Last December student housing company Vestide - who rents out the space boxes to the predominantly international students who opt for on-campus housing - hosted two dinners for students living on campus. Their goal? To entice students with a free, freshly-cooked meal in exchange for their opinions about what life has been like for them in the space boxes and, most importantly, how life could be better for them once they move to the new-build residential tower Parkview behind Traverse and Potentiaal.

The students living in the space boxes have high hopes for their new accommodations - first and foremost among them a place to gather and get to know their fellow on-campus neighbors. Aniruddha Panda (26) is from Pune, India and working on his PHD in the Department of Chemical Engineering. While he’s mostly positive about his living accommodations, he says that a common room is absolutely vital for internationals. “There’s no community zone here. We should have a space to invite friends for a BBQ and enjoy social life. Even if I’ve socialized with people in the space boxes, they’ve also been my colleagues. I haven’t socialized with anyone that I didn’t already know. It’s an isolated space - you come home and close your door.”

Wang Yuyang (25) of China (PhD student candidate in the Department of Applied Physics) lives with his wife, Yang, in the space boxes and they plan to move to Potentiaal. While their first wish is for more space - family back home is pressuring them for a grandchild - their second request is also for a community space. Yang: “It feels like we’re all isolated and we don’t see anyone else. I’ve been here for four months and I don’t even know who my neighbors are. Wang echoes his wife: “It can be just any common room - a table, multimedia, just like those things. It doesn’t have to be a lot - just a space where we can meet and have some activities.”

Jian Peng Zhang (27) is also from China and working on his PhD (Department of Mathematics and Computer Science) and lives not only with his wife, Jinwen, but also his 9-month old daughter in the space boxes. The couple also plans to move to the new residential tower in September and says a community space is a basic need for their little family. Jinwen: “Maybe we can celebrate together for holidays if we have a common room. I think it’s important for my daughter to see other people.”

It’s a wish echoed by virtually everyone, says Almar Sinte Maartensdijk, the designer hired by Vestide to conceptualize and execute the research. “There’s a lot of loneliness here because the students don’t have any place to get together. And there’s even been a few suicides, so Vestide really wanted to know what these students need to make them feel happy with their living arrangements. Almost every student we’ve talked to has asked for a place to be able to hang out, watch TV, play games and get to know each other.”

Families and communities play a central role in everyday life

As the university strives to attract more and more students from abroad, the lack of a community space for on-campus students - one that’s available after-hours and isn’t a bar - is worth looking at from a cross-cultural perspective. While Dutch culture values gezelligheid and occasional social get-togethers, like other western European cultures, the emphasis is more on the individual rather than the collective. In short, individualistic cultures tend to put the “I” first and value concepts such as individual initiative, independence and relying on yourself. In collectivistic cultures - which include countries such as Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, and India - families and communities play a central role in everyday life. Life is organized around the group and rules tend to promote unity and selflessness. As Aniruddha Panda sums it up: “In India, social areas are very important. You can’t live without that.” 

Vestide spokeswoman Hannie de Groot says the company is working to meet this primary demand, “Residents said their main recommendation [for the residential tower] was that they would like to have a place to meet. We’ll investigate this idea further and we’ll get started developing a plan. In spring 2016, we’ll provide feedback on these developments to our TU/e contact and residents.”

The majority of students also expressed a desire for better lighting and improved cooking facilities. Students like Mohammed Ghasempourabadi (Department of the Built Environment) tries to eat only halal foods, but says that’s a challenge in his current living situation. “We don’t have a fridge. You must buy everything fresh and that’s a big problem.”

Unlike other on-campus residents, Jinwen and Jian Peng have different considerations for their housing because of their daughter. Jinwen: “I’d like to move to a big house. But he [Jian Peng] thinks it’s so convenient. Jian Peng: “If something happens, I can come back quickly and help them. I couldn’t do that if we move to the city.” Jinwen counters: “I want to see how that new building will be and the facilities before we decide. The kitchen must be separate, so not to let the sound wake up the baby. Now, when she goes to sleep, I can’t cook and I can’t tidy things.” However, Jinwen does appreciate one main aspect of living on campus: “We always walk around campus with her. I think the environment is so good for her because there is a lake and a river. It’s very green.”

“A big, shared kitchen would be good”

Aniruddha Panda would appreciate more information about what life might be like for residents in the new residential tower. “We don’t have any communication plan about what the rooms look like. They haven’t shared the architecture or how many people will be sharing kitchens. I heard that they’ll have different kinds of rooms - you have a bedroom and bathroom and a kitchen shared among five tenants. That would be good, a big shared kitchen. You’d have the freedom of cooking together and your own private space.”

In closing, Panda says international students often find themselves having to choose between a lesser of two evils when searching for housing in Eindhoven. “I’d tell new students to take any available housing that the university is providing because I’ve heard about people getting duped through housing scams. They’ve lost a lot of money. However, university housing is like a monopoly. The university says go to Vestide and they’ll find housing for you. But then you learn that if you leave their accommodation once, you can’t have it for all of your education. They said that it’s because they have such a long waiting list. I think that’s kind of a lame reason.”