Meet our pioneer: Jim Berveling

Who are you?

My name is Jim Berveling and I’m almost 21 years old. I lived in Belgium for a long time but came to live in Eindhoven during my first year.

What do you study?

I am in the final year of the four-year international Electrical Engineering course at Fontys Hogescholen.

Are you going to do a master's after this?

I would like to do a master's degree in Power Electronics or Telecommunications at TU/e.

What student team are you in?

I have been active in the Force Fusion student team for 3 years now. I ended up there via Fontys.

What does the team do?

Force Fusion is a robotics team and participates every year in the American FIRST Robotics Competition. In this competition, student teams have 6 weeks to build a completely new robot for the competition from scratch. The content of the competition changes completely every year, so it’s impossible to use the same robot every year. We call those 6 weeks the construction season. Before then we have the pre-season. We prepare the new generation of students for the construction season. We do this by, for example, organizing courses with one of our partner companies. It's a win-win situation. The companies can introduce students to their products and solutions, and the student learns a lot about the technology. We are very proud of our partners, many partners come from the Brainport region, and are familiar with us. For example, we work together with large companies such as SMC, FLUKE, Prodrive Technologies, FESTO. But also smaller regional companies such as Anopanel, Brans metalworking, Riano and Munsters Metaal.

In addition, we also give courses ourselves and arrange company visits for the students from our team. These are students from various educational institutions and secondary schools. For example, high school students can participate in the team, they discover whether they have passion or interest in technology, and many high school students decide to study in technology after joining our team!

We are also at various events, such as the Eindhoven Maker Faire and Dutch Technology Week. We’re doing this to inspire young people to pursue a career in STEM. Our motto is, therefore: Inspire Them and let Them amaze you!

What role do you play within the team?

Looking for more challenges next to my studies, I started as an exhibition student. These are HBO students who develop a multidisciplinary project, for which they receive credits. Then I became a board member. In this role, I’m responsible for external relations with partner companies and I have worked on the website. After graduating I will become a passive mentor. Then I stand more in the background and can offer specific help on request. Active mentors are those who teach courses, for example.

Do you do more besides your studies?

I registered at Fontys PROUD in the second year of my studies. This is a program for excellent students. PROUD stands for PRogram OUTstanding Development. This allows motivated Engineering students to work. That's how I ended up at Prodrive Technologies. I have been working there as a PCB Designer for two years. PCB means Printed Circuit Boards. I draw and design printed circuit boards. Later, I did my internship at Prodrive, and I was able to deliver a nice result.

What do you find important about a later job?

I think good company culture is very important. A company where creativity is central. As an engineer, you’re also a kind of artist. Someone who is constantly inventing new things and developing concepts for the future. That's why I think creativity plays an important role. Openness and independence are also important aspects.

What do you want to do next?

I would like to work in a designer role as an electrical engineer. You work out customer requests into a design. I now also have that role at Prodrive Technologies and I like it.

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

My grandfather has lived in Eindhoven all his life, so I often came to Eindhoven as a little child. We often walked the dog on the TU/e ​​grounds. It was always my dream to go to TU/e. And I love the High Tech Campus. We sat there with Force Fusion in the LUMO Labs. The culture there, just like the entire Brainport culture, really appeals to me.

What I like about Eindhoven is that it’s a city, but not huge. You can cycle from one side of the ring to the other within 20 minutes. Everything is so nice and close. Eindhoven is also so characteristic: you walk out of the station and the first thing you see is the Philips Light Tower. Take a bus and you're on lively Strijp. I think that's very beautiful!

There’s a lot of respect for history. You see it everywhere. And it’s very diverse. Just look at GLOW and people's backgrounds, for example. It is an international city. I have a lot of classmates who are internationals and many of them want to stay here because Eindhoven is such a pleasant city for internationals.

I also enjoy working with internationals. They are often extra motivated and that works well. I enjoy learning about different cultures. And they often look at things differently and that's very enlightening and interesting. It can turn out very well.

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

I would especially like to say that Eindhoven is a city full of opportunities that you can seize. You have to find something you like. A student team is a great place to develop yourself. It’s the best way to make social contacts and to learn something that also looks good on your resume.

If I had to say it in one sentence, it would be this: You can only develop yourself best when you have fun and the rest comes naturally.