Ga naar hoofdinhoud

On campus

On campus

Text  Dorine van Gorp
© Photo Guus Schoonewille

Who?

Julia Sumarthinningrum Dahlan (master’s student Urbanism)

What?

Annual festival InDelftnesia

Where?

TU Delft campus

Bali-born master’s student (Faculty of Architecture & Built Environment) Julia Sumarthinningrum Dahlan came to Delft to find solutions to the adverse effects of mass tourism in her home country. “Unplanned urban growth, water scarcity, environmental degradation, pollution, traffic chaos and flooding are the daily reality there,” she explains. With 5 years working experience in urbanism practice in Indonesia, working alongside NGO’s, consulting firms and government agencies, and a Delft degree in Urbanism in her pocket, she hopes to soon contribute again to combating environmental problems and social inequality. In Delft, Julia is also committed to a social cause, namely as the head of the annual event InDelftnesia, organised by the Indonesian student association PPI Delft. The association gives workshops in academia, helps with accommodation and brings master students and PhD students together, for instance by presenting research. PPI Delft also organises all kinds of activities, including for non-members. Last February, the annual Indonesian culture festival InDelftnesia took place at sports and cultural centre X on campus. “It was completely sold out,” Julia looks back enthusiastically. “There were singing and dancing performances, a drama play, exhibitions, fashion shows, traditional games, a mini cinema festival, workshops and, of course, Indonesian food.” She says the intended goal, to connect Indonesia and the Netherlands through culture, was more than successful. “Through Indonesia folklore, we were able to share our story to our International friends and to five hundred people this day.”

Julia is studying at TU Delft thanks to a scholarship from the Justus & Louise van Effenfonds, which was set up to financially support excellent international students in their master’s studies in Delft.