Open days. Being a “student for a day”. Lots of pens with university logos. In my final year of high school I was very busy trying to decide what to study afterward.  It wasn’t until after I’d had the opportunity to join a first-year student of Advanced Technology for a day that I thought: ‘This is what I can picture myself studying next year.’ Which is exactly what happened.

To me the programme’s main feature was the analytical and multidisciplinary approach. You learn to really analyze and comprehend complex problems.  In my second year a fellow student and I built a radio transmitter in ten weeks’ time.  While at the start of the quarter we hardly knew what an antenna was, we concluded the project hearing our music on our neighbours’ FM radio. It’s really awesome to be able to use what you’ve learned in such a direct way.

After my studies I got a job at Liander, a company that manages the electricity and natural gas grids in most of The Netherlands. My team, Market & Business Intelligence, charts future developments in the energy industry and their impact on the networks. It’s hardly a radio station, but it’s a complex problem nonetheless. I’m grateful for Advanced Technology to have taught me how to deal with this type of problems.

After finishing his Bachelor’s programme in Advanced Technology, Ruud Meulenbroek opted for a Master’s programme in Mechanical Engineering at the University Twente. Since 2012 he has been working at BTG BioLiquids in Enschede.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND MY MASTER’S DEGREE

I have always had a broad interest in science and technology. I was drawn to the idea behind the Bachelor’s programme in Advanced Technology: that most innovations emerge in areas where traditional disciplines like physics and chemistry overlap. I liked the notion that we should start taking a multidisciplinary approach to training our scientists and engineers, and supply them with a healthy dose of entrepreneurial spirit as part of the bargain.

During my Bachelor’s programme, I discovered an interest in mechanical engineering, fluid flow and modelling. This led me to take a minor in Aeronautical Engineering and pre-Master’s courses for the Thermal Engineering specialization in the Master’s programme in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Twente. This Master’s programme has allowed me to dig deeper into these subjects and has introduced me to the world of numerical modelling, which enables engineers and scientists to solve highly complex problems.

MY DAILY ACTIVITIES

BTG BioLiquids wants to contribute to a cleaner energy supply by substituting fossil fuels with fuels from renewable sources. The pyrolysis technology we provide efficiently converts most types of non-food biomass into second-generation biofuel within seconds. This technology was originally conceived at the University of Twente and was further developed by BTG, the University of Twente’s first spin-off company. As a process engineer I am involved in designing and commissioning these pyrolysis plants, the first of which is currently under construction in the Dutch town of Hengelo.

I graduated while working at a global oil and gas company but I decided to change tack and apply to the small sustainable start-up company where I currently work. The set-up here means that there is less time to specialize in a particular subject and you have to be a jack-of-all-trades. I can be working on PR, sales, engineering and project development all in the course of a single working day!

HOW ARE YOU USING WHAT YOU LEARNED DURING YOUR STUDIES?

The thorough grounding in mathematical engineering I received at Twente really pays off when it comes to getting to the heart of an engineering problem quickly and effectively, especially when there is heat and mass transfer involved. I have even had the opportunity to put the business courses from Advanced Technology to good use. In my first year at BTG, I was asked to write the business plan for our company!

Advanced Technology really challenges you to perform at your best. It also enables you to discover which area of science and engineering you feel most passionately about so that you can start to specialize. For me it was an excellent stepping stone to a great job.

MY ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

Follow your own interests when it comes to deciding which courses to take. Go ahead and join a study or sports association. Becoming a good engineer also means that you need to develop your organizational and leadership skills.

‘London is the place to be!’ That is certainly the case where Martijn Bakker, Advanced Technology alumnus, is concerned. His studies at the University of Twente enabled him to get a job as Software Engineer at Citadel Securities in London. His secret: work hard, graduate with distinction, have fun with your fellow students, attend lectures offered by the study association and have a drink during Friday get-togethers.

