Currently one of our projects VIPNOM (Virtual Position Noise Measurement) is looking for two outstanding PDEng candidates within the field of Acoustic Imaging and Signal Processing.

About the Project

Noise is the second largest harmful environmental factor to human beings in Europe and claims 1.6 million healthy life years each year, mainly due to stress and sleep disturbances. VIPNOM focuses on the development of advanced noise measurement methods and acoustic virtual reality.

To effectively combat unwanted noise, it is important to first be able to measure it. Currently, noise is measured by placing microphones at specific locations and those measurements made are applicable for those locations only. VIPNOM advocates the use of microphone arrays at central locations, where noise levels at several other locations can also be measured simultaneously, such as at the balconies of an apartment building next to a noisy road, or across a large area of the city center.

In order to accurately measure noise levels, VIPNOM will further develop, optimize and implement the methods that are developed in the ZERO NWO project. The resulting algorithms will be tested in the living labs: Stratumseind, Strijp-S, and the Philips Stadium. Additionally, the same techniques will also be applied in an acoustic virtual reality to allow interested parties (such as citizens and policy officers) to auralize and experience noise beyond just decibel values on a written report.

We are looking for two PDEng candidates who will strengthen the Sorama team. Start date is end of November 2021. During the project the candidates are encouraged to spend part of their work at Eindhoven Engine as well as the TU/e. While one position will focus on the development of the algorithms and the other on the implementation, the actual scope may be personalized (depending on the profile of the candidates). The candidates will also be registered at TU/e and complete training courses related to the project. Program graduates will be awarded a certified diploma and the degree “Professional Doctorate in Engineering” (PDEng).

This project is funded by Eindhoven Engine.

Electronic Systems group at TU/e and Sorama

The Electronic Systems group consists of seven full professors, two associate professors, eight assistant professors, several postdocs, about 40 PDEng and PhD candidates and support staff. The ES group is world-renowned for its design automation and embedded systems research. It is our ambition to provide a scientific basis for design trajectories of electronic systems, ranging from digital circuits to cyber-physical systems. The trajectories are constructive and lead to high quality, cost-effective systems with predictable properties (functionality, timing, reliability, power dissipation, and cost).

Sorama is a highly innovative company that leads and redefines the frontiers of knowledge in acoustic imaging. This is achieved through intensive collaborations with academic partners and also relentless in-house R&D efforts, effectively bridging the gap between academic findings and industrial know-how. Sorama aims to improve the quality of life for all people, wherever they are, by providing the technology to Make Sound Insightful. Founded in 2009 as a TU/e spin-off by Rick Scholte, Sorama is one of the Netherlands’ Top 250 Growth Companies in 2021.

Requirements

We are looking for excellent candidates that add value to Sorama and the ES group with the following profile:

• Master degree (preferably in computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or related)
• Experience in signal processing is preferred
• Proficient with C++, MATLAB, (preferably CUDA as well)
• Driven, eager, enthusiastic, ambitious personality
• Quick learner, able to and interested in acquiring new skills and competences,
• Affinity with technological products and solutions and working in a high tech environment
• Live in/near Eindhoven or willing to relocate

Appointment and salary

We offer a full-time, fixed-term, 2-year contract at Sorama including:

• Competitive salary
• 25 Holiday days and the option to purchase additional days
• Challenging work environment where you can create global impact through our unique solutions
• Operate in a fast-growing company with good future perspectives
• Knowledgeable and inspiring colleagues
• Eindhoven Engine and TU/e interaction days throughout your project
• A flexible work environment
• Unique office location at Strijp-T, a 5-minute walk from the Eindhoven Strijp train station
• Excellent coffee and rooftop BBQs

Interested?

Please send your CV, including a detailed curriculum vitae, a letter of motivation, a portfolio with copies of diplomas with course grades and contact information of two references, to jin.jack.tan@sorama.eu under the subject “PDEng student on Virtual Position Noise Measurement”.

For more information on the position, please contact dr. Jin Jack Tan jin.jack.tan@sorama.eu or call our office at +31 40 3041019.

“Using this view, I can perfectly explain what Brainport stands for,” says Paul van Nunen when he casually walks up the wooden floor of the roof garden with a cup of coffee in his hand. It’s noon and together we see Strijp-T bathed in the golden September sun. Although he’s the director of Brainport, moments later he is energetically pulling at two iron benches to anchor my portable light stand. “You can concentrate on your photography. I will keep an eye on your equipment so the wind doesn’t damage it.” In the hour to come, we will discuss the pending end of the Regio Deal and how Brainport can keep supporting Eindhoven Engine. We will also learn that Paul’s demonstratable willingness to cooperate and can-do attitude are what he values most.

“With the Regio Deal coming to an end in 2025, we have to come up with ways to fund Eindhoven Engine.”

Paul van Nunen, director Brainport Development

Not the straight road, I look for the small and bending one

“I believe we are obliged to do the right thing, not only at home but also at work,” says Paul when we sit down after the photoshoot. Somewhere deep inside of me, I have a vision of where we have to end up. During my career, I learned that the best route to that goal often leads down a small and bending road. Finding and navigating these roads is my job, and I love doing so together with all my colleagues at Brainport. It keeps us excited.”

“Of course, you can look like a strong leader if you say that everybody has to keep their mouths shut and keep their heads down and so forth. It probably looks good in the papers too. For me, that’s the straight road. But I can tell you one thing for sure, after a year you will have accomplished nothing. Solutions often stare you in the face. I call those birthday party solutions. They are easy to point out but actually enacting such a solution is something else.”

