At TalentIT Twente, we go for the perfect IT match. Discover the story of Interaction Technology student Daniela and Extendas. Daniela van Meggelen (23 years old) is from Rijssen and came to Enschede to study Creative Technology at the University of Twente. She has completed her bachelor’s degree and is currently pursuing the master’s degree in Interaction Technology. Additionally, she found a job through TalentIT Twente last summer. She works as a software designer at Extendas in Enschede, a company that deals with software for the fuel market. 

'TalentIT Twente immediately felt personal and informal'

Daniela, first of all, congratulations on your job! How do you look back on your collaboration with TalentIT Twente?
‘Thank you! Very good. I got to know TalentIT Twente through my study association and the contact was immediately informal and personal. Right after the lecture I had a pleasant conversation with one of their matchmakers. I mentioned that I didn’t really know how to approach the job search. Even now that I’ve found work, they regularly check in to see how things are going.’

What were you looking for in a job and at a company?
‘First of all, of course, I was looking for a nice place to apply my desig skills and broaden my ICT knowledge, but definitely also a place to further discover what the right fit is for me. I am expressive and informal, so I was also looking for a workplace that fits in with that. A place that is certainly not too formal or hierarchical, because that’s something I don’t like.

Image for illustrative purposes

Sounds like the match was successful?
‘On most levels, yes. Only on one point not quite yet, because of course the fuel industry can still be a bit more sustainable, which is also important to me. However, the freedom and learning opportunities I get are very great. I am the only designer within the company, but I also get the chance to learn front-end programming.’

'They check in regularly to see how I'm doing'

TalentIT Twente puts a lot of emphasis on personal questions in such a matching process. How did that go for you?
‘They asked what I was good at, liked to do and wanted to learn. Sounds simple, but those questions were very important. So: a job as a software designer with a technical extension, at a small and informal company. And it was also about the fact that my studies are quite broad, therefore, it is difficult to know exactly what you want. They’ve helped with that very well. After the match, I took over the process myself and have now been working at Extendas for six months with great pleasure’

Curious about our other success stories? Discover ours here!

This article previously appeared as part of the 12th edition of INN-Twente.

We say it for a reason: Push IT to the limit! In our search for companies in Twente that push the boundaries in the field of IT, we found Spectro-AG. A start-up from Bentelo that specialises in hyperspectral and multispectral sensors for UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) systems. With the help of IT talent, Spectro-AG gains new insights, helps develop talent and increases the support for AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the industrial sector.

Using advanced technology Spectro-AG makes it possible to detect the quality of grass fields, downy mildew in vineyards, weeds, risk of mice infestation, unhealthy trees in forest areas, beaver tunnels or processionary caterpillar nests. Furthermore, they make 3D surface drawings using vegetation indices techniques and can recognise objects from space in satellite images. We spoke with founder Dr. Ir. Hamed Mehdipoor: “We focus on the research and development of the digitisation and automation of AI modelling and remote sensing workflows for drone and satellite data, especially for industrial sectors in the Twente region.” 

The company is growing fast, so they are always on the lookout for new IT talent: “Spectro-AG is growing and needs talented young developers with a high level of expertise for its projects, but we also want to help talent make progress in their careers. Finding the right developers is challenging for us. Fortunately, we have found TalentIT to take on exactly this challenge. AI automation is relatively new and there are few high-quality developers. The cooperation between Spectro-AG and TalentIT will help improve this,” says Hamed.

“Finding the right developers is challenging for us. Fortunately, we have found TalentIT to take on exactly this challenge.” – Dr. Ir. Hamed Mehdipoor

Two of the IT talents working at Spectro-AG are Cas Bolwerk and Emiel Steerneman. They study AI at Utrecht University and Robotics in University of Twente, but are currently working on a professional network in the region of Twente. “I finished my internship at Spectro-AG last week. The match went well, because it quickly became clear that we had a mutual connection. I will be staying on to work there part-time as well! The work consists, among other things, of programming systems that make use of AI. My internship project was about the object detection of weeds. We ended up testing it successfully through a drone flight.” Says Cas. 

His internship went very smoothly, but he also gained new experiences: “The work I was asked to do corresponded to my own expectations. It is very challenging and I often deal with technology that is brand new. When working in a start-up like Spectro-AG I sometimes have to tackle work that goes beyond my focus. This can be more than expected at times, but now I do have a better orientation of the company culture.”

“The match went well, because it quickly became clear that we had a mutual connection. I will be staying on to work there part-time as well!” – Cas Bolwerk

In a brief reflection and anticipation of his future career, Cas is very clear: “The best moment was presenting another project for Drone2Go, a drone event. Now I would like to move on to the technical side of AI, so I can focus on reducing the complexity. Then we can start deploying our models for everyday use.” 

Hamed Mehdipoor is also very positive about the IT talent: “We have had a very good experience with the three students who were introduced to us.” He says. “We have no hierarchy and we are all members of a team that will not stop learning, regardless of age. The young but experienced Spectro-AG team works with confidence in the talents of its team members. We make sure that team members enjoy what they do while advancing their careers. Our team is always open to new ideas and skills.”

