Professional Doctorate in Engineering in the Netherlands

    I hope this article will be useful not only for those who are interested in studying in the Netherlands. It describes the details of choosing a program , passing IELTS , housing searches , as well as paperwork algorithms (in Ukraine). Considered financial issues . At the end of the article, links to the Habratopics about other countries are collected .


    Even before entering the magistracy, I thought about submitting documents for one of the programs of interest to me abroad. Firstly, in order to grow personally and professionally, secondly, to see different approaches to the educational process, thirdly, to travel, to be in an unfamiliar environment and take a break from political news and bureaucracy at home.

    I enrolled in graduate school at Alma Mater without finding an interesting program in English. After defending my thesis, I decided to go to Vienna University (for students from Ukraine there is free tuition in German) for a Masters in Media Informatics in German, which I had to study in 1-2 years and pass an exam before starting the course. Fortunately, I was not able to take the correct and necessary paper for admission called Nachweis der besonderen Universitätsreife (certificate about the right to study), and the name of my specialty in Ukraine was somewhat different.

    IELTS

    I decided not to waste time and prepare for IELTS (Academic) on courses in Kiev, a year before that I went to London for three weeks, which significantly improved my knowledge of the language (especially conversational) and served as an inspiration for the topic of a master's degree. Watching films, reading and listening to books and podcasts mainly in English, also had a very strong influence on the result over the course of two years (I worked on a remote site and freelanced from the first year, I studied the language at the same time).
    The test was pleased with its clarity and smooth processes. I passed it with a significant bias in two sections, namely Listening - 8, Reading - 8, Writing - 6 and Speaking - 6, which gave an average score of 7 out of 9. I will not say that I was very pleased with my result, but I was not very upset .

    Choice of country, university and program

    Initially, most of all I wanted to study in English-speaking countries (England, USA, Canada, Australia) in English, but in them, unfortunately, training for visitors is very expensive. To choose a university, I visited two thematic exhibitions, but they were more focused on future bachelors or masters of paid education. About grants and scholarships there, too, very little wanted to talk about.

    Fortunately, taking everything with you will not work *
    Now I understand how many sensible programs are in Poland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, even in English, and, interestingly, it is often cheaper than in Ukraine. I did not immediately send out documents to all universities, I decided to aim for one program in the Netherlands, pass IELTS, and since I found it after the deadline for submitting documents in 2011, I decided to do it a year later. For the sake of insurance, he submitted documents to the University of Vienna (see the preface). At the time of the next acceptance of documents in the Netherlands, I would just start to study German in Austria, but now I see that my friends who submitted documents before me only recently left for Austria (they issue a visa for a long time, and after you find a house).

    The article “ Studying in the Netherlands or usability-refining brains ” made me think about studying in the Netherlands . I am interested in industrial design and usability, in addition, I wanted to get more experience in these areas and in the team.

    An exciting program, the climate is not very severe, the language of instruction is English, there is a salary, many sports sections, you can drink tap water and not die in agony. I think it is inexpedient to buy a car, but here they just ride bicycles. Of course you need to go!

    University and program

    Technical University of Eindhoven [ Eng. ] in addition to undergraduate, graduate and PhD has a number of post-master's two-year professional Doctorate in Engineering programs. The material support of the industrial design department is impressive, most of all with 3D printers, which I have not tried yet.

    Professional Doctorate in Engineering
    PDEng [ Eng. ] is a post-master's degree in the Netherlands, designed to connect science with industry. You can get it at one of the three technical universities of the 3TU association [ eng. ] . Each participant in the program is an employee of the university, receives a salary and pays taxes and contributions to the pension fund. One such program is the User the System the Interaction [ Eng. ] .
    For admission, you must complete the master's program (as judith suggestsA specialist diploma may also be suitable) in engineering, behavioral sciences or design. And also pass the IELTS Academic with an average score of 6.5 and at least 6 points in each part of the test or 550 points in TOEFL (in paper form).

    Paperwork

    IND [ Engl. ] Residence Wizard : "Professional soccer players, ministers of religion, teachers of religion and prostitutes are not eligible for a residency as highly skilled migrant"

    For admission, it was necessary to write a resume, a thesis abstract and a motivation letter in English. To begin with, I looked for examples of writing these pieces of paper, after I found it, I decided that I would write in my own way.

