Welcome to IHE Delft: who are your heroes?
In October IHE Delft welcomed a new batch of MSc students. To discover their motivations and aspirations we asked them to introduce us to their heroines and heroes.
This was the third time that the Water Governance chairgroup organized Module 1 common to all IHE Delft MSc programs, under the theme “Pluralizing water science”. And again, the new students began their journey at IHE with a rather unusual task: to take clay, paper, water colors, pencils, stickers, dressing-up clothes or other materials and get creative! The very first day, students were asked to reflect on their motivation, desires, needs and ambitions for studying at IHE Delft. As lecturers, we would like to know who inspires our students, what motivated their choice to study at IHE Delft, how does this shape their professional and personal priorities, and – most importantly – how we can support them in achieving their goals.
To this end, we asked them to think about their heroines and heroes. These can be well-known persons who are recognized by many as heroines and heroes, but also very intimate and personal heroes like a parent, a teacher or a friend. Gods, goddesses, mythical figures or spirits can be heroines as well as animals, plants or objects that represent particular characteristics. What they have in common is that they symbolize ideals and qualities that we would like to possess or achieve. And most stories of heroes and heroines are also stories of personal transformation, about making choices, taking risks, making sacrifices and setting priorities in order to achieve something that is not only relevant for oneself but also – often- that has impact on others. Therefore, thinking about our heroines and sharing stories about why someone inspires us tells a lot about who we are and what drives us.
Like in other years, there was a great diversity of heroines and heroes as well as some obvious patterns regarding their characteristics. Many heroines were tutors, like teachers, parents or siblings, but also ideologists such as politicians and freedom fighters were among the portraits. Some students selected creative minds as their heroes, like artists and musicians. Others chose technical objects such as a dam or a drone, while some students also referred to their country, supernatural spirits or Mother Nature.
We invited the students to use different forms of arts to visualize their heroines and heroes. We would like to thank Maitreyi Koduganti Venkata and Semina Kafle, who collected and recorded the students stories about their heroines and heroes in this inspiring video. Enjoy!
This video has been made by Maitreyi Koduganti Venkata and Semina Kafle, MSc students of IHE Delft Water Management and Governance Program (batch 2018-2020).
Featured image: “Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence”https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48421623-marie-curie-and-the-power-of-persistence (2019), written by Karla Valenti, Illustrated by Annalisa Beghelli, with Micaela Crespo Quesada (contributor)
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Jenniver Sehring (November 16, 2019). Welcome to IHE Delft: who are your heroes? FLOWs. Retrieved November 8, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/os10