Does your business also have a ground-breaking issue to inspire new IT talent? Click here or contact us at info@talentittwente.nl.

In addition to my studies, HBO-ICT (Software Engineer), I wanted to gain new professional knowledge at an IT company in the form of an internship or a part-time job. That is how I ended up at OVSoftware via TalentIT Twente. They provide advice on automation and provide support for efficient software systems. Their solutions in Java and .NET ensure that both businesses and governments can work more easily and efficiently.

At OVSoftware, I worked on an application for Android with which users could scan a wine bottle. The app can show the data of this wine via Augmented Reality. This same data can also be used to provide quality score. This means that the app can predict how much you would like that wine based on reviews you previously left with other wines. Machine learning is used for this. For OVSoftware this means that they will soon be able to show that they have experience with AR and machine learning. They can then use this  app as an example.

During my stay at OVSoftware I could also ask colleagues questions when I got stuck. The supervisors also helped me through tough situations at certain times. This way I was able to gain a lot of new professional knowledge, especially in the field of machine learning.

“I am very pleased that TalentIT can always help me with a suitable challenge.”

The advantage, which makes the IT industry unique to me, is that after my internship period I now also have the chance to get an IT-related part-time job. In most other studies, it is not really possible to have a matching part-time job while studying. In addition, having experience as a Software Engineer is very important, which makes it so great that TalentIT can help me with an internship, part-time job or graduation place that matches what I am looking for; more professional knowledge as a Software Engineer.

TalentIT knows how to help me quickly and purposefully. The communication was clear and fast, which allowed me to start working on a new assignment within a few days.

– Willem Lefferts, Software Engineer

During my studies I wanted to gain relevant work experience at a company that fits my study, IT Service Management, as effectively as possible. Additionally, I was hoping for the possibility of flexible working hours and a team with pleasant colleagues, says student IT-service management student Krystian in this case.

These goals were achieved through TalentIT Twente. I got to work at Previder, which is part of the Odin Group (with Heutink-ICT and Winvision). Previder is a leading Managed Service Provider in Hengelo with two private data centers. I work as an IT Support Specialist in the Managed Services department. We manage, monitor and provide support for complex IT environments. These IT environments are very diverse, which means no day is the same and I get to work with a lot of different systems. For example, there are various cloud environments, virtualizations, networks, domains and mail environments. Moreover, I am not only involved with technology, but I also have regular contact with customers. I find this to be very important, because I want to grow towards consultancy, security or projects.

“I am not only involved with technology, but I also have regular contact with customers.”

“The combination of TalentIT and Previder is perfect for me as an IT Service Management student.”

The combination of a part-time job during my studies is great. I can apply the knowledge that I have gained during my studies and if I have questions about study-related topics, I can talk to my colleagues at Previder. In addition, I can also follow training courses through Odin Academy (Odin group’s internal development program). For example, next month I am going to partake in a training for my ITIL certification.

The contact with TalentIT is excellent. It made matching with a company very easy. In short, I am very happy that I have made this choice and advise every IT student to look at the possibilities of TalentIT.

– Krystian Januszkiewicz, IT Support Specialist, case student it-service management student

Curious about our other success stories? Discover ours here!

Besides my study I think it’s important to discover the IT industry. That is why I signed up for TalentIT. A great opportunity for personal and professional enrichment!

Right now, I am working at Aareon, unit Facilitor, market leader in the field of software development and consultancy in the real estate market. I am responsible for a monitoring system with the use of JavaScript. The software that is being used for this is called React. It is amazing to see how functional data can be when it refreshes itself within a page (instead of doing this manually). Seeing the monitor making live changes with the help of colors and animations is mesmerizing.

“Very useful! Gain relevant work experience in addition to your education.”

Working throughout my study makes sure that I can learn about working in office and solving actual issues. It is also nice to experience the dynamics in the workplace: helping out fellow colleagues, sorting out stuff on my own and sometimes bringing coffee becomes part of the deal, too.

In can highly recommend TalentIT because I can already learn from corporate life early on. My network, IT skills and personal experiences have become significantly greater.

– Gijs Wassink, Software Engineer.

During my assignment at the municipality of Enschede I helped with the implementation of an IT service management (ITSM) tool called ‘Planon’. With help of this tool the organization can generate clear dashboards which support their daily business operations.

The program of TalentIT offers me freedom to explore and develop in the discipline of ITSM. I have learned what it means to work in a professional environment and how corporate culture has an impact on services. Furthermore I have improved my social and communicative skills. In the next assignment I would like to apply, deepen and broaden my expertise on ITSM. I find the integration of various disciplines to be very appealing.

“It’s not about what you can do, but what you can learn.”

I can highly recommended TalentIT because it helped me find out that a specialization in governance and security fits me best. The main reason being that I like to think about custom policies. I also found topics of which I am less enthusiastic. For instance; working with cloud solutions, which is simply put less satisfying for me. The combination of work and study has shown me once again that IT is the right industry for me.

– Youri Paus, Consultant Information Management