Study Association for Applied Physics "J.D. van der Waals"

What Study Association for Applied Physics "J.D. van der Waals" does

SVTN 'J.D. van der Waals' is the student study association for Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), founded on 6 October 1960 and named after Nobel laureate Johannes Diderik van der Waals. It operates as a Dutch non-profit (vereniging) governed by an annually elected student board (the 2025-2026 board is 'Aurora, a magnetic spectacle', chaired by Vincent Dekkers), with no external shareholders, investors or parent entity. The association's mandate is to serve Applied Physics bachelor's and master's students enrolled at TU/e through four interlocking service lines: a community and social function anchored by the weekly Borrel (de 'Salon') every Thursday 16:00-19:00 on the sixth floor of the Flux building, serving approximately 100 craft beers plus spirits and snacks via an RFID card-payment system; a career-orientation function delivered through company presentations, lunch lectures and an employer-partner network that includes ASML, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Sioux Technologies, VDL ETG, Peutz, dBvision, ETC, Orion Engineering, NLR, SMC, the Actuarieel Instituut and AOMB; a publications function comprising the quarterly N! departmental magazine (joint with alumni association VENI and education organization STOOR), an annual Almanac yearbook, and the archived Koerier magazine (1961-2010); and an experiential function delivered through the annual 3-4 week Study Trip Abroad (past destinations include Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, USA and Israel), study trips, sporting events, galas and lustrum weeks.

The technology footprint is intentionally minimal: no proprietary software product is sold externally, the Borrel runs on an RFID-based internal card-payment platform upgraded to the BOM system by Björn Hamstra in 2024, and the public website (vdwaals.nl) plus a weekly email newsletter handle member communications. The association's revenue model is membership-based and non-commercial — annual membership contributions, Borrel card credit purchases (deposits in multiples of €5 up to €50, maximum balance €60, credit expiring after two years of inactivity), activity fees, donations and sponsorship from career partners — and no revenue figure is publicly disclosed. Geographic scope is single-country (Netherlands), specifically the TU/e campus in Eindhoven, with international exposure delivered through the Study Trip Abroad program and integration with the international student body following the 2017/2018 transition of the bachelor program to English.

Name

Study Association for Applied Physics "J.D. van der Waals"

Legal name

Studievereniging voor Technische Natuurkunde "Johannes Diderik van der Waals"

Website

https://vdwaals.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SVTN 'J.D. van der Waals' is the non-profit study association for Applied Physics students at TU/e in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It runs the weekly Borrel (de 'Salon'), career events with employers such as ASML and Thermo Fisher Scientific, the N! magazine and annual Study Trip Abroad.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Personnel

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SVTN "J.D. van der Waals" is a non-profit student study association at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) serving Applied Physics students. Its core offerings include a weekly on-campus social pub (de 'Salon' / The Borrel) held on Thursdays, career orientation services through company presentations and lunch lectures, an annual multi-week international Study Trip Abroad, and publications such as a quarterly departmental magazine (N!) and an annual yearbook (Almanac).

Product overview

SVTN 'J.D. van der Waals' is a student study association for Applied Physics at TU/e that operates primarily as a membership-based social and educational organization, not a technology product company. Its core offerings include: (1) De 'Salon' — the weekly Borrel (Thursday 4pm-7pm), a social pub on the sixth floor of Flux building offering approximately 100 craft beers, spirits, sodas, and snacks via a card payment system; (2) The Borrel card payment system — an RFID-based card system for purchasing drinks and tracking transactions; (3) Career services including company presentations, lunch lectures, and vacancy listings from partner companies; (4) Publications including the N! departmental magazine (collaboration with alumni association VENI and STOOR), the historical Koerier (2003-2010), and annual Almanac yearbooks; (5) Study trips abroad and domestic excursions; (6) Various committees organizing activities, fraternities/sororities, sports events, galas, and educational events. The organization does not offer technology products, SaaS platforms, or software services to external customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• De 'Salon' (The Borrel) Weekly social pub held every Thursday from 4pm to 7pm on the sixth floor of Flux building at TU/e, serving approximately 100 craft beers, spirits, sodas, and snacks. Attended by Applied Physics students and faculty as an informal meeting place for physicists.
• Career Services

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GEWIS: Study association for Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science at the University of Amsterdam. Direct peer because it serves the same physics-student constituency at a major Dutch research university with comparable social, career, and publication offerings.
• Studievereniging Sticky: Student study association for Chemical Engineering at TU/e. Direct peer because it operates the same membership-based, bar-and-career-services model within TU/e, sharing the same benefactor pool, university dependency, and volunteer-board governance structure.
• Studievereniging Thor: Student study association for Mechanical Engineering at TU/e. Direct peer because it operates an identical membership-based model at the same university, including a social bar, career services with industry partners, publications, study trips, and an annually elected student board.
• Studievereniging De Leidsche Flesch: Physics study association at Leiden University, one of the oldest physics associations in the Netherlands. Direct peer because it provides the same combination of physics-student community building, career services, lectures, and social activities that defines the Van der Waals model.
• Studievereniging Bernoulli: Study association for Applied Mathematics at TU Delft. Direct peer because it operates the same student-association model (membership dues, bar, career events, study trips, publications) at a sister Dutch technical university with the same engineering/math-adjacent student base.
• Technologisch Gezelschap (TG): Study association for Applied Physics at TU Delft. Direct peer because it serves the same Applied Physics student population at a competing Dutch technical university, with comparable activities including social events, company-relations programming, study trips, and publications.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/study-association-for-applied-physics-j.d.-van-der-waals-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Study Association for Applied Physics "J.D. van der Waals"