HAN Engineering and Automotive Presents English Mathematics Textbook

The maths book was officially presented on 27 August at a festive event where the first copy was brought in by a drone. This book is an initiative of HAN's Mechanical Engineering and Automotive programmes and was created through a collaboration between teachers, a student, translators, and publisher Noordhoff. Manager Tom Spanjaard (HAN School of Engineering and Automotive) was the client. He sees this as a good educational investment and is pleased with the result.

"For many of our students, mathematics at the higher technical level is a stumbling block, but the subject is necessary to successfully complete the four-year program," says Tom Spanjaard about his role as a client. "If we can help more students with this new mathematics book so that they can eventually graduate, that would be fantastic!"

The choice for a new mathematics book arose from dissatisfaction with the existing methods. Mechanical Engineering students experienced problems with the online learning environment Sowiso and therefore a more traditional book with a good balance between theory and practice was sought. Automotive was also looking for a successor to the method they used, the basic mathematics book by Van de Craats.

Lecturer Christiaan Boudri explains: "We wanted a book that was available in both Dutch and English, but also met the needs of our students. It had to be an accessible book with a solid didactic structure, and a good balance between theory and exercises. A book that a student could also use as a reference throughout their studies. But such a book did not exist."

A team of mathematics teachers from Mechanical Engineering (Christiaan Boudri, Maud Watermulder, and Hanneke Pieters-Vree) chose the Dutch book 'Mathematics for Higher Education Part A' by Noordhoff because of its clear structure and many exercises. Because there was no English version available, the HAN School of Engineering and Automotive decided to have the book translated itself.

"We are very proud of the result," says lecturer Hanneke Pieters-Vree at the presentation of the English-language mathematics book. "It is a complete book that is of equal quality to the Dutch version. We are curious to see how our students will receive it."

The translation was taken care of by Peter van der Hoek from HAN Language Center. The Kunstmuseum Den Haag granted a free license for the cover of the mathematics book. In addition, teachers and student Harry Higgins have done a lot of work on the layout and final editing.

Student association Amoras will sell the book through their webshop. "In this way, our international students can not only purchase the book but also (better) get acquainted with the association."

Source and photography: HAN School of Engineering and Automotive