Public Summary Bas Spijkerman

Via a colleague, I learned about the KIVI EngD Award, and since I am finishing my EngD at the end of November, I decided to apply. My EngD project is a collaboration between the University of Twente and ASML, which means I have been splitting my time between Eindhoven and Enschede. I am proud of the development I made, and would like to share my story.

After completing my master’s in Industrial Design Engineering, I did not feel ready to start working in industry. I wanted to develop myself further, especially in acoustics. I already explored during my graduation assignment but wanted to dive deeper into the topic. Ironically, during my master’s, I always said: “I will never go into academia.” So when I was first asked about doing an EngD, I boldly said no. A PhD was completely out of the question. But over time, I changed my mind. The EngD seemed like the perfect fit: project based work combined with the chance to learn more about acoustics. 

At the start, I disliked the number of courses required, but they turned out to be exactly what I needed to refresh my knowledge for, in my opinion, challenging project. During the project, I surprised myself with what I was capable of and rediscovered my passion for engineering. Along the way, I met many fellow researchers during multiple international courses and conferences. I even presented our work at NOVEM in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and we published a paper in POMA! Does not sound like somebody who claimed never to go in academia! In fact, I will continue with a PhD, which will be a follow-up on my EngD. The EngD was exactly the springboard I did not knew I needed.

At the moment, I am applying the finishing touches to the design tool I created. I feel really proud of the tools I delivered. Two years ago, this felt like an unreachable milestone, but here we are. We extended current techniques to acoustic domains, and developed a practical way to efficiently couple reduced models together (a common culprit in existing literature). What I enjoy the most about this EngD is working on reallife models. They turned out to be far more complex than academic examples, which made the challenge even more exciting. Doing research within a company like ASML is rewarding because you work in an environment where your results are truly needed and valued.

Throughout this journey, I have had great support from Ysbrand Wijnant and Bart van der Aa, which made all the difference. Looking back, I realize that saying “I will never go into academia” was wrong. The EngD really taught me that you should do what you like, and I was lucky enough to find my passion.