Eindhoven University of Technology


The Eindhoven University of Technology is a public technical university in the Netherlands, situated in Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its BSc and MSc programs and around 1350 students were enrolled in its PhD and EngD programs. In 2021, the TU/e employed around 3900 people.
TU/e is the Dutch member of the EuroTech Universities Alliance, a partnership of European universities of science & technology. The other members are Technical University of Denmark, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, École Polytechnique, The Technion, and Technical University of Munich.
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History

The Eindhoven University of Technology was founded as the Technische Hogeschool Eindhoven on 23 June 1956 by the Dutch government. It was the second institute of its kind in the Netherlands, after the Delft University of Technology.
Undergraduate education was given in four- or five-year programs until 2002, styled along the lines of the German system of education; graduates of these programs were granted an engineering title and allowed to prefix their name with the title ir.. Starting in 2002, following the entry into force of the Bologna Accords, the university switched to the bachelor/master structure. The undergraduate programs are now split into two parts, a three-year bachelor program and a two-year master program.

2011–2020 plans

On 3 January 2011, the university's plans for the period up to 2020, the "Strategic Plan 2020", was presented. The plan included establishing a University College with relevance in engineering education; establishing a Graduate School to manage the graduate programs; increasing the student body and annual PhDs awarded by 50 percent; increasing knowledge "valorisation" to a campus-wide score of 4.2; increasing the international position of the university to the top 100; and improving the campus, including adding a costly science park.

Organization

As a public university of the Netherlands, TU/e's general structure and management is determined by the Wet op het Hoger Onderwijs en Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek. Between that law and the statutes of the university itself, the management of the university is organized according to the following chart:

Executive board

The day-to-day running of the university is in the hands of the executive board . The executive board monitors the academic departments and service organizations, in addition to the local activities of the Stan Ackermans Institute. The EB consists of the president, the rector magnificus, and the vice president, in addition to a secretary for clerical tasks, who is usually the secretary of the entire university. The rector magnificus is the only member of the EB whose membership is mandated by law. The law allows anyone to be appointed rector, but in practice the university appoints a former department dean as rector. The rector represents the university's academic staff and academic interests of the university. The current president is Koen Janssen, the rector is Silvia Lenaerts, the vice president is Patrick Groothuis, and the secretary is Eric van der Geer-Rutten-Rijswijk.

Oversight of the executive board

There are two bodies that supervise the Executive Board:
  • The Supervisory Board is an external board of five people appointed by the Minister of Education. This Board provides external oversight of the running of the university, including changing of the statutes, the budget, and other strategic decisions.
  • The University Council is a council of 18 people, half of whom are elected from the university staff and half from the student body. The University Council is informed of the running of the university by the executive board at least twice a year and may advise the EB as it sees fit. It guards against discrimination within the university, and the council must agree to any changes in the management structure. The Council membership is open to all students and personnel, except the University Secretary and anyone in the supervisory board or the executive board.

Departments and service organizations

Most of the work at the university is done in the departments and service organizations. In both the departments and the service organizations, the staff are involved with the running of the body. Both the bodies also have advisory councils.
The departments take care of most of the research and education at the university. Each department is run by its professors and headed by a dean. The deans are all members of the executive deliberation meeting, which is a regular meeting of the deans and the rector.
The service organizations are involved in further activities that are part of running the university.
The university has the following service organizations:
OrganizationFull namePurpose

DAZ		General Affairs Service
Organizational and secretarial functions for varied activities, the alumni organization and the Student Sport Center

CEC		Communications Expertise Center
Responsible for all university communications and announcements, including interacting with the press and communications regarding external billing and payments. CEC also handles the printing and distribution of university brochures, and oversees uniform application of the university's house style.

DPO		Human Resources Management
All HR-related activities, including vacancies, pension plans, regulations about health and workplace safety, and specific tax breaks.

DFEZ		Financial and Economic Services
University finances.

DH		Housing service
Management of all real estate belonging to the university

ICT		ICT Service
Management of university computers, student laptops, networks, network security, shared storage facilities, university SharePoint sites, in addition to making related codes of conduct.

IEC		Information Expertise Center
The university library.

DIZ		Internal Affairs Service
Internal services, such as emergency assistance for events like fires and heart attacks, logistics, purchasing, and managing contracts.

STU		Student Service Center
Responsible for student services such as admission and registries, information for highschool and future students, and laptop service.

GTD		Common Technical Service
Provides technical services to departments, such as building prototypes, experiments, specific machinery, and software.

TU/e Holding B.V.

TU/e is involved in commercial interests and off-campus ties. These include commercial agreements between the university and external companies, in addition to interests in [|spinoff companies]. In 1997 the TU/e Holding B.V., a limited company, was created to manage these commercial interests.

Academics

Rankings

As of 2018, Eindhoven was ranked between 51 and 141 in the world, and a top ten technical university in Europe.
YearTHE Ranking QS Ranking
200570–
200667 –
2007130 –
2008128 –
2009120 –
2010114 126
2010-11115 146
2012-13114 158
2013-14106 157
2014-15144 overall, Engineering and Technology 64147
2015-16176 overall, Engineering and Technology 62, Physical sciences 86117
2016-17177 overall, Engineering and Technology 64, Computer Science 75121
2017-18141 overall, Engineering and Technology 51, Computer Science 64104
2018-19167 overall, Engineering and Technology 69, Computer Science 7499

In a 2003 European Commission report, TU/e was ranked as third among European research universities, based on the impact of its scientific research. In the 2011 ARWU rankings, TU/e was placed at the 52-75 bracket internationally in the Engineering/Technology and Computer Science category and at 34th place internationally in the Computer Science subject field.

