From a technical college with just 200 students to an internationally recognized university with more than 13,000 students. In the four-part video series 70 Years of TU/e - Curiosity Connects, we explore the rich and multifaceted history our university. Through personal stories from staff members and students across different generations, we show how the university has evolved over the past seventy years.
Hosts Cindy de Koning and Alfons Bruekers look back on seven decades of education, research, innovation, student life, and campus development through anecdotes and historical archive footage. They meet people who have shaped TU/e, past and present, and visit campus locations that hold historical significance and play a role in the university's latest developments.
Common thread
The university campus serves as the common thread throughout the series. The videos show how it has changed over the years, adapting to new academic programs, research initiatives, and generations of students. Seventy years ago, TU/e began as a technical college focused on developing new fields of study and sharing knowledge to help advance the Netherlands. Today, it continues that mission on an international scale, working closely with partners across the Eindhoven region and beyond.
Each episode focuses on a different era in the university's seventy-year history:
Episode 1: The Foundation (1956-1970)
We begin at the very start and discover why the Netherlands' second university of technology was established in Eindhoven. Academic heritage specialist Erik Geelen delves into the historical archives and shares remarkable footage from the university's founding years. Jan Blom, one of TU/e's first students, reflects on those early days and the emergence of student associations. Joke Jansen recalls what it was like to study Electrical Engineering as one of the first female students in a predominantly male environment.
Watch episode 1 via this link .
Episode 2: Growth (1970-1990)
The second episode focuses on a period of rapid development. During the 1970s and 1980s, the university expanded significantly. Together with radiation specialist Gilles Moerdijk, we travel back fifty years and take a look inside ATHENE, TU/e's former nuclear reactor.
We also visit De Bunker with alumnus and former bouncer John Tacken. For many years, the General Meeting Space (AOR), located there, was the social and entertainment hub for generations of TU/e students. He explains why, in the late 1980s, he refused the Red Hot Chili Peppers entry into the AOR.
Anne Kaldewaij reflects on his collaboration with Professor Edsger Dijkstra, a pioneer of modern computer science and recipient of the 1972 Turing Award. His scientific contributions continue to have a profound impact on today's technology-driven society.
Watch episode 2 via this link .
Episode 3: Resilience (1990-2010)
Digital tools such as computers, the internet, and email became an integral part of campus life. In the late 1990s, all first-year students received their own laptop. According to alumnus Paul Hamelinck, students nicknamed these bulky devices "sidewalk tiles" because of their size and weight. Together with Annemarie Moons, who worked at the Education and Student Service Center at the time, he reflects on how the introduction of laptops transformed education at TU/e.
Norbine Schalij, editor of Cursor, explains how the university newspaper evolved from a print publication into an online news platform.
Bert Meijer looks back on his 35-year career in supramolecular chemistry research. Although he is the same age as the university itself, the "architect of molecules" has no plans to retire. His passion for science and teaching remains as strong as ever.
Watch episode 3 via this link .
Episode 4: Transformation (2010-present)
This episode begins during a challenging period for the region, when the university faced declining student enrollment. Former Rector Hans van Duijn explains how TU/e emerged from this period and the initiatives that made it possible: the introduction of a new educational system, a stronger international focus, and the transformation of the campus.
TU/e staff photographer Bart van Overbeeke has documented the university's evolution through his camera lens over the past thirty years. He guides us through his collection of more than 60,000 photographs.
Lex Hoefsloot, founder of Solar Team Eindhoven, and Yarno Basten, a member of the current team, discuss what it means to be part of a student team. Hoefsloot was there in 2012 when TU/e first competed in and won the World Solar Challenge in Australia.
In this final episode, we also look ahead to the future with a visit to the QuantumLab. There, Servaas Kokkelmans explains the latest technological developments and the opportunities they may create in the years to come.
Watch episode 4 via this link .
