delft has eight main departments, called faculties. These are:

• Mechanical Engineering (ME)
• Architecture and the Built Environment
• Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG)
• Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS)
• Industrial Design Engineering (IDE)
• Aerospace Engineering (AE)
• Technology, Policy and Management (TPM)
• Applied Sciences (AS)

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  Civil Engineering and Geosciences

• 

  Applied Sciences

• 

  TU Delft Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering

• 

  Mechanical Engineering

• 

  TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

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  TU Delft Faculty of Aerospace Engineering

• 

  Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

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  Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management

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  Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science viewed from the Civil Engineering department

Education at TU Delft

Since 2004, TU Delft's education system has three levels: the Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, and Doctorate. The school year has two semesters. Many lectures are available online for free through OpenCourseWare.

Bachelor's Degrees

As of 2016, TU Delft offers 16 Bachelor of Science (BSc) programs. Students usually finish their degree in three years. A final project completes the BSc studies. Most BSc programs are taught in Dutch. However, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Earth Sciences, Nanobiology, and Computer Science are taught fully in English. Electrical Engineering is taught in both languages.

Master's Degrees

TU Delft offers about 40 Master of Science (MSc) programs. These studies usually take two years to complete. Students need to earn 60 ECTS points each year. There is an honors track for motivated MSc students who do very well in their courses.

Doctoral Studies

A typical photo after a doctoral defense at TU Delft. The student (center) is with two helpers (paranymphs). The pedel is on the left, holding a staff. The red tube holds the diploma.

Doctoral studies at TU Delft have two parts. The first part lasts one year. During this time, the student must show they can do research at a doctoral level. If they pass an evaluation, they can continue their research for three more years. This research ends with a doctoral thesis. The thesis is reviewed by a committee of professors. After changes are made, the student gives a formal doctoral defense.

The doctoral defense is a special ceremony held in the senate room. It lasts exactly one hour. The student must answer questions from the committee. Sometimes, the student has one or two helpers called paranymphs. The ceremony ends when the pedel enters and says Hora est (It is time) in Latin. Then, the committee decides if the student will get the doctorate. If granted, the professor praises the new doctor.

Research and Innovation

TU Delft researchers have developed many new technologies. These include Glare, a material used in the Airbus A380 airplane, and the Vision in Product Design method. In 1998, a lab at TU Delft created the first transistor from a single nanotube molecule. The famous Delta Works plan in the Netherlands was partly designed by TU Delft graduates. TU Delft also helped start the idea of Open design.

In architecture, TU Delft is known for the Traditionalist School in Dutch architecture. Many important microbiologists, like Martinus Beijerinck (who discovered viruses in 1898) and Albert Kluyver, were part of TU Delft.

Some exciting projects being developed at the university include:

• Flame: The first humanoid robot that can walk like humans.
• Superbus: A project to design a high-speed bus that can go up to 250 km/h.
• Kitepower: A way to turn wind energy into electricity using kites.
• Nuna: A solar-powered race car that has won the World Solar Challenge seven times.
• TU Delft Solar Boat Team: A solar-powered boat that "flies" on water using hydrofoils.
• DUT Racing: An electric Formula Student car that once held the world record for the fastest accelerating electric vehicle.
• Project MARCH: A student team building an exoskeleton for people who cannot move their legs.
• DelFly: A very small flying machine with a camera.
• Forze: A racing car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
• Eco-Runner: A vehicle that competes in the Eco-marathon for fuel efficiency.
• Stratos II+: A sounding rocket that broke the European altitude record for amateur rockets in 2015.
• The Ocean Cleanup: A project to clean up plastic from the ocean.
• iGEM TU Delft: A student team that won the Grand Prize in a synthetic biology competition in 2015 and 2017.

People at TU Delft

Students

Most students at TU Delft are male. In 2021, about 30% of all students were women. The biggest difference between male and female students is in the Mechanical Engineering department. The smallest difference is in the Industrial Design and Architecture departments. Even with efforts to change this, the number of women studying at TU Delft has stayed about the same over the years.

Since 2002, the number of students joining TU Delft has grown a lot. In 2022, nearly 27,000 students were enrolled. The number of international students has also increased. In 2021, 29% of all students came from other countries. Most of these international students came from Europe. In 2022, the largest groups of international students were from China (14%), India (11.4%), and Belgium (7.4%).

