I always believe that the essence of education is to empower students, to provide them with sufficient experiences, networks, and resources, so they can further grow professionally and personally. TU Delft is very good in doing exactly those things and I can tell that from eight years of studying, living, and working in Delft. I enrolled the MSc Programme of Applied Physics in September 2001, and I experienced mild inter-cultural shocks, not-so-mild weather changes, and had to try hard in keeping up my pace with the very demanding study loads. Fortunately for me, TU Delft was very helpful both in nurturing my academic progress and in providing sufficient “distractions” to keep my mind well in balance. And perhaps even more importantly, I learned a lot from the Dutch society about how to think (more) critically as well as to discuss new ideas and things openly and objectively with my peers and mentors. When I graduated in 2003, I liked TU Delft so much that I decided to experience more. I eventually spent the next six years in a four-year PhD project and a two-year PostDoc project. Along the way, not only I got my PhD degree, but I also met a fellow Indonesian student and married her. Now whenever I see my three-year old daughter grow, I realize what is the essence of education, and I feel very lucky to have the “TU Delft experience” as a big chapter in my life.

--Written for the "MSc Yearbook 2009" of TU Delft.