About Us
Cosmos is not just an association, it’s a community, where we aim to provide a welcoming and friendly environment to all students at the TU/e, whether it be online or through the Common Room.
We are the voice for the international students on our campus on all matters related to the TU/e. For most internationals, we are a safe landing spot for when they first arrive in the Netherlands.
Here, at Cosmos, we organize a myriad of events, highlighting the many different cultures present in our community.
History
On Thursday, October 21st, 2010, a diverse group of TU/e international students founded the Common Room. The Common Room acted as a living room in the old student center “De Bunker" at the John F. Kennedylaan.
The Common Room was the first to provide a place of social interaction for internationals and help them integrate into the Dutch student culture. The early Common Room held dinners and parties, as well as a place to come together for Dutch and international students.
Later in 2012, two of the founding students proposed to the university to establish an international student association. The proposal got the university’s approval and Cosmos was born. With the foundation of the new association, people from different backgrounds were now able to share their culture with the TU/e community. In addition, it provided the first point of contact for new students to ask questions about housing and studying in the Netherlands.
Starting from February 1st, 2013, the Common Room moved to the MetaForum building on the TU/e campus. As of yet, this is the current home base for the Cosmos association. The move coincided with an increased number of collaborative events between Cosmos and the other student associations at the university.
Over the next years, Cosmos became increasingly involved with internationalization and policymaking at the university. Cosmos started organizing the official TU/e Introduction Day for international/exchange students, helping them get settled in Eindhoven.
In 2018, AEGEE Eindhoven has joined Cosmos as co-inhabitants of the Common Room. Cosmos and AEGEE together started the Common Room Committee to keep the living room of the TU/e campus an open and fun place for all members of the community.
In 2021, Cosmos was one of the initiators of the first official umbrella of international/spiritual associations, further establishing the footprint of international students as part of the university life.
Board
From left to right, bottom to top: Erik Fani, Eduardo Costa Martins, Ishaan Sunkuru, Alec Boyd, Iulia Lung, Thomas Sanderson
Testimonials
Hey there! I'm Tudor from Romania and I'm studying Architecture at TU/e. I discovered Cosmos during my first year at TU/e after stumbling upon them during Intro Week. Since my intro group mainly spoke Dutch, Cosmos was the perfect place to hang out with other internationals. What stood out the most was how welcoming and friendly everyone was - it felt like a second home. Cosmos continued to organize events, even during the Covid lockdowns, which allowed me to meet new people and make friends. Eventually, I joined two committees and had a great time working with some amazing people. I loved it so much that I even ran for the board of Cosmos! And soon after, in my second year, I'm part of the team organizing Intro Week - something I never thought was possible when I first joined Cosmos. Overall, Cosmos has given me incredible friendships and opportunities that I'm forever grateful for. If you're an international student looking for a welcoming community, I highly recommend checking out Cosmos!
Hey there! My name's Irina. I'm from Romania and I study architecture. I joined Cosmos during the summer before coming here, and both the support and help I've received from the community during my first year mean a lot to me. Especially since my first year happened during Corona, I am incredibly grateful I could make friends through this association. In my second year, I wanted to contribute to this community so I chaired Weekend Committee. We organised casual events several times a quartile, from movie nights to de-stress colouring days and parties. I really had a blast and I am still very good friends with my committee members. I come by the Common Room pretty often to catch up with people and sleep between classes. I think Cosmos is a great community that can help you navigate studying here and get eased into the Dutch culture. Plus the Common Room and the events are fantastic opportunities for meeting new people and engaging in different social circles. Hope to see you around!
Hello, everyone! It's Kunal here, delighted to connect with you all. Currently, I find myself in the midst of my second year (and hopefully the final stretch) pursuing a Master's degree in Data Science and AI. Originating from the beautiful country of India, I've been a part of Cosmos since the beginning of my journey at TU/e, although my active involvement has only started recently. Presently, I have the pleasure of being a member of the Culture Committee, where I enthusiastically contribute to organizing exciting events for everyone's enjoyment. My experience within Cosmos has been an absolute blast, and I've had the incredible fortune of making numerous wonderful friends along the way. I must confess, as this marks my final year of university, I never anticipated forming such meaningful connections. 😊 If you happen to spot me around, please don't hesitate to say hello and strike up a conversation! I'm always open to meeting new folks and engaging in delightful exchanges. Cosmos has really given me a family away from home and I believe it can do that for you too!