The construction engineering program at TU Delft has a number of in-depth courses in the form of additional masters. Cooperation with the industry is sought in order to give students the opportunity to connect with practice and get to know building products physically. Kawneer has long been one of the partners in the Facade Design master's program and recently organized a site visit to Parkstad Rotterdam for the students.
The facade is one of the substantive disciplines within the course in structural engineering. "In this, we mainly focus on the abstract side of facade engineering," says Arie Bergsma, lecturer at TU Delft. "In the Facade Design master's, on the other hand, there is room to really delve deeper and we cover all aspects of the facade with its many interfaces. After all, the facade is always connected to another building component. In addition, there are more and more requirements regarding sustainability, environmental impact of materials and reusability. The more complex the context, the more complex the facade."
According to Bergsma, contact with the business community is therefore essential to students' education. "Of course students find it fascinating to look outside the university walls from time to time, and (sometimes) start building a network. But with the Facade Design master's program, we especially want to give students more practical knowledge and experience. Kawneer is a strong knowledge component for us and provides lectures and workshops, among other things, but also occasionally organizes excursions (project visits) to a building project, such as recently to Parkstad Rotterdam. Here, Kawneer supplied the facade systems that were engineered, assembled and mounted by Rollecate. On such a project, all aspects, challenges and interests become clearly visible to the students."
Because the facade is so complex, we feel it is important as a company that we can already contribute during the study phase, says Nico Klomp, commercial director of Kawneer. "From the work field, we can impart not only theoretical knowledge but also the practical slant of issues surrounding the facade. If an alumnus then enters the professional field and already understands something of the complexity of the facade, that is of course very valuable. Because that complexity will not diminish. The more we can contribute to students becoming enthused during their studies, the better it will ultimately be for the market. After all, that's where the biggest gains for us as an industry lie. Besides the fact that talking about your profession and sharing knowledge is always a lot of fun."
More than half of our students are foreign nationals, notes Bergsma. "Kawneer, in turn, is also an international company. That too offers opportunities for both parties, and of course for all our other partners. Business is only becoming more international."
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