Building Roots: International Alumni Gather in Amsterdam for Second Network Event

On Thursday 19 February, nearly 150 international alumni of the UT, TU Delft, TU/e, and Wageningen University came together at the AMS Institute in Amsterdam for the second gathering of the 4TU.Alumni NL Internationals Network — a community that is becoming a go-to resource for graduates making their home in the Netherlands.

Launched just last year, the network is already showing momentum. With an estimated 20,000 non-Dutch alumni from the four universities currently living in the Netherlands, evenings like this are not just a social event but a chance to tap into a uniquely powerful shared resource.

The venue itself set the tone perfectly. UT alumnus Joppe van Driel opened the evening with more details of what the AMS Institute — Amsterdam's urban innovation research institute — is all about. A unique ecosystem, rooted in its founding institutes TU Delft, Wageningen University & Research, and MIT focused on cities. Why? Because cities cover just 3% of land surface but account for 75% of global energy consumption and 80% of CO2 emissions. AMS works across six programme areas: mobility, energy transition, food systems, data and digital autonomy, and climate resilience. It brings together scientists, policymakers, businesses, and citizens to develop and test innovations using Amsterdam itself as a living laboratory. Celebrating its 10th anniversary last year, AMS has the full backing of the city: as Amsterdam's mayor put it, if you bring together the brightest minds with unconventional partners, cities can be reinvented. It was an inspiring backdrop for an evening all about alumni doing exactly that.

A Home for International Talent

The evening opened with an informal survey of participants. The results told a familiar story: a community of highly skilled internationals building careers across some of the Netherlands' fastest-growing sectors. The crowd was a mix of those employed at Dutch and international companies, freelancers, and a handful still finding their footing.

One other notable finding? Many alumni planned to stay in the Netherlands long-term.

Joe Laufer, UT Alumni Officer concluded the introductions by sharing some encouraging context for internationals navigating the Dutch job market. Despite some economic headwinds, the Netherlands remains a top-five country globally for work-life balance, and Dutch employers consistently value the diversity, innovation and international perspective that graduates from Dutch universities bring to the table. Around 25% of international graduates from Dutch universities are still based in the Netherlands five years after graduating — a figure that reflects just how much this country has to offer.

His tips for those looking to establish themselves? Learn some Dutch, even at a basic level which signals commitment. Build a long-term plan. And most importantly, lean on your alumni network: research suggests that as many as 80% of jobs are filled through connections rather than job boards.

Alumni Putting Their Education to Work

A highlight of the evening was hearing from two alumni currently linked to the AMS Institute, each with a compelling story of how their education and time in the Netherlands had shaped the work they're doing today.

Parshva Mehta, a TU Delft alumnus in industrial design engineering, traced a journey that began with building formula student race cars in Mumbai, moved through designing compact furniture in small city apartments, and eventually led him to the Netherlands in 2019. It was during his master's at Delft that he discovered both his passion for sustainability and the company that would become his professional home: Noria Urban Plastic Soup Solutions.

Noria is tackling one of the most persistent and under-resourced environmental problems in urban waterways: plastic pollution. Using a three-step approach — research, remove, and release — the team deploys smart monitoring technology, passive collection systems, and AI-driven data analysis to help municipalities, water authorities, and ministries understand where plastic is accumulating and what to do about it. Their systems are already operating at the Port of Rotterdam and across canal networks in Amsterdam. Since late 2024, they've begun expanding internationally, with interest coming from Colombia, Turkey, and India.

"Plastic is not a bad thing," Parshva noted with a smile. "As a consumer, we just have to make sure it ends up in the right place — a bin"

Nils Wolff, who completed degrees at both TU Delft and Wageningen, described a career path shaped by a desire to work at the intersection of data, cities, and real-world impact. Now a researcher at the AMS Institute, Wolff works on projects that use existing urban data in new ways: from using smartphone sensors on cars crossing bridges to monitor infrastructure, to applying computer vision to study how people and vehicles move through city intersections across seasons and times of day. The work is technically rich but grounded in a clear purpose: making cities more livable and resilient.

Both talks were a vivid illustration of what's possible when international talent puts down roots here and of the role that the Dutch technical universities play in making that happen.

The Power of Showing Up

The evening closed with a short interview with three alumni volunteers: Hemanth Kumar, Rachel Lu, and Ece Sel. Each spoke candidly about what the network has meant to them personally.

For Rachel, it was a guest lecture that led to a striking conversation, and eventually a new sense of direction. For Hemanth, it was mentorship and coaching from the alumni community that helped him grow — and ultimately, a referral from someone he met at a network event that led to his current job. "I got a referral and found a company, and I got a spot," he said simply. "It was something really nice." Ece spoke about the value of learning from alumni at different stages of their careers — and about wanting to give back to a university community that had helped shape who she is.

All three encouraged anyone in the room to consider getting involved, whether as a coach, a speaker, or simply by attending the next event.

What's Next

If this evening was anything to go by, the 4TU.Alumni NL Internationals Network is filling a real gap. For international alumni navigating housing markets, bureaucracy, career transitions, and the occasional struggle to make Dutch friends, having a community of people who've been through the same thing — and come out the other side — is genuinely valuable.

There's also exciting news on the horizon: from 2027, the 4TU Federation, the formal collaboration framework between the four Dutch technical universities,  will be incorporating 4TU.Alumni as an official network with a compelling focus: helping keep technical talent in the Netherlands and attracting new students to technical domains, both from within the country and internationally.

Are you an international UT graduate living in the Netherlands? Begin leveraging your network by joining the 4TU.Alumni NL Internationals Linkedin Group.