The harsh winter weather also raised questions about our favorite campus pet: that large fish in the pond (aka Egbert), which plays an important supporting role in many selfies. It is now so big that it can be spotted from the fifth floor of Atlas. Always a great conversation starter if you want to get away from your computer for a while: "Do you see the big fish somewhere?", or: "Do fish actually go into hibernation?" I googled it, and yes, fish kind of hibernate when it gets cold.

No hibernation in Atlas, however. There it was hot and busy. Not only because of the Christmas market downstairs. Our faculty (Industrial Design) celebrated Demo Day last Friday. This year for the first time also in the Auditorium. On this Friday at the end of each semester, students present the project they have been working on over the past few months. They pitch their 'demonstrator' (prototype), and teachers, clients and fellow students give feedback. Moreover, Demo Day is an excellent moment for family and friends to take a look at what our campus looks like and what their loved ones have been working on all these months.

It was clear from the quality of the projects that the students were able to work on campus again and that they had access to the workshops and facilities of TU/e. There were nice demos. A number of them have been photographed. We will place these on our new intranet after the holidays.

This week we have the last lectures, the last meetings and the last deadlines. We finish what really can't wait and clean up, and then we close the door for one or two weeks. I notice it in myself, I see it in my colleagues, in the students. We are tired and ready for a holiday. Just a few days of doing nothing, chilling under a blanket next to the Christmas tree, with the Christmas wreaths and hot chocolate within reach. Happy holidays!