STIP, Students of Technology In Politics, is a local political party in Delft. Founded in 1993, STIP is entirely run by students with six seats on the city council. Although the party is run by students, most of them studying at Delft University of Technology, it is refrains from being a one-issue party. It is a party for all inhabitants of Delft and gives "a young view at an old city".
Are you elegible to vote?
The Dutch Municipal Elections are on March 21st 2018. If you are a resident of the city Delft and your country of origin is a member of the European Union(EU), you are elegible to vote. If you're from outside of the EU you are elegible to vote if you've been residing in the Netherlands for over 5 years. Check out canivote.nl
What does STIP want?
Read our English leaflet here!
At local politics there is no need for left-wing or right-wing, STIP has a pro-active stance on issues and treats every problem with a pragmatic view. Our key political points are:
- Economic growth through innovation: Strengthen Delft as a city of Technology by developing a good relation with the TU as well as regional partners, invest in concepts such as YES!Delft (technology start-up incubator), Bacinol and Technopolis.
- An attractive cultural Delft: where the lovely inner city as well as festival area Lijm & Cultuur are used for events, concerts and festivals for the whole city and the cities around Delft. A city with a lively cultural scene with a mix of history and innovation will be more attractive for people to live in, and also to visit.
- A balanced housing market: Sufficient housing for students, starters and expats. Thanks to STIP 3600 new student houses where built in the last 4 years. This where complexes such as X-ray (Röntgenweg) and at the Rotterdamseweg. But also at the Stieltjesweg and by allowing students to create their own housing in old office buildings (Aan 't Verlaat) where students can live together with shared facilities.
- Invest in durable and green technology: Stimulate citizens in making their houses more durable by taking away the rules restraining them. Use the technology from the TU for large project such as geothermal energy, and allow the Green Village to easily test their new concepts.
- Improve cycling in Delft: By having good cycling paths through the city, and enough parking spaces at the station as well as the inner city to make Delft more easily reachable.
- Improve government service: By allowing more services to be done online as well as offering services in different languages. Furthermore, the parking officers should be hosts of this city rather than ticket officers.
In 1993, a group of students at Delft University ran into some problems which they could not solve themselves. Most of these problems were the result of the bad relationship between the university and the city of Delft. For instance, the city at first prevented the building of the new university library; public transportation to the university was scaled down time after time; and most importantly, there was a large shortage in student housing. In an attempt to solve these problems, the group of students audaciously founded STIP and ran in their first election in 1994.
In this election, STIP immediately won one seat in the city council. This was unique for a local party, especially one run by students. In the next four years, STIP proved they were a serious party, and this was rewarded in 1998, when STIP gained one seat in the council. After the '98 elections, STIP joined the coalition and provided an alderman. In 2002, STIP again won an extra seat, bringing the total to three, and joined the coalition. In this period, the STIP alderman was in charge of the Delft treasury.
In 2006, STIP won two seats, and remains in the coalition with two councillors and a new alderwoman, Lian Merkx. Lian is in charge of cultural and environmental policy in Delft, and also responsible for YES!Delft and Bacinol.
In 2010, STIP again won three seats and still remains in the coalition with a new alderman: Pieter Guldemond. He was in charge of Spatial Planning, Knowledge Economy, City Marketing and Student Housing. He was also responsible for Technopolis, TIC-Delft, the Schieoevers (a creative area in Delft), the TU-area and the Water Centre.
In 2014, STIP won 4 seats and became the second largest party in Delft. It still remains in the coalition with a new alderman, and former city council-member Ferrie Förster. He is in charge of the local economy, culture and spatial planning.
If you have any questions regarding local politics, problems in the city, or anything related to Delft, or if you just have something to say, do not hesitate to call or e-mail us!
Markt 87 (stadhuis)
2611 GS Delft