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: Zyfn Kothavala, Nikita Jeevanath, Anas Assoufi, Rareș Teodorescu, Tereza Lambova, Răzvan Efros
Testimonials
Hey! I'm Martyna, and I'm currently a second-year architecture student. I can't quite remember exactly how I first discovered Cosmos, but I've been at the Common Room since my first weeks at uni. During those first few months away from home, a community like Cosmos was exactly what I needed. I shared some amazing moments with the friendliest people I know, and the Common Room became my go-to space to unwind. Cosmos is the most welcoming student association I’ve ever come across, and it was incredible to experience how kind the members are! I was lucky enough to meet a bunch of truly wonderful people through Cosmos, many of whom are still my dearest friends. This year, I decided to get more involved with the association. I’ve taken on the role of a room responsible and joined the bar committee. We’re currently working on organizing a cocktail workshop! There are many great memories ahead!
Hi people! It’s Zeynep here, all the way from the land of good food and way too many cats, Turkey :) After completing my Bachelor’s in the beautiful city of Groningen, I moved to (definitely… interesting city of) Eindhoven to pursue my Master’s in Data Science and AI at TU/e. After leaving my friends on the other side of the country, I was determined to make new friends in Eindhoven and not let the homesickness get to me. How lucky I was to stumble upon Cosmos, with its slightly messy Common Room, silly stickers and friendly faces! When I walked into the Common Room first time, I knew this was going to be the place for me -and I am happy to report that that feeling never changed. Thanks to the amazingly welcoming board members, I quickly became a member of the Common Room committee and Sustainability committee, and helped organising many events while enjoying all other events organised by my friends in the other committees. Cocktail nights will forever and always be the thing I look forward to during the year. Somewhere between baking a berry cobbler enough to feed a hundred people for a thanksgiving event, and going around the campus picking plants for a terrarium making workshop; Cosmos became my second home, and people that I thought were too cool to approach became my best friends. 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!
Hi, this is Marta and Ishaan. Both of us met for the first time at an event organized by COSMOS. This event was one of our first times visiting the campus shortly before intro week. Even though we didn’t know anyone at the time, it was such a welcoming experience. Many of the people we saw that first time are still people we know and consider close still today, four years later. It’s crazy to think how this one event shaped so much of our university experience. Since the first year the common room has been a very frequently visited place for both of us. It’s a perfect space for cooking, studying, or having heated discussions that might disturb others, but in the best way possible (opinions differ on this). It’s also where we both feel most comfortable, knowing there’s always someone familiar there. As people who have niche interests and who partake life's more unconventional pleasures, we really found our people in the common room with a similar flair for uninhibited enjoyment and we love cosmos for it.