Joris Melkert new Director of Education

News - 03 March 2020

As of 12 July 2020, Joris Melkert will become the new Director of Education of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. In this position he will succeed Aldert Kamp, who will start enjoying his well-deserved retirement mid-July. The appointment is supported by the Executive Board of TU Delft and the Faculty Board, as well as by the Faculty Student Council, the Training Committee and the Personnel Committee.

Melkert has a long track record at the faculty. He has taught many courses over the years and is currently involved in seven different courses, including the Design Synthesis Exercise (DSE), with which students complete their BSc, where he fulfills the role as coordinator.

“It is a great honour to be asked for this position. For a number of years you will have the opportunity to make our education even more special than it already is. You will be responsible for the entire integrated educational programme. That's a tough challenge, which I'm really looking forward to”, says Joris Melkert.

Melkert was also chairman of the examination committee, and he is often approached by the press for his expertise in the field of aviation.

In 2016, Joris Melkert was one of the first to be awarded an Educational Fellowship at TU Delft for his substantial and valuable contribution to education. With this scholarship he developed the course 'Aircraft Manufacturing Laboratory' in which students build an aircraft that can actually fly. With this subject Melkert tries to give his students a realistic idea of what it means to actually build an aircraft.

In 2019 Joris was chosen as Best Teacher of the TU Delft. According to the jury, Melkert is constantly on the lookout for ways to improve teaching. His students praise him for his creative and interactive education. At the moment he is in the race to become Best Teacher of the Netherlands 2020.

Joris Melkert is currently a full-time lecturer at the Department of Aerodynamics, Wind Energy, Flight Performance & Propulsion (AWEP). As of mid-July, he will become Director of Education for 0.5 FTEs and will remain a member of the AWEP department for 0.5 FTEs. In accordance with the faculty regulations, this appointment will take place for a period of four years with a potential reappointment thereafter.

The MT of the faculty is very pleased with this appointment: '"The entire MT is very enthusiastic about the fact that Joris, with all his experience in teaching at our faculty, wants to take on this important task. An enthusiasm that is widely shared as evidenced by the many congratulations we even receive from outside the faculty”, says Dean Henri Werij.