History of the university

Although the University only received its current name in 1986, it has been providing technical education for 165 years.

Royal academy: 1842 - 1864
On  January 8, 1842, King Willem II founded the 'Royal Academy for the education of civilian engineers, for serving both nation and industry, and of apprentices for trade'. The Academy also educated civil servants for the colonies and revenue officers of the Dutch East Indies.

Polytechnic school: 1864 - 1905
An Act passed on May 2, 1863, imposing regulations on technical education as well as bringing it under the influence of the rules applying to secondary education. Then, on the 20th of June, 1864, a Royal Decree was issued, ordering that the Royal Academy in Delft be disbanded in order to make way for a new 'Polytechnic School'. The School went on to educate architects, and engineers in the fields of civil works, shipbuilding, mechanical engineering and mining.

Institute of Technoloy: 1905 - 1986
On May 22, 1905, an Act was passed, acknowledging the academic level of the School's technical education - it became a 'Technische Hogeschool', or an 'Institute of Technology'. Queen Wilhelmina attended the Institute's official opening ceremony on  July 10, 1905. The Institute's first Rector Magnificus was the professor of hydraulic engineering ir. J. Kraus. The Institute was granted corporate rights by an Act passed on June 7, 1956.

Delft University of Technology: 1986 - present
It was an Act which took effect on 1st September, 1986, that officially transformed the Institute of Technology into Delft University of Technology, also known as 'TU Delft'.

The significance of the TU Delft logo
The essence of the TU Delft logo is Prometheus' flame. Prometheus brought the flame from the Olympus to the people, against the will of Zeus. People’s knowledge then had not yet developed. They did not know of the course of the stars and the cause of the seasons, nor did they know about construction. They could not wield the power of fire either.



Vision
TU Delft cooperates with many other educational and research institutions, both in the Netherlands and abroad. The high quality of our research and teaching is renowned. TU Delft has numerous contacts with governments, trade associations, consultancies, industry and small and medium-sized companies.

Strategic Plan
TU Delft has made a number of fundamental decisions concerning education, research, knowledge valorisation and organisation. In the years to come, these directional decisions will be further developed in order to strengthen TU Delft’s position as a leading university of technology.

Research
Society is our continuous incentive for research. We carry out research to find solutions for society’s present and future demands. Fundamental research is part of this, because we aim to find solutions for tomorrow’s problems.

Infrastructures & Mobility
Our prosperity is, to a great extent, dependent on infrastructures and mobility. Economic growth requires a seamless linkage between soil, air and water, whereas people want to live in nice houses with nature on their doorsteps and the best possible flood protection. With the Delft Research Initiative on ‘Infrastructures & Mobility’ we are joining forces with social partners to tackle the major engineering challenges of the future.

Energy
Providing clean, reliable and affordable energy for the world's population is one of today's biggest challenges. At the same time green energy technology also offers new economic opportunities. The Delft Energy Initiative provides easy access to the more than 700 energy researchers at TU Delft and brings together researchers, students, companies and governments to tackle the energy challenge.