Who are we? – H.V. Ockham

About H.V. Ockham

Honours Association Ockham (Dutch: Honoursvereniging Ockham) is the study association for all students and alumni of the Honours Programme at the University of Twente. Since its establishment in 2009, Ockham has grown to having over 600 members of all different study directions and backgrounds. The association is located in its own association room in the TechMed Centre (Technohal). H.V. Ockham maintains close relations with the educational organ of the Honours Programme (the Honours Office).

The association organises many different types of activities for the members - from lunch lectures, dinner colloquia and networking events to fun activities such as ice skating, lasertag, and monthly drinks. There are also a couple of larger yearly events, such as Ockham’s participation in the Batavierenrace, the annual study trip and the gala. Of course, this cannot be done without Ockham’s several committees in which enthusiastic members of the association work together to organise these events.

H.V. Ockham supports the honours community of the University of Twente not only through organising a wide range of activities, but also by providing honours students a place to get together and have a chat. The Ockham Room is the place where all members are welcome to join for a cup of tea or coffee during office hours and before honours classes. After some relocations throughout the years, H.V. Ockham currently resides in the TechMed Centre.

Name and logo

The association is named after William of Ockham, an influential thinker of the fourteenth century. One of his most important contributions to contemporary philosophy of science is his statement 'numquam ponenda est pluritas sine necessitate' which freely translated means that reasoning should be stripped of all unnecessary parts. This principle has gone down in history as Ockham's razor, the knife that cuts away unnecessary assumptions from scientific reasoning.

Ockham's razor connects all fields of science because it is applied everywhere. The principle encourages scientists to look critically at their work and reflect on how science is professed. The universal, scientific nature of the principle makes it the perfect namesake for our association.

The logo is an excellent, creative example of Ockham's razor. All the letters that make up the Ockham name have been reduced to one simple shape. The superfluous space has been shaved away and figuratively one has got to the heart of the matter. Only by turning the figure around can all the letters be recovered from the figure again.

Vision

Honours Association Ockham aims to promote the interests of students following the Honours programme and other members. In addition, the association wants to contribute to the academic as well as the personal development of its members. To this end, it creates an academic community within the University of Twente.

Students looking for extra-curricular activities and an addition to the normal study programme are supported by Ockham. It is important to unite and connect these ambitious students. The association connects the different cohorts of the Honours Programme, organises networking activities, provides information and tries to inspire. Moreover, it is important that talented students who want to take a step further can (continue to) receive good extra education. Therefore, the association watches over the quality of the Honour programme and acts as an enquiry point and advocate.

A Very Brief History of H.V. Ockham

2008

The Honours programmes started at the University of Twente

2009

H.V. Ockham was founded by the first board

2014

The first Ockham lustrum: Ockhamelot

2015

The location of the Ockham trip: Copenhagen

Ockham gets an association room in the Citadel building

2016

The location of the Ockham trip: Zürich