    A resume and a motivation letter should be written for each organization with separate accents in the field of activity of this organization, but it is better to completely redo them for each specific case. For myself, I did not choose the most formal style of writing.

    The Netherlands signed the Hague Convention , and therefore, instead of legalizing documents, they need to be apostilled , which, as they say, is simpler and takes less time. For the Netherlands, you need to put a double apostille on the document itself and on the certified translation of the document.
    Putting down apostilles is better to do it yourself, because it is cheaper, safer and faster. If the documents are submitted to the Ministry of Justice by you personally, then the deadline is one day, otherwise five working days (relevant for Ukraine).

    Do not laminate birth, marriage, divorce, name change certificates. When apostilizing the stamp is placed on the document at the back. If already laminated, you will have to get the documents again. Diplomas and inserts are filed with stamping sheets.

    Update : As rightly noted, the apostille of diplomas can be completely optional, most likely I did mine in vain, it is better to clarify separately at the university.
    The algorithm for obtaining documents

    The personnel department and the secretariat of the faculty of industrial design simply asked me to provide the documents that I had already completed, sent a brochure with tips and checklists of what I should do before and after arrival. They independently opened an account at a local bank, sent all the documents to the IND immigration office, that one, in two weeks, checked and completed the necessary documents and advised the embassy to issue an MVV ( category D visa) visa, which I took in two visits to the embassy on the same day. And the program coordinator suggested where the good housing appeared, which I chose.

    If you have a wife or girl, you need a marriage certificate or confirmation of a civil marriage (a general bank account may work). They get a work visa, go on city tours, learn the Dutch language at a discount and integrate into society in every possible way. At some point, I even thought that we should have someone, otherwise the good disappears.

    I received my residence permit nine days after visiting the immigration center upon arrival. To obtain a residence permit, you need to do fluorography at a local hospital, help appoint an appointment at the immigration center.
    Documentation costs
    HryvniaEuroPCS.AmountTime (days)Comments
    IELTS Exam1450 ₴142 €1142 €2reimbursed
    Apostilles in min of education *111 ₴11 €444 €<30-45working days waiting
    Translation + notarization115 ₴12 €668 €3
    Apostilles in the justice min.51 ₴5 €630 €24 trips
    35 days insurance221 ₴22 €122 €1
    MVV + IND visa650 €1650 €12 trips. Taken from the first salary
    IELTS Express courses2161 ₴212 €1212 €18in 6 weeks
    Mail + DHL615 ₴60 €160 €1

    Job interview
    It was conducted by telephone in English by two people and lasted 45 minutes. There were no particular surprises, they asked about plans, interests, and especially about the graduation project and motivation. My interlocutors studied in detail the documents I sent and clarified several unobvious questions (for example, how can I finish school at 16, enter and go to work, and most importantly why). I answered rather chaotically, but I managed to joke and discuss common interests.

    Training and work
    The group was recruited as multinationally as possible and with experience in various fields from psychology to mathematics, and this year 17 people from different parts of the world, most of all from Europe, recruited. The average age of my colleagues is about 26–27 years (23 to 30 years).

    You can talk about the program for a long time, but I will limit myself to general information.
    The first week was devoted to professional development, namely, classes were held on intercultural interaction and teamwork in general. One of the classes included training with actors. There are also additional courses in time management, teamwork, negotiation, etc., which are held throughout the year.

    The first year is training in various disciplines (modules of 1-2 weeks) grouped in the following five clusters: User Experience Design, Software Engineering, Interactive Technology and Applications, Understanding People and Research Methodology. Each module or cluster is one team project. After which the team presents its result. In one of the projects, we managed to visit Philips High Tech Campus and work on proposals in the field of UX.
    The second year is a more serious team project for 3 months, after which an individual internship for 9 months in the industry.

    It helps a lot that in the team work, which is present here in almost every module, everyone is interested in work and training. Naturally there are no people mowing down from the army and those whom the parents sent to study. Everyone has a different life, cultural and professional experience. Therefore, if in some field someone has more experience than most colleagues and they want to listen to it, you can easily organize your own master class. In this cluster, we already had three such master classes in HTML / CSS (read judith ), Adobe Illustrator and PHP / MySQL. I was lucky to spend the latter myself.

