Jens van de Meulenhof is following a ‘dual learning path’ in Electrical Engineering at Avans University of Applied Sciences. This program combines work and study. Students attend classes while simultaneously working at a company in the electrical engineering sector. Both the school and the company provide guidance. The dual learning path offers the opportunity to immediately apply learned theory in practice and gain valuable work experience. Jens has been doing the practical part of his studies at HyTEPS for a year and a half. He joined as an intern and is now a Power Quality Engineer.
“I started in 2021 with an introductory internship at HyTEPS. I enjoyed it so much that I returned to for my Intermediate Vocational Education graduation internship. After completing this, I considered looking for a job, but I preferred to combine practical experience and study. That’s how I ended up doing the dual learning path in Electrical Engineering. The program had been abolished a while back but was recently revived due to the enormous demand for people in electrical engineering. The combination of two days of studying and three days of working at HyTEPS is working out very well.”
“The weeks fly by, partly because due to the variety. Without practical experience, it would be harder to get a firm grasp on the course material. For example, during classes on electrical networks at Avans, we were discussing reactive power, calculations with different types of power, and compensation. At HyTEPS, I had already come across these concepts, so everything quickly fell into place. For other students, however, it sometimes seemed difficult to conceptualize these topics. Power Quality is also covered in the program, but to really understand it, practical experience is essential. There are many variables that you might even consider without practical experience. Electrical engineering is difficult enough, and installations are often complicated, interconnected, and spread over different locations. That means you’ll sometimes get very strange measurement results, even if you have done everything perfectly according to the theory. For instance, I once conducted measurements where meters were connected in series instead of parallel. The supplier of these meters, however, had not indicated how many you could place in a row. A situation like that requires real problem-solving skills: what might be causing such strange measurement results? What impact might those results have elsewhere in the system? What solutions might be available? Eventually, the distance between the meters turned out to be the cause. Once you’ve figured out something like that, you can accurately compensate for it in your models and calculations.”
In at the deep end
“What I really enjoy about the internship and working at HyTEPS is the fact that they won’t hesitate to throw you in at the deep end. You’re not left to your own devices, of course, and you can always ask someone for advice. But they do assume that you are capable of making your own decisions. Not just in terms of engineering. They sent me to Dubai quite early on to work on a Harmonic Filter. The journey was fraught with issues due to a huge storm. I had to figure out the best course of action, arrange transfers, book a new hotel room because mine had been canceled due to miscommunication, inform the client… It’s a fantastic way to develop your professional skills. What I also love: you go to places you might not normally visit, such as enormous superyachts. That variety in work is really cool, and you can also come up with your own ideas. For example, I wanted to take on more commercially oriented tasks, and now I occasionally do research based on customer inquiries. I also developed a demo setup that will be on permanently display at HyTEPS’ new building. This allows customers to see exactly how certain components, such as meters, are used in an installation and what they achieve.”
Company culture
“I find the company culture at HyTEPS extremely enjoyable, partly due to the great diversity. Everyone has a unique perspective when it comes to work and collaboration, and everything contributes something from their own background. I also like the fact that it feels like a relatively small company, despite the rapid growth. You can take on new tasks on your own initiative, chat with the Managing Director, or drop in on someone from the Management Team. If you need something, it gets arranged quickly, without several people needing to go over it first. HyTEPS is also a fairly young company – the average age is not much over 30 years. In addition to the people, the work is very diverse, too. There are many different directions within electrical engineering, from service and maintenance and Power Quality analysis to software development or commercial roles. No two customers or installations are the same.”
Easily manageable
“People often think that working with electricity is dangerous and dusty, but that’s no longer the case. Electrical engineering also involves making the energy transition happen, designing and managing networks based on data, or researching sustainable energy systems. People often think electrotechnical studies are particularly complicated and that you have to be extremely good at math and physics. I myself first did Intermediate Vocational Education level before my higher education and before that pre-vocational secondary education. I can assure everyone: if you keep up with the work, it’s all quite manageable. Without wanting to brag, I recently graduated with honors for my foundation year, with an 8.6 out of 10 points average. My focus now is on completing the program with good grades and obtaining my diploma. After that, I would very much like to stay at HyTEPS.”
“To people considering studying electrical engineering or looking for a job in that field, I’d like to say: find out for yourself what the company culture at HyTEPS is like, see if it suits you. Just drop by and visit us!”