Melissa Timmers is studying Automotive Engineering and recently did an internship at VDL Steelweld. A beautiful, multifaceted, internationally oriented company in the automotive industry; active in the field of production systems, special products, automated vehicles and parking systems.

“I independently started looking for (automotive) companies where I could do my internship. Also because from school not many preferred companies in Brabant are offered. I therefore looked for information on job sites and LinkedIn. I soon ended up at VDL Steelweld. I was already familiar with VDL Groep from the project teams in which I served.

What particularly appeals to you at VDL?

“What appeals to me most is that it is a large international company, while it is subdivided into many small branches. This keeps the contact personal and there are many opportunities to grow into other branches and positions. It also offers a springboard to projects abroad that VDL Steelweld can be involved in.”

What is the working atmosphere like and how did you experience it as a temporary employee who is also conducting research?

“I experienced the working atmosphere as very pleasant. Especially the personal contact helped with my assignment. For my internship assignment I had to obtain a lot of information from different project engineers. They were also very open to explaining this information. That was super, they really helped me with my internship assignment.”

What did you learn most at VDL?

“At VDL I learned to go from student to employee. At HAN Automotive it is customary to ask a lot about how certain processes should be carried out or how documents should be written. This is much less the case in the business world. You work together with colleagues and are a lot more certain in your actions. You don’t have to check whether the lecturer thinks you’ve done a good job for a grade. VDL Steelweld also gave me a taste of what jobs would interest me and what jobs would not.”

What was your work placement assignment?

“My assignment was to make recommendations for improving the process of the RFQ (Request For Quotation) Generator. Project teams want to place a request for products or equipment with several suppliers. During my internship assignment, I set up a kind of application in which project teams can request things from different suppliers based on functionality (for example, the length of a conveyor belt). This way, they can compare product options and prices and make a request more quickly.”

The execution and results of your internship assignment are subject to confidentiality. As a professional, how do you deal with such a duty?

“From VDL Steelweld we agreed not to share certain details with the outside world. Otherwise it would be very beneficial for VDL’s competitors to find out how certain processes work. I haven’t had many contacts outside of school, so it’s not so difficult for me to maintain this secrecy. I have a lot of understanding for the secrecy, so it is also very logical for me not to report all the details.”

From your internship teacher you received a 9 for your internship. A nice and high appreciation; why do you think you got this appreciation?

“I am very proud of such a high grade! It proves that my assignment and work attitude are appreciated by the company and my supervisors. I also think that I was able to put away the best product because of the fine cooperation with my supervisors and all the employees of VDL Steelweld. The transition from student to employee, in which you yourself achieve various learning objectives, was an absolute plus for me. Because I find VDL Steelweld a very nice and pleasant company, I was extra motivated to deliver the best result. I think we all helped each other a bit further in our learning process with mutual respect and knowledge.”

Do you remember why you chose Automotive in Arnhem? And is that image you had back then still true?

“I really wanted to study something technical. I find the working method behind something, think of a machine, car or production line, very interesting to investigate. How does it work?

Because I did not yet know how and what, I opted for a very broad field of study. Automotive meets this requirement, because you study both the technical background and you can then specialise in various automotive directions such as Powertrain, Manufacturing, Vehicle Electronics and, in my case, Business Management. This gave me the opportunity to combine a technical background with the commercial aspect. In addition, at Automotive you participate in many fascinating projects. I was able to put a lot of theory into practice in projects like HAN Hydromotive and MORE. This image has not changed in the course of my education.”

Sources: HAN, VDL