If you walk into the central hall of Atlas, you’ll be sure to notice it: Solar Team Eindhoven (SET)’s prize-winning car. Such a prominent spot on campus is what the TU/ecomotive team really wants as well. Ideally, they would like to see their car standing right next to the SET one, and they generally call for more exhibition space for student teams. Team leader Tim van Grinsven believes there would be no downsides to this. “I think it would mainly increase the visibility of the teams, which is especially conducive to recruiting new members. The more you see the work of a student team, the more likely you’ll be to recognize its name.”

But it’s not just about extra attention for the team as far as TU/ecomotive is concerned. “Two of our older cars are now in containers on the parking lot next to our carshop,” says Van Grinsven. “It’s simply not feasible for us to store all of our old cars and we already had to deconstruct one due to the lack of storage. That’s a shame for the people who worked on it, but also for the university. It’s basically a story that’s lost.” The team sees Atlas as the only reasonable option to house their car. “It’s the only building whose entrance fits a car.”

Agreement

According to the program manager for the student teams, Madis Talmar, talks are currently ongoing about exchanging SET’s World Solar Challenge-winning car in Atlas for a newer version, which also won the contest. At the same time, he would like to see more space being freed up for other student teams. “This would give all of the student teams the opportunity to showcase their work throughout the year. Ideally we’d display all of their work and put together all kinds of exhibitions, not just for cars but for everything the teams produce here.”

Talmar says the reason this hasn’t happened yet is because the university has strict guidelines for setting up an exhibition. “Also, there are many parties that are involved in the decision-making process, which have to spend a lot of time discussing the topic in order to work something out. Talmar mentions the Real Estate and Facility Management divisions, the overarching tenants of any given building, for instance an academic division, and the owner of the artefact. “And then there’s still the question of who’s paying for the exhibition space and placement of the exhibited works.”

Experiment

Talmar would like to see the university adopt a more progressive stance on these kinds of exhibitions. “I think we could experiment a bit more. We’re a university of technology and we produce new technologies. We could display more of them on campus.”

Here, Talmar is mainly referring to what is on display. “We have some older physics devices and computer equipment scattered around our buildings, but we should be showcasing some more contemporary items. Those also tell a story, and will definitely pique the interest of people.”

He would also like to see more places on campus where the end products of the student teams can be displayed. “Similar to what we do with academic heritage in our buildings and with the TU/e Image Bank. I think that telling their story can help their work make a real impact, which means making it more accessible aligns very well with the university’s general strategy of impacting both science and education.”

Asked for a response, President of the Executive Board Robert-Jan Smits says he’s ‘sympathetic’ to the idea of organizing more exhibition space on campus. “I’m extremely proud of our student teams, but the same goes for our researchers and our start-ups. So I’m all for showcasing our highlights even more. I think they deserve it, and that it could make a considerable contribution to our internal pride and the impression our university makes on visitors. So as far as I’m concerned, initiatives in this area are most welcome.”