Tidbits from Delft

Winter arrived in Delft and with it came the dreaded showers. When this happens it may be days before you can see some sunlight again. I was well into the first phase of my thesis project but the weather wasn’t exactly motivating enough to get me out of the bed. It was high time to take a break and catch some sunlight. So I and a couple of friends decided to head South, much like migratory birds. Unlike the migratory birds our journey wasn’t so arduous.

It’s all Greek to me!

We were lucky to find some cheap tickets from Eindhoven. In fact, it cost us more to get to Delft from Eindhoven than the flight back to Eindhoven! A 3-hour flight took us to Athens, a beautiful city that grew around the legacy of the Greek civilization. As soon as we reached the city we got a familiar feeling as if we had landed in Delhi. The busy streets, traffic and street-side shops looked all the same as one would encounter in Delhi. But we got a real shock when we saw only symbols like Sigma, Lambda, Gamma, Theta etc. on literally everything. Since our school days we had learned these to use as constants in Physics and mathematics, but this was the language which Greek people used every day! It felt like we had to solve an equation and find a solution everytime we wanted to read something on information screens and sign posts. We soon got the hang of it though, being smart engineers and all B)

The Acropolis behind us

The public transport is pretty cheap in Athens if you take the 5-day pass. We roamed around the city the whole day while taking in the sights. The National Archaeological museum, the Acropolis and its awesome museum transported us back through the ages to the times when Greeks were one of the mighty civilizations. We sampled some street food like souvlaki, crepes and salads all of which I would highly recommend. The flea market near the Acropolis is a great place to buy souvenirs and books on the cheap (if you know your Greek). One great thing about Athens is that the whole place is awake and moving well into the night. We didn’t feel like returning back to our Airbnb place until 2 am!

Christmas decorations near Syntagma Square

Our next stop was the picturesque island of Santorini which is a 45-minute flight away from Athens. The island has a black-sand beach (Kamari) on the south side where we did a lot of experimental photography. On the north side the town of Thira is the central place from where all the public transport originates. It has a small port way down (about 700 steps) from where you can also take boats to the other smaller islands nearby. You can also ride on a mule down to the port and back. There is another town called Oia which is simply mesmerising, with its white and blue buildings in a sort of a maze around the cliff. Since it was the off-season there were very few people all around the tiny island. We heard that it becomes quite a party hub in the summers. Nevertheless we took in all the sunlight we could before returning back to Holland.

Port at Thira

Oia, Santorini Island

Long Exposure Shot, Kamari Beach (P.C.- Amitabh Yadav)

It was quite a memorable trip and well worth every penny we spent. We did miss some spots in Athens which I hope to check out on another trip to the Greek capital. As for now, I need to return back to the world of signals and circuits.

Happy Holidays!

After four quarters of hard work we are in the summer break, and I am finally done with my courses. That is, I now have sufficient credits to start my thesis. As I look back, I must say it was quite hard and often it was almost impossible. But I tried my best and never let it discourage me. I now have a somewhat better sense of the technology that goes into the devices that we make. I hope to learn even more while working on my thesis later this year.

A fabricated wafer – what I am supposed to design

But before getting into the nitty gritty of the thesis I needed a break. So I came back home to Bhubaneswar in the state of Odisha, also known as the temple city. I was just in time for Rath Yatra, the annual festival in which Lord Jagannath (a Hindu deity) and his siblings visit their aunt’s house in a wooden chariot. Millions of people attend the festival in Puri each year. Since it is the monsoon season in India, it rains quite hard and often unlike the windy showers in Holland. It is also quite humid and also warm, which is typical of the coastal regions.

Sand sculpture by Sudarshan Pattnaik to celebrate Rath Yatra

I also travelled to Pune in Maharashtra where I trekked to Lohegarh fort with my friends. The best time to visit Pune and its surrounding hills is in the monsoon. I was reminded of my numerous bike trips with my friends.

Waterfall on the way to Lohgarh Fort

But the most important reason I came back to India was the food. I found a new appreciation for the food back home that I had taken for granted. The cuisine in India is not just one. Every region has its own style and variation. It is difficult to get the same variety anywhere else. So I ate as much as I could, and as many dishes I could find. I would have to wait another year at least to taste everything again.