Education

The scientific departments are the main divisions involved in teaching and research in the university. They employ the majority of the academic staff, are responsible for teaching the students, and sponsor the research schools and institutions.
The departments also offer PhD programs for qualified masters. Unlike in Anglo-Saxon countries, the PhD program is not educational, rather, the university employs those aiming for a PhD as researchers.
The TU/e has nine departments:
All education in each department is conducted solely in English, with the exception of the Biomedical Engineering department, which is conducted in a hybrid of both Dutch and English, however, primarily in Dutch. As a result, a Dutch language requirement applies alongside English.

Honors programs

The university offers honors programs for both bachelor and master students. At the bachelor level it consists of intensive study within eight possible tracks. At the master level it consists of extra leadership and professional development work.

Postgraduate doctorate of engineering (PDEng)

In 1986, the university, together with two other Dutch technological universities, started various programs for earning a postgraduate doctorate of engineering. These programs are managed by the Stan Ackermans Institute on behalf of the 4TU Federation. Nationally, 3,500 students have earned the postgraduate PDEng degree through these programs. There are ten programs at TU/e, each two years long.

Other educational programs

The university hosts a number of other educational programs that are in some way related to the main educational programs. These include the teacher's program and an MBA program.
  • Eindhoven School of Education: Teacher's education for masters, to get a higher education teaching certificate. Also involves research into education.
  • TIAS School for Business and Society: A shared MBA program with the University of Tilburg, for university graduates.
  • HBO minor program: Bachelor programs for students of HBO universities, to gain access to the master programs.

International connections

The TU/e has connections with sister institutions in different countries, for example:
The TU/e also provides education to foreign students and graduates. According to the 2009 annual report in the academic year 2008–2009 there were 490 exchange students, 103 foreign nationals registered in a bachelor program, 430 in a master program, 158 in a professional doctorate program. In 2009 the university employed 37 foreign professors and 16 foreign associate professors. Overall, 29.5% of the university staff was non-Dutch.
As of 2011/2012, the TU/e had Erasmus agreements with universities in 30 countries across Europe in a range of subjects for student exchanges.

Regional effect

The TU/e plays a role in the academic, economic and social life of Eindhoven and the surrounding region.
The TU/e is important to the economy of the Eindhoven region, as well as the wider areas of BrabantStad and the Samenwerkingsverband Regio Eindhoven. It provides skilled labor for local businesses and partners with technology companies in the area.

Regional history

The university's role in the economy started with the interaction with the Philips company. The university was founded primarily to address Philips's need for local employees with higher levels of education in electronics, physics, chemistry and later computer science. Later that interest spread to DAF and Royal Dutch Shell. Often, senior personnel from these companies were hired to form the academic staff of the university.
The relationship changed during the 1980s and 1990s as Philips moved away from the region. The university was forced to seek closer ties with the city of Eindhoven, resulting in the Brainport initiative, a move to draw high tech industry to the region. The university started expending more effort in making practical use of its research and providing support for local companies and startups.

Current effect

The TU/e is host of a number of research schools, including the ESI and the DPI. These research schools are a source of knowledge for tech companies in the area such as ASML, NXP and FEI. As of summer 2010, the TU/e was also host to the Eindhoven Energy Institute, a co-location of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's KIC on Sustainable Energy. The university also plays a large role in providing knowledge and personnel to other companies in the High Tech Campus Eindhoven and helps support startups through the Eindhoven Twinning Center and The Gate. The valorisation of TU/e has led to various spin-offs, including Lusoco, NC Biomatrix, Taylor, SMART Photonics, EFFECT Photonics and MicroAlign.
In the extended region, the TU/e is a part of the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle. The agreement between these three cities from three different countries formed a region that is among the highest in the European Union in terms of investment in technology and knowledge economy. The agreement includes cooperation between the three technical universities in the cities.

Student life

Community

The TU/e has over 110 community bodies for its members. They are related to sports, culture, faith, staff, international students and hobbies, as well as university political parties, student teams, and study associations for each faculty.

Technological sports

In addition to the regular sports played by the students and staff, the university has some "technology sporting efforts". Some examples include:
;Robot football: In 2010, TechUnited, the university's robot football team, won the European Championship, came second for the third time in a row at the world championship in Singapore and won the world championship in 2012. The team is part of the Mid-Size league of RoboCup.
;Auto racing:The TU/e's race team, University Racing Eindhoven competes annually in the Formula Student and other races with self-built racers. Starting in 2010 the team switched from a petrol engine to an electric car; this car came third at Silverstone, second at Hockenheim and won the Formula Student in its first year.
Another student racing program is the Automotive Technology InMotion team, a collaboration between the TU/e and Fontys University of Applied Sciences. The team has the aim to compete in the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Student teams

TU/e has various student teams which work on problems in the fields of sustainability, AI, health and mobility.

Notable people

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Notable honors for research done at the university