Meet our pioneer: Luc Siecker

Who are you and where are you from?

My name is Luc Siecker, I am 21 years old and I am originally from Breezand. I live in Eindhoven.

What do you study?

I am now in my second year of the bachelor Psychology & Technology at the TU/e. I hesitated a bit between the universities of Groningen and Twente, but Eindhoven really appealed to me, especially because of the unique study that I do. You get a lot of psychology and in addition, you can choose three technical directions: architecture, ICT and robotics. I am very interested in software, so I chose ICT. There you also learn programming.

Why did you choose this study?

The program at TU/e is very broad, whereas the AI study in Groningen focused too specifically on certain things. In Eindhoven it ranges from real, pure psychology, such as sports psychology, to human factors: what should a display look like and which icons should you use? These are two totally different sides of psychology and in between, there is programming, software development. That is a unique combination and thanks to all the electives I can put together a super fun study.

Are you going to do a master after this?

Because I want to do the new master of Data Science & Artificial Intelligence at TU/e, I am already doing a premaster during my bachelor. So I have a lot of Computer Science courses next to it and that makes the study unique. After my bachelor's I can go straight on to the master.

It's not the specific master that ties in with my bachelor programme, but I've since learned that I want to go even further back in the process. I find AI and deep learning very interesting.

What exactly do you do on the student team?

In any case, I didn't want to be a team manager and talk to a lot of partners, because frankly, I found that very scary. I had my focus on marketing because I found that very interesting. Especially on the software side; I was very curious about how the algorithms of social media work. And I like looking at statistics to find out what does well and what doesn't work so well. I also really enjoy video production and photography. In my spare time, I already did some video editing for small projects and acquaintances. And now I'm working on the bigger video production for the unveiling of our new race car.

I combine marketing with HR and therefore I don't do everything I could do. Social media often gets a bit forgotten and that's a shame.

The combination with HR is a logical one and given the shortage of members, these two functions were combined. Not that I wanted to do HR, but in retrospect I really like HR. I have good contacts with all team members, I pay close attention to them that they feel good about themselves and don't get overworked, which is a well-known problem in student teams. I also organize a lot of activities for mutual connection. This is very much needed especially with the lockdown. But I would have liked to do more team activities. But Covid made it quite difficult.

I also work a lot with the team manager. I jump in when necessary and vice versa the team manager sometimes jumps in too. That shared responsibility is nice. Together you are stronger.

I don't work on the car myself. I don't do anything technical, because I have to invest in the knowledge I don't have yet and I don't have enough time for that. I do sometimes spar with the engineers. Like the other day about the layout of the display. I learned that during my training. I then give tips from my point of view, but that's all.

What do you want to do later on?

Since I've been on the student team, I find it hard to think of what exactly I want to do. Now I think it would be nice to keep learning a lot. Within web development or marketing for example. That's what I'm doing now within the team as well. I have learned that I like the whole management and organization of it. I also like the social events. On the other hand, I can also do very focused programming in my spare time. I enjoy the variety.

I would like to work in the automotive sector. I also really like AI, so it would be great to combine those two things in working on the software of self-driving cars for example.

Before, I never really thought about what I wanted to do: I mainly do what comes my way and what seems fun.

What do you find important about a later job?

I think a nice team is important for motivation. I also really enjoy doing Research & Development in a team, so I would enjoy that in a job later too.

What do you think about studying and living in Brainport Eindhoven?

First of all, I like it here. Especially the big difference for me is that I went from a village to a city. That makes it fun. It is very cosy, hospitable and the university is also very nice and relaxed. You don't have that at many other universities. And I think the possibility of student teams is of the greatest value.

I live here in a student room with 3 friends from high school and that is very cosy. I do go back to my parents every weekend, with whom I have a very close relationship. That's also why I went back to live with my parents during the lockdown.

What would you like to tell to students in Brainport Eindhoven?

I recommend everyone to join a student team for a year (full-time). It’s extremely valuable after your studies when looking for a job. It is so good for your personal development. It’s great.