A full Indian lunch

I had brought stroopwaffels and Belgian chocolates which my folks really liked. I am trying to take as much sweets and snacks to Delft as possible. As I prepare to return back to my studies I realise a greater journey lies ahead. Alvida!

I recently had the opportunity to participate in the Bike Repair project organized by WiNZE, a local startup in Delft. I got my bike repaired for free, and in return I had to help them out with setting up of an event together with Prospektief Delft for indigent people. I had a lot of fun working with other participants and the organisers. I am looking forward to more such events.

As an international student I have often felt a bit disconnected from the local community in Delft. Even though the language barrier is much lower here, our busy schedules makes it difficult to even socialize with our neighbours. Simple tasks like moving furniture or getting something repaired are often quite difficult because we don’t know a lot of people who can get the necessary arrangements without spending a whole lot of money. Similar problems are also faced by elderly people and people who are not socially active in the local community.

This problem was observed by Aman Jindal, a former MSc student in Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft. He took it up as a challenge and sought to find a solution. He took the entrepreneurship course offeredby YES Delft which helped him to formulate the idea into his startup and develop the WiNZE platform. With his co-founder Jasper Van Gelder he built a platform on which locals can post a request if they need some help with a task and other people who are willing to help can reach out to them. WiNZE is also organising events such as the Bike Repair project to popularize their platform.

Aman hopes to bring neighbourhoods closer through the WiNZE platform. He believes that people will socialize more and do more activities together if they get to know each other better. Helping each other in some tasks is one good way to do just that. This would be important in places where people keep moving regularly, unlike in traditional neighbourhoods where everyone knows each other and has a well-established connection.

Moreover this platform would be very helpful for students who can help each other out and socialize at the same time. They have already helped many students in moving and have received good feedback for their services. According to Aman, a beta version of their platform is ready for use. It can be accessed at – https://beta.winze.org/

WiNZE collaborated with Delft Municipality for the Bike Repair project and they are in talks to turn it into a long term program. They are planning to organize other events as well, which would be mutually beneficial to everyone. They have received good response from the local community and hope to continue further on this path.

WiNZE team currently comprises of 3 members. Eventually, they aim to expand to other cities as well, after evaluating the results in Delft.

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The last two weeks were quite hectic and stressful for almost everyone on campus. Obviously, I am talking about the assessments that we had to attempt for our courses. I had to prepare for five assessments and I had four in this week itself! Luckily, I had started preparing a bit early. So I could be ready for all of them.

As the exam weeks approach, the campus becomes quieter and a lot less crowded. The crowd flocks to the library instead to hit the books and their notes. It becomes increasingly difficult to find a space even on the higher levels of the cone. But thankfully there are several other study spaces around campus made available specifically for this duration. The library hours are extended to 2 am as well, for all the owls who prefer the dark. The library staff do a commendable job to maintain the peace and quiet that everyone needs in the stressful time.

The cone @ Library. Picture Credits: Greenroofs.com

Every course has its own assessment method and so preparing for every course needs a different approach. For most of my courses I had to submit assignments that  contributed to about 30% of the final grade of the course. The assignments were quite helpful as I had to constantly update myself with the progress of the course rather than push everything till the exam time. Back home it was quite different. We used to study only during the exam time as we had no assignments to submit. That increased the stress during preparation as we had to start from scratch. Some of the assignments here were quite challenging which required more than one head working together to find the solution. It was fun doing the assignments together with my friends.

For some courses we could even choose the method of assessment. For the course ‘Sensors and Actuators’ taught by Prof. Paddy French we could choose between writing an essay, give an oral exam or a written exam. We could also apply for a resit in the next quarter if we didn’t do well in the exam. So there are several options to apply and improve.

Recorded Lectures on Collegerama

During preparation I had some good aids in the form of question papers and answers from previous years which were provided by the instructors on brightspace. They gave me a good idea about the level of understanding and preparation required for the exam. Many of the lectures are recorded and are available on collegerama. So I could watch some of the lectures that I had missed this quarter. These tools were quite helpful to prepare for the exams.

Now that the exams are over and it is spring break I have a week ahead to relax and work on my essay for the Sensors and Actuators course. Till next time!

