- Intro
- 18/08/2026
Intro blog | Tuesday: camping, Campus Market & hoodies
After a rainy night, day two of the Intro gets underway. Today, the students head further onto campus, put their creations to the test, and meet more student associations at the Campus Market. After dinner with their intro parents, it’s time to round off the day with a party at their study association or a more laid-back evening at Intro Unwind in Neuron.
In this blog, we’re following the day as it unfolds. We’ll be updating the article throughout the day with the latest news, highlights, and photos.
Life at the campsite
The first—or, for some, second—night at the campsite is over. At the Aurora campsite, with one large group tent and around 25 individual tents, the rain has definitely taken its toll. The ground is muddy, some tents are leaking, and the picnic tables and benches are sitting out in the rain. Several students say they would have loved to have some kind of cover over the area.
Still, the students are making the best of it. On Tuesday morning, they are busy brushing their teeth, eating cheese sandwiches, and getting into their intro outfits. Almost ready for day two!
A look at the Intro Camping
This morning we checked out how the camp guests of TU/e's Intro camping are doing so far. Have they slept well? Are the tents ...
Campus Quest: Testing
In the first program component, Campus Quest: Testing, students test the prototypes they built earlier.
Using two PVC pipes, three wooden slats, “too-short” zip ties, “weak” rope, and plenty of duct tape, students from Biomedical Engineering have to build a stretcher and then test it with an intro parent on board. Everyone receives the same materials, but the number of coins earned during yesterday’s Campus Quest determines which handicap they have to deal with. One group, for example, is not allowed to communicate verbally, another is blindfolded, and students in yet another group are tied by the wrist to a fellow group member (see photo alongside).
Patient transport is, of course, a natural fit for a technical medical program, but the assignment actually stems from one of the intro committee members’ personal experience with stretchers. “I was cycling through a red light on the ring road while drunk. I was hit by a car. Luckily, I only ended up with a broken ankle.” And so, a good idea for an intro assignment was born.
Fire brigade
Meanwhile, a long line of Architecture, Urban Design and Engineering students is waiting next to the Chamber of Commerce (KvK) office. They are wearing green T-shirts from their study association, Cheops. Some have dressed for the occasion in outfits that can get wet. In front of them is a TU/e fire truck with its hose rolled out. Each group is holding a cardboard shield that they made themselves during the Campus Quest yesterday. It is meant to protect them from their fellow students, who are doing everything they can to make the drizzly Tuesday morning even wetter.
The firefighters, including Tom van Aarle, consider it a great tradition. He is also the building manager at the Department of the Built Environment and an honorary member of Cheops. “I’m a bit like the dad of Cheops,” he says. He has been organizing the splash-filled Intro activity for 28 years. “We guide the guys with the hose for safety reasons, because quite a bit of pressure can build up.”
‘Crippled’ molecule
A little further on, Chemistry students are presenting the molecules they built themselves. As part of the challenge, they also have to tell a story about their creation. One of the groups has named its molecule Crippled Boron Nitride. Because they didn’t earn enough coins during Monday’s Quest, their molecule is missing a piece of hydrogen. As it turns out, that works quite well for their story: not only is the molecule ‘crippled’, but so is the student presenting it. His arm is in a cast.
The jury rewards the story with a score of 8.169. “No sympathy points?” the students ask hopefully. But no—the decision is final.
Water fun
On the Flux Field, two mentor dads are getting ready to take their seats on tipping chairs above an inflatable pool. Armed with a crossbow and a tennis ball, which they have to shoot at a pizza, the kiddo’s can knock the chairs over. The two mentors aren’t worried: “We’re going to get wet anyway.” Two other dads, who have just come out of the water, prepare them for what’s to come: “It’s colder up there than it is in the water.”
Wheelbarrows
Some students are managing to stay dry today. At GEWIS, a jousting match is taking place, with wheelbarrows and pool noodles serving as lances. Meanwhile, blindfolded students walk around with their hands stretched out in front of them, searching for an inflatable ring in a kind of musical chairs game. From the sidelines, their teammates shout instructions to guide them in the right direction. According to the game supervisor, there is some goose poop in the grass, but so far, no one has ended up with dirty clothes.
