Owing to the constant throng of people during the examination periods, at the end of 2016 TU/e decided to run a pilot that would exclude non-TU/e people. From January 16 through February 3, only TU/e students and staff will be entitled to a seat on floors 0 and -1. Other visitors will have access to floor 1. A security guard will be present at the desk of the Information Expertise Center every day, and will allow only persons with a TU/e campus card to pass.

The survey held by Groep-één and which 297 students completed revealed that most of the respondents had difficulty finding a seat. The student group discussed this problem with Véronique Marks (director of Real Estate Management), Martin Boers (director of Internal Affairs) and Jo van Ham (Executive Board). The decision to run the pilot followed.

“The pressure on seating is quite intense, especially during examination periods," says Boers. "That's why we have taken this decision. We are intrigued to see what effect the pilot will have.”

Camiel Steffanie of Groep-één who strongly advocated the pilot says, “I hope the pilot encourages TU/e students to come back to MetaForum in this period. It has become less popular to study there because often no seats are available.”

The pilot will be evaluated, although exactly how is not yet clear, says Boers. Other institutions, such as Fontys and the Summa College, will be informed of the pilot before the end of the week. Banners and flyers will also announce the temporary measure to visitors.

The results of the study conducted during the first-quarter examination period can be found here.