Maxime | Third-year bachelor student
Maxime is a third-year bachelor student, nearing the end of her bachelor's degree as she has just completed the final Bachelor Thesis Project.
Why did you decide to study Aerospace Engineering?
“When I was 15, I joined my older brother for an open day at TU Delft. There we went to talks about different studies. This is where I decided I wanted to study either Aerospace Engineering or Physics. I find both interesting and, in the end, decided that aerospace was the right choice for me. During the process of choosing, I made a long list of all the studies you can do here in The Netherlands, as well as some options abroad, then crossed the ones that weren’t for me off one by one. I mostly did this to know for sure I would make an informed choice and to have a bit more knowledge about the other options out there. This made me even more sure about choosing Aerospace Engineering, and I’m so glad that I did!”
How do you like student life in Delft and the atmosphere at Aerospace Engineering?
“What I love most about student life in Delft is the diversity of clubs and teams you can join. The study society of Aerospace Engineering (VSV ‘Leonardo da Vinci’) is very active and fun to join as a student. Besides that, everyone is very open to trying new things, so you can take many different classes and do different sports at numerous associations. I’ve tried a lot of things, such as yoga, fencing, aikido, windsurfing, and much more. It’s really fun to do these things with existing friends and to make new ones.”
What is the best subject you have followed during your studies?
“There have been a lot of courses in the bachelor that I really enjoyed, so it’s very hard to single one course out. I mostly preferred the math intensive courses, such as linear algebra in the first year. Once you have those basics under control, the harder courses like vibrations, aerodynamics and signals, become a lot easier and more fun.”
What was your favorite project?
“My favourite project was probably the final one. The last ten weeks of your bachelor you do a full-time project called the DSE, or Design Synthesis Exercise. This is a project with ten students where you work either for the faculty or an outside company. Our project was in corporation with Wings For Aid, where we had to design an aircraft with the aim to deliver supplies to disaster areas that cannot be reached by other means of transportation. It is very satisfying to put all the work you did throughout the bachelor together and go through the design process in a team setting. At the end of the ten weeks there was a big symposium where we got to show our design to our family, friends and even companies!”
Do you have any tips for anyone looking for a study and having to make a study choice?
“I would recommend to go and look at as many different studies and universities as possible. If it’s not too far away, definitely go to open days and student-for-a-day events. Like I said before, I personally made a huge list with all possible studies and started crossing things off. It’s quite nice to have all the options in front of you and have a look at them all to make an informed decision.”
