Professional Doctorate in Engineering in the Netherlands

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


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

At the magistracy, I entered the Alma Mater without finding an interesting program in English. After defending his thesis, he decided to go to the University of Vienna (for students from Ukraine there is free education in German) for the Master in Media Informatics in German, which had to be learned in 1-2 years and pass the exam before the start of the training. Fortunately, I could not take the correct and necessary for the receipt of a piece of paper called Nachweis der besonderen Universitätsreife (a 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) 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 master’s degree. Watching movies, reading and listening to books and podcasts mostly in English, for two years, also greatly influenced the result (worked on the remote and freelance from the first year, while studying the language).
The test pleased with its clarity and smooth processes. Passed with a significant imbalance in two sections, namely Listening - 8, Reading - 8, Writing - 6 and Speaking - 6, which gave an average score of 7 out of 9. Not to say that I was very pleased with my result, but I was not very upset .
')

Choice of country, university and program

Initially, most wanted to study in English-speaking countries (England, USA, Canada, Australia) in English, but, unfortunately, training for visitors is very expensive. To select 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 tell.

Take everything with you fortunately will not work *
Now I understand how many sensible programs in Poland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic are even in English, and, interestingly, often cheaper than in Ukraine. I did not immediately deal with sending documents to all universities, I decided to focus on 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 applied to the University of Vienna (see the preface). At the time of the next reception of documents in the Netherlands, I would only begin to learn German in Austria, but now I see that my friends, who applied before me, only recently left for Austria (they give out a visa for a long time, and only after you find accommodation).

To think about studying in the Netherlands I was forced by the article “ Study in Holland or usability-brainwashing ”. Industrial design and usability interest me, besides I wanted to get more experience in these areas and in the team.

A fascinating program, the climate is not very harsh, the language of instruction is English, there is a salary, many sports sections, you can drink water from the tap and not die in agony. I think it is inexpedient to buy a car, and here I am just riding a bicycle. Of course, you need to go!

University and program

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

Professional Doctorate in Engineering

PDEng ^{[ eng. ]} this is a post-master degree in the Netherlands, designed to combine 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 of these programs is User System Interaction ^{. ]} .
For admission you need to complete a master's degree ( judith suggests, a specialist degree may also be appropriate) in the field of engineering, behavioral sciences or design. As well as pass IELTS Academic with an average score of 6.5 and at least 6 points in each of the parts of the test or 550 points in the TOEFL (on paper).

Paperwork

IND ^{[ English ]} Residence Wizard : “Professional soccer players and minors of religion, are not eligible for a residency as a highly skilled migrant.”

For admission it was necessary to write a resume, abstract of the thesis and a motivation letter in English. To begin with, I looked for examples of writing these papers, after I found it, I decided that I would write very differently.

Resume and motivation letter should be written for each organization with separate emphasis in the field of activity of this organization, and it is better to redo them entirely for each specific case. For myself, I chose not the most formal style of writing.

The Netherlands has signed the Hague Convention , and therefore, instead of legalizing documents, they must be apostilled , which is said to be easier 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 apostilles is best done by 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 a certificate of birth, marriage, divorce, change of name. When apostilization stamp is placed on the document behind. If you have already laminated, you will have to get the documents again. Diplomas and inserts are bound with sheets for stamping.

Update : As rightly noted, the apostille of diplomas can be completely optional, most likely I made my own in vain, it is better to clarify it separately at the university.

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

If you have a wife or girl, you need a marriage certificate or proof of civil marriage (a general bank account may be appropriate). They get a work visa, go on city tours, learn Dutch at a discount and integrate into the community in every possible way. At some point, I even thought that it would be necessary to have someone, and then 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 a fluorography at a local hospital, and you will be able to appoint an appointment at the immigration center.

Interview

It was conducted by telephone in English by two people and lasted 45 minutes. There were no surprises, they asked about plans, interests, and especially about the graduation project and motivation. My interlocutors studied the documents sent by me in detail and clarified a few non-obvious questions (for example, how can you finish school at 16, enroll and go to work, and most importantly, why). I answered rather messy, but managed, and 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 recruited this year 17 people from different parts of the world, most of all from Europe. The average age of my colleagues is around 26–27 years old (from 23 to 30 years old).

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 the actors. There are also additional courses in time management, teamwork, negotiation, etc., which are held throughout the year.

The first year is taught various disciplines (modules 1-2 weeks each) grouped into 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. Then the team presents its result. In one of our projects, we were able to visit Philips High Tech Campus and work on UX proposals.
The second year is a more serious team project for 3 months, after which an individual internship for 9 months in the industry.

It is very helpful that in teamwork, which is present in almost every module, everyone is interested in work and training. Naturally, there are no people squinting from the army and those whom 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 hear about it, you can easily organize your master class. In this cluster, we already had three such master classes on HTML / CSS (read judith ), Adobe Illustrator and PHP / MySQL. The last I was lucky enough to spend myself.

Our program has a variety of traditions related to celebrations and work, further enlivening the working and learning process. One of them is Cookie Wednesday, which takes place every Wednesday at 3:00 pm, everyone, including guests from previous generations of the program and lecturers, gather in the common room for informal communication and eating cookies brought or prepared by people in charge on that day (for the first time in their lives I baked something).

Accommodation

The contract for accommodation is usually for a year, but if you look for accommodation through a company that cooperates with the university, you can rent a room for a period of one month. Prices are relatively high, a one-room apartment or a studio apartment with its own bathroom and kitchen will cost from 450 to 1,000 euros per month, utilities are included in the price, but sometimes it does not. The same with the furniture: either there, or buy it yourself. Up to 400 euros you can rent only the room and share the bathroom and kitchen with someone else.