Building towers
Along the walls of the Flux building, makeshift towers built by Applied Physics students reach into the sky. The challenge: build the tallest tower possible using limited materials. First-year student Ruben (18) and his group came in second with a five-meter-high tower made of tape, cardboard and pasta (penne).
“They also said we were allowed to use the buildings and things around us for support. So we made one really long strip of tape and placed it as high up on the building as possible.”
Next to him stands fellow first-year student Joey (18). “I wasn’t really looking forward to it beforehand because I had to get up early every day, but I’m really glad I came, even though I got home late yesterday.” That wasn’t because of hard partying, he explains. For the fresh-faced student, there was no loud music or alcohol, but rather some downtime and board games. “Tonight we’re having dinner with our intro parents, and then there’s a party. I’m going to take it easy again tonight. I like that there are people in our group who also want to go to Unwind.”
Campus Market
In the afternoon, the campus market is flooded with Intro participants. Most of the “dads and moms” take it easy for a while. “Parenting with freedom,” as one dad puts it, after losing track of his kids. Meanwhile, those kids are busy discovering everything the university has to offer in terms of sports, culture and more.
Students can choose for themselves where to stop and who to talk to. They do have to keep moving if they want to see everything, though. The market stretches across the entire campus, from the Dommel to the Sports Centre.
This year, there are notably many ‘external’ stalls. According to an estimate by the Central Introductory Committee, around 200 associations, organizations and companies are represented at the market.
While two students with large suitcases try to find the Luna residential tower, two “dads” are engaged in a sword fight at Knights of the Kitchen Table. Next to the Markthal, members of Thêta are shouting encouragement at Intro participants as they row, while over at Squadra Veloce on the field next to Luna, they will probably lose their voices very soon too.
Just like on Limbopad, associations are pulling out all the stops to catch the attention of passing Intro participants. From mini pancakes and popcorn to pancakes – all free of charge.
With an umbrella, Glyph is protecting a pile of wool from the rain. On a stage, students are jamming under a tarpaulin. Elsewhere, students are playing chess, enjoying an ice cream, or testing their strength at the Ministry of Defence, where they have to do push-ups while carrying a heavy bag. The Defence employee cannot say exactly how heavy it is. “Around twelve kilos, I think. We just filled it up with water.”
Cursor is right in the middle of the Markthal with three large world maps, which are already filling up with hundreds of pins. In some places, there is barely any room left for more, such as India, Turkey and Romania. More and more first-year students are also finding Cursor online, but there is always room for more. So, here’s some shameless self-promotion: follow us on Instagram. You can also find more photos of all the activities there.
Campus Lounge
While student associations are trying to recruit new members at various fields across campus, a more low-key alternative to the Campus Market is taking place at the Blauwe Loper: the Campus Lounge. At the Hangout, students can meet representatives of associations and other groups in a quieter, less overwhelming environment.
The fact that the atmosphere is quiet is certainly no understatement. After an hour, only around twenty students have stopped by. It turns out that something went wrong with the location information: an incorrect map was uploaded to the Intro app, which does not show the Hangout.
Fortunately, a push notification directing students to the correct location proves effective. Before long, the space fills up with dozens of students. They take a seat at tables where they can participate in various activities, such as board games, creative workshops and a conversation game.
Go-to bars
On Tuesday evening, the study associations held parties. “Most study associations did so at their go-to bars on Stratumseind,” says Revi Boelen of the Central Intro Committee.
A few others organized parties on campus: Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering joined forces on the Koeveld, while Industria (from IE&IS) held its party at Veld 2. Fortunately for those celebrating outdoors, it stayed dry throughout the evening.
Those who weren’t in the mood to go out could head to Intro Unwind. Co-organizer Mara Gianotten is enthusiastic about the atmosphere that evening. “It was a little quieter than Monday evening, but the atmosphere was still great: the intro kids and their parents, as well as the associations that were there, really created a sense of togetherness.”
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