    Our program has various traditions related to celebrations and work, revitalizing the work and study process even more. One of them is Cookie Wednesday, which takes place every Wednesday at 15:00, everyone, including guests from previous generations of the program and lecturers, gather in a common room for informal communication and eating cookies brought or prepared by people responsible on this day (for the first time in my life I baked something).

    Residence


    The accommodation contract is usually concluded for a year, but if you look for housing through a company cooperating with the university, you can rent a room for a period of one month or more. Prices are relatively high, a one-room apartment or a studio apartment with its own bathroom and kitchen will cost from 450 to 1000 euros per month, utilities are included in the price, but sometimes it doesn’t. The same with furniture: either eat or buy yourself. Up to 400 euros you can only rent a room and share a bathroom and kitchen with someone else.

    Shops are open from 8–9 a.m. on business days (Monday from 12) until the end of the working day. Many purchases can also be made on the first Sunday of the month and on the evening of every Friday.
    Supermarkets on weekdays from 8–9 to 19–20, on Saturday - from 8–9 to 17–18. On Sunday, some supermarkets are open from 16 to 20.

    Finance

    Walking, dearer to myself
    Since I fall into the category of knowledge migrant, I do not pay taxes with 30% of my salary. The salary (or scholarship) after taxes and pension contributions (390 €) is about 1300 €.

    The insurance is expensive, the basic package required for all employees costs 97.15 euros per month, but the tax return is 54 euros from this amount. When handling something serious, 350 euros must be paid, after which the insurance pays the rest.

    While still in Kiev, I was lucky to find housing near the center, located 11 minutes by bicycle to the university, if you do not really stand at traffic lights. I bought furniture from the previous tenant (120 €) and a bicycle (140 €), he was just leaving for another country, and we agreed that I would pay for everything when I arrived. A room in a three-story house for 3-4 people costs 320 €, gas / water / electricity / internet about 75 €.
    A general idea of ​​food prices can be obtained on the sites of supermarkets ( Albert Heijn , Lidl , Aldi ). If you dine in the university cafeteria, you can meet 5-10 euros per lunch, but since I cook it myself, it turns out to save a little and eat better.

    A lot of opportunities for sports, for example, for 91 euros a year you can go to the university sports center, which has almost everything. You can also get a free consultation on nutrition and a sports program in the gym for the sport of interest. In the two hundred thousandth city there are as many as 4 climbing walls, an unlimited subscription in one of them costs 35 €. In this place, many cities should feel ashamed .

    In the Netherlands, there is an electronic payment system iDeal, working with banks without a commission, with which you can put money on PayPal and donate to Wikipedia or buy games on Steam.

    For public transport and intercity trains, you can use OV-Chipkaart. For 5 months, within the city, I used the bus only once, the bicycle is cheaper and faster, but the railway system here is very good, although not without drawbacks. They joke here that in winter trains are canceled if there is a little snow on the rails, in the summer because of the heat, and in the autumn because of the leaves. But if they cancel it, they will warn about it in advance by e-mail and in the program for the smartphone, and if they did not warn, then a bus will be waiting for you.


    Since I prefer offline paid navigation, a large-screen telephone (90 €), taken under a contract (45 € per month), and maps of Western Europe (Mireo Don't Panic 30 €) are very useful.
    In winter
    Many continue to ride bicycles, as bike paths are cleaned first.

    The prices for clothes are approximately the same with Ukraine, something is cheaper, while selling something is much cheaper, the choice is usually more. New bikes usually cost between 500 and 1000 €, and second-hand bikes from 10 to 170 €.

    Tongue

    Despite the fact that the training is in English, I decided to learn the Dutch language. Free courses for university employees began in February. Yes, the language is not as versatile as German or Spanish and the training materials are many times less, but I would be pleased if all visitors to Ukraine learned Ukrainian, for example.

    Two years is quite a long time and learning a language is necessary not only out of politeness and for convenience, but it is also an interesting occupation. What is the curious digraph IJ worth in terms of typography and culture ? True, the formation of double-digit numerals does not seem very logical, for example, to say "twenty-three", you must say "three_and_ twenty".

    To the note for those who want to find their country in the lists on some Dutch website, Ukraine in Dutch begins with the letters “Oe” and is pronounced almost more and more like in the original, with Russia.

    Yes, and many sites, including the sites of the largest mobile operators (KPN, Vodafone, Telfort, T-mobile), do not have translations into English, and all the time sitting on Google translate is uncomfortable.