Yes, we were literally chilling our way into the new year. The location could not have been any better though. We were jostling among the milling crowd in front of the beautiful City Hall of Vienna. The fireworks were a bit of a damper but the view was amazing. What made it even more special was that Vienna was just a one-day stop for us.

Rathaus (Vienna City Hall) PC: Nimit Kothari

A group of people (including me) recently went on a week-long trip to the gorgeous cities of Prague, Vienna and Budapest. It was planned meticulously months ahead but even then we were clueless about what to actually do when we reached there. We followed the popular travel-blogs and made up a check-list of the sights we wanted to cover. And then we went about doing just that. I will try to explain everything concisely though. I could write a whole journal paper on this trip, but I need to sleep as well.

Our trip started with a train to Eindhoven from where we flew to Prague. We were welcomed with an unbearably cold weather. That didn’t deter us however from venturing out to the marvelous St. Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle. After crossing the historic and unusual Charles Bridge we entered the tightly-packed Old Town and treated ourselves to some delicious trdelnik and hot chocolate. In the old town and on Charles Bridge we found street performers playing tunes, making live portraits and levitating in mid-air. We visited the Lennon Wall, the Kafka Museum, the astronomical tower and many other monuments I don’t remember clearly now. But I was mesmerized by the Kafka monument. I would definitely mark it as the highlight of Prague. I thanked myself for taking the proper accessories to insulate myself from the cold. I had to look for coffee every few hours just to get some warmth.

Prague Castle (as seen from Charles Bridge)

View of old town from Prague Castle

We headed next to Vienna on a bus. We were relieved by the relatively better weather in Vienna. The city center was packed with tourists and locals getting ready to welcome the new year. Stephansplatz was the epicenter of all the celebrations in the city. Like in Delft, the market area was lighted up and decorated. I met an Afghani waiter at a stall who recognised my origin and was happy to take my order in Hindi. Among the churches I liked St. Peter’s Catholic Church the most. It’s as simple on the outside as it is gorgeous on the inside. The interior is an exquisitely crafted wonder. As the time neared the end of the year we headed towards Hofburg palace and at one spot we could see the Hofburg Palace, the Parliament, the Museum of Natural History and Rathaus (City Hall of Vienna). We went along with the crowd towards Rathaus where we counted down the seconds to the new year and greeted each other. It took a good deal of walking to reach a station where we could get back to our hostel, since everyone was trying to get back home at the same time. After a good night’s rest we paid a visit to Danube tower which was well worth the money and the time. The whole of Vienna was visible from atop the tower. It was quite windy though, strong enough to make us scurry back inside.

Stephansplatz (Vienna)

Atop Danube Tower, Vienna

Later that evening we took another bus to Budapest. But after reaching the address of our pre-booked hostel in Budapest we found out that it didn’t even exist. Even the local shopkeepers had never heard of the hostel. But luckily, after some searching we were able to book an apartment for the whole group. We also found an Indian restaurant (Kashmir Restaurant) run by some people of Pakistani origin. I had some chicken biryani there (for the first time in about 5 months) but it felt like ages. The next day we went to St. Stephen’s Basilica, Buda Castle, Széchenyi chain bridge, Matthias Church, Fisherman’s Bastion and Margaret Bridge. From atop the hill of Buda Castle we got a really pretty sight of Pest. The Hungarian Parliament was quite a sight at night from Margaret Bridge as well. Later in the night we visited Szimpla Kert, one of the most popular ruin pubs in the city. As soon as we entered it felt as if we had come into another planet entirely. The atmosphere inside was eerie but welcoming. I would definitely recommend a visit. The next day we took a nice long hot bath in the pool of Széchenyi thermal baths. It was refreshing and much needed after all the walking we had done. We missed some spots in Budapest owing the rains and fatigue. So we promised to ourselves to visit Budapest again!

Szechenyi Chain Bridge (from Buda Castle)

The trip was exhausting but it gave us plenty of good memories. We headed back to a new year, tired but happy and ready to blend back into our schedule of classes and assignments. I learned a few lessons such as not to take heavy boots on long trips and to always check properly before booking hostels. We grew closer as a group and made quite a few inside jokes. Ironically though, we never failed to find a place to chill.

The whole gang (I am taking the selfie)