"After a Bachelors study in Structural Engineering, I decided to continue with a Master at the Design Systems group. Computers have always fascinated me and Design Systems offered me the combination of Engineering and Information Technology that I was looking for. Developing decision support tools for Geo techniques appealed especially to me. During my Bachelors I developed new concepts for different foundation types and I analysed the consequences for building design. Through my supervisor I got in contact with a company, which operates worldwide as market leader in Geo techniques. They have participated in amongst others in the construction of the high-speed railway and many tunnels that were built in the Netherlands.
After receiving my Masters degree I started working with that company, at first getting involved in normal Geo technique consultancy practice. After this period I moved to the ICT group of the company. As in many companies, there was poor communication between the ICT group and the rest of the company. My job was to analyse the existing situation, to design a new IT infrastructure for the company, to suggest organizational changes and finally to manage the implementation process. I soon became director of ICT. After having set up and implemented the ICT strategies for this company, I have now taken up the position of central director of ICT at Delft University of Technology.
Because an MSc from the DDSS programme does not have a specific professional engineering profile, it allows you to become an expert in the area of your own interest. At the TU/e I met people that have similar ambitions, and interests, which is very motivating. I am happy that I continued my career with this Master course."

"After finishing high school, I decided to study for a Master of Science degree at the TU/e Department of Architecture, Building, and Planning. During the first years of the program, I became interested in the field of Physical Planning and Urban Design. Therefore, I decided to finish my Master programme within the Urban Planning Group. Especially the application of models and methods in a variety of situations and sites caught my attention. This wide discipline involves multi-criteria decision-making, land use & transportation planning, geographical information systems and decision support systems.
For my final Master-project, I was offered a traineeship within one of the largest consultants in the field of building and infrastructure in the Netherlands. The Dutch Ministry of Defence commissioned this consultant to advice on future land use for large military training areas and buildings that had become superfluous since the abolishment of the compulsory military service in the Netherlands. I started to develop a decision support system for this problem. In interaction with a non-expert user, the DSS determines suitability-scores for several new land-use functions. A prototype of the system was developed and tested on some military areas and can now be used not only for the defined problem, but also in a more general way as a quick scan for future land-use of any site.
Having finished my academic study, I accepted a position as Management Trainee within one of the largest Dutch construction companies. Their policy regarding young academic employees is to let them become acquainted with all subdivisions within the world of construction: from the first stage of acquiring sites through developing an urban design, followed by the development of real estate, the physical construction of this real estate and finally the maintenance of the real estate. This period involves the first two years of my career, which I have almost finished now. Soon I’ll have to decide on the next step..."