    What's next?

    They asked me at the interview where and by whom I see myself after 5 years. And I joked that I didn’t even know what I would do in a week, although later I explained in general terms my goals and plans. In two years, a lot of changes will occur both in the world and in my perception, therefore I do not think ahead, but I want to organize a business in a country with a clear tax system. And then the university entrepreneurship courses, which I already signed up, just turned up.

    Events

    Something happens almost all the time, corporate mail is simply filled with invitations to various symposiums, conferences, parties and cultural events.

    Police station during GLOW

    Benefits
    • Informal atmosphere and communication
    • It’s a shame to call the bureaucracy “bureaucracy”, communication by paper mail, when you need some information, put an envelope in the letter that does not require stamps for an answer. After issuing an electronic signature, many things can be done online.
    • Multi cultural society
    • Orientation in the city is possible on tall buildings , but I bought myself navigation
    • Convenient to travel in Western Europe
    • The trains are comfortable, they run quite accurately, if the train is canceled, then a free bus is immediately provided, as reported by employees at the station
    • Many opportunities to play sports.
    • Bicycle parking is everywhere, in the city center and the university there are several free guarded underground parking lots.
    • A variety of licensed software at the university

    Neutral
    • There is a lot of paper mail, and these are basically all sorts of reports and notifications, there is little spam
    • You can’t buy antibiotics without a prescription, and doctors are in no hurry to prescribe them.
    • Sometimes food causes cognitive dissonance

    disadvantages
    • High rent, taxes and prices
    • Not very familiar store hours
    • The Internet here is slower than ours
    • Bicycles are quite actively stealing, but they are usually insured
    • It’s hard to find 24-hour pharmacies, but they say they exist at hospitals
    • Expensive public transport, but usually it’s faster to cycle around the city
    • Rainy weather in autumn and winter, which is not very comfortable when cycling. But the temperature is more stable than in Kiev.


    It is difficult to say unequivocally that it is better or worse than in Ukraine, it’s just different, but I’m happy with the experience.

    I will gladly consider all wishes, suggestions, comments and threats in private messages , and I can give answers in any comments to any questions about IELTS, the program, courses or documents.

    Is there anyone in Eindhoven from the Habrasociety?

    * Who did not understand, in the luggage magnesium carbonate (4MgCO 3 • Mg (OH) 2 • 4H 2 O), and not washing powder or flour, as many might have thought. goto ^


    A selection of articles by Habr about education abroad


    Pay attention to the date of writing the article and the country of the author, if you decide to go somewhere, consider that the requirements for documents and your impressions may not coincide with those described. Now there is still time for the preparation of documents, but I advise you to hurry. As often happens on Habré, some branches of comments to articles are also useful.
    All countries
    USA
    Work and travel
    Undergraduate Admission and Study
    Details Undergraduate: General Information , Admission Undergraduate and Master's Degree PhD: Admission , Cost of Living , Scholarship and MBA Goals Stanford Impressions






    Canada
    Undergraduate , domestic issues and the educational process

    Great Britain
    Distance magistracy without prior undergraduate studies.
    Session in the magistracy in places, which is not surprising, resembles the delivery of IELTS. PhD
    Education Approach


    Australia
    PhD
    PhD , Financial Issues

    Germany
    Undergraduate studies at the University of Applied Sciences , at the Technical University
    Higher education at the University of Applied Sciences
    Master's degree and the first days of
    PhD , advice on writing a dissertation.
    Master's program at the Technical University of Munich

    Japan
    Master and PhD , update 2012 , admission experience and personal impressions

    Italy
    PhD: selection and entry

    Sweden
    Master

    Switzerland
    PhD and household issues

    Denmark
    Master and Enterprise

    South Korea
    Master

    Israel
    Masters , advice on the preparation of documents suitable for other universities.

    Czech
    Higher education , about the education system in Europe as a whole.

    Saudi Arabia
    Postdoc

    Serbia
    Higher education

    Slovakia
    IT emigration

    Netherlands
    PDEng: recursion


    Student opportunities

    FAQ for admission to a master 's program abroad
    General disclosure of concepts for further searches Erasmus Mundus
    scholarship “What to learn in the first semester of the Erasmus Mundus IMSE master's program ” Search for undergraduate, graduate, PhD, courses and grants “How to become a programmer in humanities ?”




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