International students experience a unique intersection at Tetem

Around the fall of last year, I got an email in my inbox that came from Switzerland. Quickly scanning to find a name or a way for me to connect the dots, I see it was sent by a professor from Franklin University in Switzerland, and it sparked my curiosity. This university, based in Sorengo, offers Swiss and American credited bachelor degrees and has an international student body, mostly consisting of Americans but also including nationalities from all around the world. The email mentioned a potential visit from a group of their students to Tetem in one of there regular travels abroad for education. With excitement, I looked forward to a call we had set up with this professor, to discuss the details and see if what they were looking for we could offer.

It was my first meeting of a normal autumn workday and Wilja, our Director, sat right next to me as we logged into the Teams video call. Dr. Heidi Toivonen appeared on my laptop screen and we first took some time to introduce ourselves and our respective institutions. Dr. Toivonen proceeded to mention she was planning a visit to the Netherlands in March of 2025 , where she hoped to bridge the themes of art, technology, and psychology for a group of students from the university. Apparently, we were recommended by one of the faculty and staff members at the University of Twente for this trip, and both Wilja and I were pleased to hear so.

The three topics Dr. Toivonen mentioned are specifically near and dear to me, and having the possibility to create a program to showcase these students the connection that can exist between these felt like the right task for me to take on. We pitched some ideas of artist talks and demos, and promised to send more information on such ideas through email afterwards.

After a couple of months passed, I had a nicely planned itinerary for Dr. Toivonen and her students. I knew it was also important to show how Tetem is involved in the connection of the three topics, and I was able to find these common denominators in some of our Cross TIC projects, Core expos, and an educational workshop. I emailed the final details of the itinerary to Dr. Toivonen and she was very much looking forward to coming to Tetem with the group. All was set and ready to go.

When their visit to Tetem finally arrived in March, I made sure I was early in Tetem to receive our visitors and start off their program for the morning. In the firs presentation, the students could see how plants that create sound can help children develop empathy. Through a sonification device, electrical signals from a plant are turned into sound, where its moisture status and reaction to touch can be heard. Different characters and personalities are given to each plant, and by the end of the workshops kids usually have a deeper bond with plants as living beings.

Afterwards, the group experienced our new core expo CAOS by Jeanine Verloop. Curiosity filled the expo room, as each student observed and listened attentively to the chimes made by glass sculptures. They were able to have a short talk with the artist about the thought and process behind her work, and it  proved to be insightful for the students, especially since the artist was flooded with curious questions by those who wanted to know more about her artistic career with glasswork, interactive systems, and chaos theory.

To end the morning, artist Sjoerd van Acker presented a couple of his art pieces including ELELE and the breathwork monitor he experimented with during his Nexus program in Tetem. As a closing activity, the students and teachers were invited to step into his creation and embody the experiences presented. His connection between art, technology, and psychology was the strongest point to end the program with.

I must say that this was an incredibly satisfactory project for me. From the cultural connection I had with the students, to the personal satisfaction I get with promoting great artist and artwork, it has been one of the highlights of my career in Tetem. I would like to think the program did indeed leave a mark in some of the students, and got them thinking about the possibilities of uniting these three topics. I at least went home knowing that Dr. Toivonen was so satisfied, she hopes to bring back a new group of students next year.

~ Blog geschreven door Juanita Pineda Oviedo, Programmamedewerker Talent en Publiek.