29 May, Bank holiday! We are here to interview Martijn, Software Engineer at Citadel Securities in London. He has long working hours – often getting on his bike at 7 in the morning to ride to work and returning home at 10 in the evening – but his work is interesting: he builds systems that are used for option trading worldwide (financial contracts where the buyer has the option of buying the product concerned on a fixed date at a fixed price). Martijn says: “I work for Citadel Securities, a subsidiary of the Citadel hedge fund. Contrary to the hedge fund, we do not have external investors and trade using only the owner’s capital, meaning there are less restrictions regarding allowed trade strategies. At the Securities department, we deal with the purchase and sale of stocks, COB bonds, currencies, bitcoins and options, which I am involved with. Everything runs fully automatic and is based on mathematical models that decide in nanoseconds whether we should buy or sell something. Human activity is, however, still needed and we can intervene when the system does not work as required. I am a member of a small team of about ten people, many of whom studied at the University of Cambridge or the University of Oxford. We are a tight group.”

How did you end up studying Advanced Technology?

Martijn: “Even before I went to university, I already had a broad interest in everything to do with engineering and technology. That is why I opted for Advanced Technology. A broad technical study with a direct link to society. During my first year, I basically attended lectures from 9 to 5, followed by a test at the end. That suited me just fine. During the second year, there were more activities in group context. Me and three other AT students formed a study group to do our assignments. It was very nice to interact with the same people all the time: you know each other, you know where you stand with each other and can learn from each other’s expertise. Because even though you are only in your second year, there are topics you are more interested in and better at. We complemented each other. Great times! During the third year, you choose the subjects you want to pursue. I opted for Computer Science subjects. I have been interested in IT since I was a boy. That is why I did a Bachelor’s thesis at the interface of IT and Advanced Technology. I developed hardware for solving differential equations. I wanted to develop hardcore technology that did not exist yet. My tutor, Ruud van Damme, encouraged me to not just do the assignment but to take that extra step. It was really inspiring: trying to do just a bit more than you think you are capable of. I really like that!”

Have you kept in touch with the members of your work group?

“I am still in regular contact with two of the three students I did assignments with during my second year. We all graduated with distinction and then set off into the wide world. After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Advanced Technology and a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology at the University of Twente, Yorick went to Standford University in America. After that he went to Saudi Arabia for three months as a visiting student researcher in the Functional Nanomaterials and Devices group at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Later he returned to the University of Twente to finish a PhD in Applied Physics. Another member of the work group, Kevin, obtained two Master’s degrees at the University of Twente after his Bachelor’s in Advanced Technology, one in Applied Physics and one in Nanotechnology. He then started a PhD at the ETH Zürich/Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland. Quite an international little group of scientists. After having obtained my Master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Cambridge, I ended up in London where I feel completely at home. I do, however, intent to return to obtain a PhD. My PhD research will deal with the development of a new way of designing computer processors. With the current processor generations, the greater portion of the chip is not used for doing calculations but for storing data. We will design them differently, using thousands of small, independent processors in order to achieve more with less energy”, Martijn explains.

Tell me, what was life like at the University of Twente, besides education?

“Like many students I was a member of a study association. You not only get discount on textbooks, but they also organize fun activities at a scientific and social level. I did not organize activities, but was often present when others did. Lectures were always interesting and enabled you to learn about what was yet to come, get-togethers were good for your social life and then there was the trip to the UK, and particularly Cambridge, which I remember clearly. That visit inspired me to pursue the Master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Cambridge. I was also a member of the board of Musica Silvestra Orchestra for a year, the student orchestra of the University of Twente. I was responsible for finding new musical compositions, ensuring there were sufficient musicians, distributing new sheet music to the members and finding locations where we could organize concerts or practice weekends. A nice side job for a bassoon player”, Martijn says smiling.

What are your plans for the future?

Martijn: “I was always certain what my future would be like. Apparently you sometimes know early on. So after my pre-university education (VWO) I went to the University of Twente. I then left for Cambridge where I obtained my Master’s degree in Computer Science with distinction, after which I started looking for a job to gain experience. I really like working for Citadel Securities. But blood is still thicker than water. So I decided to start my PhD research at the University of Cambridge in October. And following my PhD defence, I intent to start my own company in developing technology in the area of the theory and implementation of general intelligence theory, which is one of the applications of the processors I will be working on during my PhD research. So: lots to do and lots to learn.”