Up until this year, new master’s students at TU/e - mostly internationals - had their own introduction week, the so-called Master Kick-Off, which took place the week after the Intro for bachelor’s students. However, the group that participated in the Master Kick-Off was considerably smaller. So it was decided that the two introduction weeks would be combined this academic year. According to project leader Jeanette Schoumacher the idea was to raise the level of the Intro and ease the difficulties of organization, she told Cursor in early 2023. CIC board member Rebecca Pelsser says that it is a whole new experience for the CIC as well and that there will be much to learn from this week’s proceedings.

No guidance

For example, over these first few days Cursor has spoken to quite a few master Intro students who said they were disappointed that their group didn’t receive guidance from an Intro dad or mom, like all the bachelor groups. They say this made them feel somewhat disadvantaged, because they did have to pay the full fee of 145 euros to participate in the Intro.

Pelsser says the CIC has gotten word of this as well, “and it was also something we discussed in the preparatory phase. But it was a difficult issue for us, because we are also doing this for the first time, - it’s a pilot, after all. We thought about what kind of people could accompany these groups and where to find them. But ultimately, we couldn’t figure that out. However, all master’s students who participate in the Intro receive an email every morning with information about all the activities, which they can all participate in. Nevertheless, it’s definitely something to consider for next year if there is going to be another joint Intro.”

It also leaves master’s students confused and somewhat disappointed when they see the bachelor groups wearing matching T-shirts. “But that’s something that the student associations arrange for the bachelor groups,” Pelsser explains, “it has nothing to do with the CIC so it’s not true that they received those shirts because they paid the 145 euros.”

Camping

Another new addition this Intro is the campsite where some 330 students could book a place to sleep behind the Aurora residential tower. Several campers have told Cursor that they could have done with more toilets and showers. Pelsser: “Running a campsite was also a completely new experience for the CIC, so we had to make an estimate regarding the number of toilets and showers. Once it became clear on Tuesday that there were in fact too few, I tried to arrange for more on that same day, but unfortunately that was not possible at such short notice. They would be delivered on Thursday at the earliest and the Intro would be all but over by then. So should we choose to set up a campsite again next year, this is another learning curve for the CIC.”