At Femto Engineering, we believe that learning goes both ways. Interns bring fresh perspectives and curiosity, while working alongside experienced engineers and specialists gives them the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges.
This year, we are welcoming two new interns with very different backgrounds: Thomas, an Aerospace Engineering student working on simulation and multibody dynamics, and Joey, a Business Administration student supporting our commercial team.
“There is often no single correct solution.”
Thomas van der Velden is 24 and currently in the second year of his Master’s in Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft.
His connection with Femto started several years ago, during his Bachelor’s in Automotive Engineering. Later, he learned more about the company through the 4RealSim Customer Day, conversations with current and former interns, and a presentation by one of Femto’s engineers. These experiences gave him a positive impression of Femto and eventually led him to choose the company for his internship.
Thomas is now working on a multibody dynamics project, focusing on accurately simulating dynamic behaviour and the forces involved. The goal is to help support engineering decisions at an earlier stage of the design process.
During his internship, Thomas is gaining experience with Simcenter 3D Motion and Altair MotionSolve, two software packages that are new to him.
“Learning these software packages will broaden my skills and create more opportunities for my future career.”
What does he enjoy most about engineering? Finding ways to make structures lighter while still meeting requirements for strength, stiffness, and durability.
For Thomas, there is rarely just one right answer. Material selection, geometry, load paths, optimisation, simulation, and engineering judgement all have to come together to find an effective solution.
He is also interested in how machine learning could influence structural optimisation in the future.
He is also interested in how machine learning could influence structural optimisation in the future.
“You can use creativity and out-of-the-box thinking to come up with innovative solutions and further optimise a design.”
Outside engineering, Thomas enjoys running, playing padel, skiing, and sim racing. He also follows motorsport, enjoys a good action movie, and spends time with family and friends. And when he wants to switch off, walking and playing with his parents’ dog is a good way to relax.
“The quality of your audience is more important than the quantity.”
Joey Hollebeek is 23 and studying Business Administration at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. He discovered Femto through an online internship vacancy and was immediately interested.
“The vacancy appealed to me so much that I applied right away. I’m very happy that I can do my graduation internship at Femto Engineering.”
During his internship, Joey is working with the commercial team to improve Femto’s reporting systems. His goal is to gain practical experience that he can take with him throughout the rest of his career.
His first impression of Femto? A friendly team that enjoys spending time together, both during and outside working hours.
“There are some incredibly smart people here working on projects involving maths that I’ll probably never fully understand.”
Working alongside the commercial team has already given Joey a different perspective on marketing performance. One lesson that has stuck with him is that numbers do not tell the whole story.
“You can have a lot of views or clicks but fewer inquiries, or the opposite. What has stuck with me most is that the quality of your audience is more important than the quantity.”
Outside work, Joey enjoys spending time with friends and staying active. Fortunately, he says, the two can easily be combined.
Although Thomas and Joey are working in very different areas, their internships share the same foundation: learning by working on real challenges alongside experienced professionals.
From developing engineering simulations to improving commercial reporting, their work contributes to different parts of Femto’s activities as a CAE engineering consultancy.
At Femto, we work with companies across industries to solve complex engineering challenges using simulation, engineering consultancy, software, and R&D. Giving students the opportunity to work alongside our specialists is an important part of building the next generation of engineering and technology talent.
Welcome to Femto, Thomas and Joey. We’re looking forward to seeing where your internships take you!
Do you need more information or want to discuss your project? Reach out to us anytime and we’ll happily answer your questions.
At Femto Engineering we help companies achieve their innovation ambitions with engineering consultancy, software, and R&D.
We are Siemens DISW Expert Partner for Simcenter Femap, Simcenter 3D, Simcenter Amesim, Simcenter STAR-CCM+, SDC verifier, Altair HyperWorks, Altair SimSolid and Altair PhysicsAI. Get in touch and let us make CAE work for you.
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