Faculty (Teachers and Researchers)

As of 2015, TU Delft has 437 professors and over 3,375 academic staff. Their jobs include teaching students, guiding advanced students, and doing new research in their fields.

Many famous people have been faculty members at TU Delft. These include Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1913 for discovering superconductivity. Other notable scientists include Martinus Beijerinck, who founded modern microbiology, and Albert Kluyver, known as the father of comparative microbiology.

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  Heike Kamerlingh Onnes,
  discovered superconductivity, TU Delft faculty 1878-1882

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  Martinus Beijerinck,
  father of virology, TU Delft faculty 1895-1921

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  Ralph Kronig,
  discovered particle spin, TU Delft faculty 1939-1969

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  Simon van der Meer,
  Nobel Prize winner in Physics-1984, TU Delft Student 1950-1952

In engineering, Bernard Tellegen, who invented the penthode, and Balthasar van der Pol, who developed the Van der Pol oscillator, were TU Delft faculty. Vic Hayes, known as the "father of Wi-Fi", is also connected to the university. Wubbo Ockels, a crew member on the Space Shuttle Challenger, was a professor at TU Delft.

Since TU Delft has a major architecture school, many important architects have taught there. These include Francine Houben and Winy Maas.

Famous Alumni (Graduates)

Two TU Delft graduates have won the Nobel Prize. Jacobus van 't Hoff won the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1901. Simon van der Meer won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984.

Other interesting TU Delft alumni include Jaap Haartsen, who developed Bluetooth. In politics, Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as the "father of Pakistan's nuclear program", studied here. Famous architects like Erick van Egeraat and Herman Hertzberger also graduated from TU Delft.

Business leaders who are alumni include Jeroen van der Veer and Ben van Beurden, both former CEOs of Royal Dutch Shell. Also, Frits Philips and Gerard Philips, who co-founded Philips, were alumni.

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  Jacobus van 't Hoff,
  Nobel Prize in chemistry, TU Delft student 1869-1871

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  Gerard Philips,
  cofounder of Philips, TU Delft student 1876-1883

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  Cornelis Lely,
  main designer of Afsluitdijk, TU Delft student 1871-1875

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  Ben van Beurden former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, TU Delft student 1981-1983

Honorary Doctorates

Since 1906, TU Delft has been able to award honorary doctorates. These are given to people who have made amazing contributions in their fields. Some famous people who received honorary doctorates include:

• Gerard Philips (1917), co-founder of Philips.
• Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1918), Nobel Prize winner for his work on electromagnetic radiation.
• Prince Bernhard (1951), prince of the Netherlands.
• John Douglas Cockcroft (1959), Nobel Prize winner for his work on splitting atoms.
• Santiago Calatrava (1997), a famous architect.

University Rankings

Global University Rankings

TU Delft is highly ranked among universities worldwide. In 2024, it was ranked 47th by QS World University Rankings and 48th by THE World University Rankings. It was also ranked 169th globally by USNEWS in 2022-2023. In 2022, it was the 78th best-ranked university globally when combining results from THE, QS, and ARWU.

In 2022, TU Delft was ranked 43rd worldwide in the THE World Reputation Rankings. It was also the 15th most international university in the world in 2023.

Subject Rankings

TU Delft is a top university for Engineering and Technology globally. In 2022, it was ranked 10th by QS World University Rankings for this subject. It was also ranked 21st by Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

For Civil and Structural Engineering, TU Delft has been ranked among the world's top 2 in 2022. For Architecture, it has been in the top 2 since 2012. For Mechanical Engineering, it has been in the top 5 since 2022 by QS World University Rankings.

Partnerships and Alliances

TU Delft works with leading universities across Europe. These partnerships allow for student exchanges and combined degree programs.

Some of its main partnerships include:

• IDEA League: A group of top technical universities like TU Delft, ETH Zurich, and RWTH Aachen.
• CESAER: A group of leading universities in Europe.
• Leiden-Delft-Erasmus alliance: A partnership between Leiden University, TU Delft, and Erasmus University Rotterdam. They work together on education, research, and applying knowledge.
• 4TU: A group of four leading Dutch technical universities: TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, Wageningen University, and University of Twente.
• ENHANCE Alliance: A network of European Technical universities, including TU Delft, Chalmers University of Technology, and ETH Zurich.

TU Delft also partners with many universities worldwide for student exchanges.

See also

In Spanish: Universidad Técnica de Delft para niños

• Ampelmann system