How to enhance the inflow of master

students at EEMCS?Jan Willem Polderman

Program Director Applied Mathematics and Systems & Control (3TU)

Overview

1. What do we have2. What do we want3. How can we achieve that

Some facts about EEMCS

There are eight master courses:

1. Applied Mathematics (AM)

2. Business Information Technology (BIT)

3. Computer Science (CSc)

4. Electrical Engineering (EE)

5. Embedded Systems (ES, 3TU)

6. Human Media Interaction (HMI)

7. Mechatronics (MT, discontinued)

8. Systems & Control (SC, 3TU)

Sources of influx

Corresponding UT BSc programs (majority) BSc programs other Dutch universities (not a lot) Universities of Applied Sciences (annually 30-40) Foreign countries (about 40 each year) EIT ICT labs (about 7 per yr)

What are the problems?

Due to the separation between BSc and MSc we see that an increasing number of UT BSc students opt for a master other than the follow up MSc program

Inflow from UnApplSc is relatively low, success rate is about 50%

Actual enrollment of foreign students is very low compared to the number of applicants and the number of admitted applicants (40-300-600 each year)

Possible reasons

After completing a BSc in a relatively safe environment pursuing one’s studies in the western part of the country or abroad is attractive, the reverse movement seems less obvious

The transfer from UnApplSc to MSc is not easy UT is not number one on the wish list of foreign students We do not offer enough scholarships (appr. 5 per annum) ???

Some quotes from Vision 2020

2016: all technical BSc programs in English (EEMCS: 2015), further internationalisation of the campus

40% of all MSc students are from abroad (EEMCS: 640 in 2020, 300 now), this will be achieved by utilizing existing (research) networks and a generous supply of scholarships

At least 70% of the UT BSc graduates continu their studies with a UT MSc course

Some quotes from Route 14

400 international students per year UT wide The university increases its attractiveness in particular by

providing scholarships and by keeping a good relationship with its alumni.

The UT will develop a persistent and coherent marketing & recruitment strategy in order to attract international students.

Every UT student will have an international experience during his study.

Past success stories: what can we learn

1. International MSc in Applied Mathematics (30-40 foreign students per year)

2. Master track in Financial Engineering (5-10 foreign students per year)

Ad 1. Based on the needs of the students (or their countries of origin)Ad 2. Based on uniqueness and reputation

Future succes stories: discussion

1. For local influx: improve accessibility through an attractive pre master route

2. Generate more scholarships with the aid of personal contact with industry or through a central body?

3. Recruit MSc students through individual (research) networks or through centralized policy?

4. Compete with top universities or accept a more modest profile?5. Improve visibility by forming consortia with other universities6. Unique selling points or acknowledge the needs of potential

students7. Should we name focus programs?