'ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS PROVIDE THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE FUTURE'
"Electronics are an integral part of our daily lives and a growing industry that continues to develop. I want to take up the challenge of working with the technology of the future. Besides improving current techniques, there is a lot to innovate. For my bachelor's I chose the UT because the programme is taught in English and the campus atmosphere appealed to me. For the master's, it was logical to stay in Twente.
SPECIALISATION POWER ELECTRONICS
My specialisation is about Power Electronics. An interesting subject in this area is 'Power Electronic Converters'. An example: our entire electricity network works with AC (alternating current), which is ideal for transporting electricity because it can easily be brought to a higher voltage to minimise losses. However, almost all of our devices require DC (direct current). This, therefore, requires a power converter. It is an essential component in any electrical device.
GREEN FUTURE
If we rely completely on green energy sources in the future, such as wind and solar power, we will need to store energy. After all, how do we supply energy to homes when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow? Our electricity grid works with AC voltage, an energy storage can often only supply DC (such as batteries). An efficient conversion is therefore important to make this step possible. I would like to contribute to this.
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I find energy transition very interesting. It is a fact that we must minimise the use of fossil fuels. So we'd better work on our green future as soon as possible. For example, the car of the Solar Team Twente runs on solar energy. During my time with this team, I was the Lead Electrical Engineer. I was responsible for the entire electrical system. I made sure that everything was finished in time, was at the right place and that everything worked in the end. My specialisation was the solar panel and all the associated electronics. The combination of working with the most advanced technology in the green energy industry and being able to optimise that to gain as much energy as possible during our race in Australia was something I enjoyed doing and learned a lot from.
IMPACT ON SOCIETY
As an Electrical Engineer, you will have to deal with problems from society. For example, how do you get as much energy as possible out of a battery/solar panel to use it as efficiently as possible to charge an electric car? Or how to generate the strongest possible magnetic field for the MRI scanner of the future. In both cases, this has a direct impact on society in terms of the latest electric cars that drive further or charge faster or for discoveries in the medical world.
I want to put my knowledge and skills to good use for society. This is why I think my challenges in the future lie in the energy transition or space travel, both very emerging fields."