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

Finance

Walk, more expensive
Since I fall into the category of knowledge migrant, I do not pay taxes on 30% of my salary. The salary (or stipend) after deducting taxes and pension contributions (€ 390) is about € 1,300.

The insurance is expensive, the basic package necessary for all employees costs 97.15 euros per month, but the tax refund 54 euros of this amount to me. When dealing with something serious, you must pay 350 euros, after which the insurance pays the rest.

While still in Kiev, I was lucky to find accommodation near the center, which is 11 minutes away by bike to the university, if I don’t particularly 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.
You can get a general idea of ​​food prices on supermarket sites ( Albert Heijn , Lidl , Aldi ). If you dine in the university canteen, you can meet 5–10 euros per lunch, but since I cook 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 sports program in the gym for a particular sport. In the two hundred thousandth city there are already 4 climbing walls, an unlimited subscription in one of them costs 35 €. In this place many cities should be ashamed .

In the Netherlands, there is an electronic payment system iDeal, which works with banks without a fee, with which you can put money on PayPal and donate 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 bike is cheaper and faster, but the railway system here is very good, although not without flaws. How are people joking? In winter, trains are canceled if there is a little snow on the tracks, in the summer because of the heat, and in the fall because of the leaves. But if they cancel, they warn about it in advance by e-mail and in the program for a smartphone, and if they did not warn you, then a bus will wait for you.


Since I prefer offline paid navigation, the large-screen phone (€ 90), contracted (€ 45 per month), and maps of Western Europe (Mireo Don't Panic € 30) were very useful.

Clothes prices are about the same with Ukraine, something is cheaper, with sales something is much cheaper, the choice is usually greater. New bikes usually cost from 500 to 1000 €, and second-hand bikes range from 10 to 170 €.

Tongue

Despite the fact that teaching is in English, I decided to learn Dutch. Free courses for university workers began in February. Yes, the language is not as universal as German or Spanish, and there are many times fewer materials for education, but I would be pleased if all visitors to Ukraine would learn Ukrainian, for example.

Two years is quite a long time and learning the language is necessary not only out of politeness and convenience, but also is an interesting occupation. That only stands in typographical and cultural terms curious digraph IJ . True, the formation of two-digit numerals seems to be not very logical, for example, in order to say “twenty-three,” I must say “three_and_ twenty”.

Note to 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, as well as in the original, with Russia is more and more obvious.

And many sites, including sites of the largest mobile operators (KPN, Vodafone, Telfort, T-mobile), do not have translations into English, and it’s uncomfortable to sit in Google translate all the time.

What's next?

At the interview I was asked 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 I later explained my goals and plans in general terms. In two years, there will be a lot of changes in the world and in my perception, so I don’t think ahead, but I want to organize a business in a country with an understandable tax system. And then just turned up business courses at the university, for which I have already signed up.

Developments

Almost all the time something happens, corporate mail is simply filled with invitations to various symposia, conferences, parties and cultural events.

• UX Camp Eindhoven is conducted by an organization consisting of 6 of my colleagues.
• Event and seminar on 3D printing ( on Habré ). Unfortunately, I did not manage to get to it this year .
• Design Week
• GLOW

Police station during GLOW

Benefits

• Informal atmosphere and communication
• It is a shame to call bureaucracy “bureaucracy”, communication by paper mail, when you need some information, put an envelope in the letter that does not require stamps to answer. After registration of the electronic signature, many cases can be conducted online.
• Multi Cultural Society
• Orientation in the city is possible on high buildings , but I bought myself navigation
• Convenient to travel in Western Europe
• The trains are comfortable, run fairly accurately, if the train is canceled, a free bus is immediately provided, as reported by staff at the station
• Many opportunities to play sports
• Parking for bicycles everywhere, in the city center and the university there are several free guarded underground parking.
• A variety of licensed software at the university

Neutral

• There is a lot of paper mail, and these are basically all kinds of reports and notifications, there is little spam
• You cannot 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 schedule of stores
• The Internet here is slower than ours
• Bicycles are quite actively stolen, but they are usually insured.
• It is difficult to find 24-hour pharmacies, but they are said to exist at hospitals
• Expensive public transport, but usually cycling around the city faster
• Rainy weather in autumn and winter, which is not very comfortable when riding a bike. But the temperature is more stable than in Kiev.

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

I will be happy to review all requests, suggestions, comments and threats in personal messages , and I can answer any questions about IELTS, the program, courses or documents in the comments.

Is there anyone in Eindhoven from Habrasoobshchestva?

* Whoever did not understand, in the baggage magnesium carbonate (4MgCO ₃ • Mg (OH) ₂ • 4H ₂ O), and not laundry detergent or flour, as many might have thought. goto ^

Selection of Habr's articles about education abroad

Pay attention to the date of writing the article and the country of the author, if you decide to go somewhere, keep in mind that the requirements for the documents and your impressions may not coincide with those described. Now there is still time to prepare the documents, but I advise you to hurry. As often happens on Habré, some branches of comments to articles are also useful.

Opportunities for students

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

Learning English

" Several chips for English learners "
" How to learn English words "
“ Learning foreign languages: live teachers or the Internet? "
“ English for IT? Easy! "
" 7 typical Russian problems in English language "
“ Mnemonotechnics and learning a foreign language are incompatible concepts ?! Let's figure it out. "

Q & A

“ Where / how to learn English to the level of fluency? "
" Learning English "

Only the lazy one has not yet seen online courses, but to complete the picture:
Coursera
edX
Udacity
Lektorium
class-central
iTunes U


Tot ziens!