Welcome
It is a great pleasure and honour to announce the annual SEFI conference 2009 in the Netherlands in the city of Rotterdam from July 1 to July 4. The venue of the conference is the World Trade Centre, which is conveniently located in the heart of Rotterdam.
The central theme of the conference is: ATTRACTING YOUNG PEOPLE TO ENGINEERING
The decreasing numbers of students in technology are a world wide concern. The conference aims to bring together experts from Universities and Industry to discuss solutions for this problem.
The initiative to propose the Netherlands as host country for the 2009 Annual conference was taken by TU Delft and the Platform Beta Techniek. The Platform Bèta Techniek has been commissioned by the government, education and business sectors to ensure sufficient availability of people who have a background in scientific or technical education. The aim: to achieve a structural increase of 15 per cent more pupils and students in scientific and technical education and to use existing talent more effectively in businesses and research institutes. The aim is not just to make careers in science more appealing, but also to introduce educational innovations that inspire and challenge young people. We think the annual SEFI conference could act as a catalyst in joining forces to strengthen Higher Technology Education in the Netherlands.
To organise this conference a coalition was formed involving all Dutch Institutes of Higher Technology Education. TU Delft will act as a host to the 2009 Annual SEFI conference, but this bid is supported by the three Dutch Universities of Technology and the 21 Universities of Applied Sciences.
We invite everyone involved in Engineering Education to contribute to the SEFI 2009 conference with a presentation, a poster or a workshop. We hope to see you all in Rotterdam to learn about new trends and challenges of the engineering education but also to network and make friendship.
On behalf of Delft University of Technology and the Platform Bèta Techniek we wish you an enjoyable stay and a successful conference with excellent results.
Paul Rullmann Arie Kraaijeveld
Member Executive Board TU Delft. Chairman Platform Bèta Techniek
Conference photos
The conference photographs of the 2009 SEFI conference in Rotterdam, The Netherlands can be found using the links below. The pictures were taken by Vincent Brugemann. For information and ordering: V.P.Brugemann@tudelft.nl.
Pictures of the Leonardo Da Vinci Award ceremony and reception