Making things happen is quite a job

“We know that we need multidisciplinary teams to come up with meaningful solutions to the everyday challenges in our society. Organizing these teams is an easy idea to suggest and get behind. It sounds nice. To ensure that the right disciplines meet each other by organized coincidence takes effort and is quite a job. You need driven people who believe in this idea of open innovation. People like Katja Pahnke and Maarten Steinbuch who are determined to create a NATLAB 2.0 and ensure that multidisciplinary teams see the day of light. The Brainport region is quite the place to achieve this.”

Beware of fragmentation

“With Brainport, we are building ant nests. In that sense, bringing disciplines together and organizing coincidences. For that, you need personal attention and a location. Eindhoven Engine is a great place for that. The trouble is that we too often count on throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. On the one hand, this is a strength of this region. There is always a brainiac coming up with a new plan to start a brand-new initiative. But we have to watch out for fragmentation. Don’t start something completely new before Eindhoven Engine has had the chance to develop itself properly. I think the Engine has to grow and so we have to say to the region, ‘if you want to work with multidisciplinary teams on meaningful solutions, we do it at Eindhoven Engine’.”

“If you want to work with multidisciplinary teams on meaningful solutions, we do it at Eindhoven Engine.”

With one strong proposition to the Hague

“In order to grow, Eindhoven Engine needs continuity and, with the Regio Deal coming to an end in 2025, we have to come up with ways to fund the Engine. I think Jan Mengelers is right when he says that initiatives like Eindhoven Engine need a structural grant from a regional or national government just to pay for their indirect structural costs. With the Regio Deal, we’ve built something special with Brainport. But that’s my plea for a structural grant from the government. We have achieved so much. It would be such a waste if we had to start all over again. Luckily, the government in the Hague recognizes our success, but this is when we must stay focused and avoid fragmentation. We won’t get support from the Hague if everyone comes up with their own proposition, so let’s combine, using Eindhoven Engine for instance. In that way, I will become the ambassador of Maarten and Katja.”

Eindhoven Engine, make your progress visible

“People always need to know what they get in return for their investment. And that’s the problem with investments in high-tech platforms: results can take years. It’s hard to give people insight. Eindhoven Engine can help to make our progress visible. Their calls have a short duration of three to four years and produce tangible results, like those of the neonatal care project with their artificial womb. As long as the new calls of Eindhoven Engine have a strong correlation with the key technologies of Brainport, we can go to the Hague with a strong case for funding and continue towards our goals.”

Due to the Covid measures that currently (13 November 2021) apply the hackathon is postponed to March/April 2022.

We are organizing a hackathon! Together with MIT Hacking Medicine, TU/e and Fontys, Eindhoven Engine will organize a weekend-long hackathon called Hack2Impact.

Guided by MIT Hacking Medicine experts, we would like to invite and challenge you – students and technical and medical professionals who have a passion for healthcare equity – to generate innovative and impactful new solutions for Health@Home challenges. 

• Date: Friday evening 26 November – Sunday afternoon 28 November
• Location: Eindhoven Engine on the TU/e campus

The admission fee is 20 euros and includes materials, tools, resources, food & beverages, coaching by field experts (engineers, clinicians, entrepreneurs, programmers and designers) and a memorable experience!

Are you ready to hack to make an impact? Pre-register here to join Hack2Impact – Health@Home!

We are also looking for mentors and sponsors. Interested? Send us an email at hackathon@eindhovenengine.nl and we will contact you to provide more information. 

Do you have friends or colleagues who also have a passion for healthcare equity? Please spread the word: www.Hack2Impact.nl

26-28 November 

TU/e Campus

On 6 October, Eindhoven Engine was present at the Fontys Career Event in the Klokgebouw, Eindhoven, and it was great to be back at onsite events. It was wonderful meeting 800+ enthusiastic students from ‘Fontys Hogeschool Economie en Communicatie’ and informing them about our various assignments from our projects in marketing communication, economics and business administration. It was a successful afternoon and we have made some great possible matches. We are currently following up with interested students and setting up meetings with them and the leaders of the projects.

So good to be back after the holidays, you can just feel the energy flowing again! Now that new relaxations of COVID measures are in effect, the TU/e Campus is buzzing with students again. Also, more and more people are rediscovering the co-location, like a few PDEngs who are giving our MMP co-location much-needed energy.

Last week, we kicked off the new academic year with a webinar to welcome our new four awesome projects (Brains4Buildings, Vipnom, Neon EE and GEM-Stage); many thanks to the speakers and participants. Interesting talks and even more interesting discussions. One thing is for sure: they are ready to accelerate innovation with you, the Eindhoven Engine community! And good news, the next webinar will be in a hybrid from. I hope to see you soon, face-to-face at our co-location @TU/e Campus again!

“I hope to see you soon, face-to-face at our co-location @TU/e Campus again!”

Joris Dufils – Community Eindhoven Engine

Grant from PATO

Last June, the Academy of Eindhoven Engine received a grant of €50,000 from Stichting Post-Academisch Technisch Onderwijs (PATO) to develop the training course ‘Business Model Innovation in an Exponential World’. The outcome of this course will be the development of a mindset with which engineers can comfortably explore, understand and act in a hyper-complex world which is disrupted by exponential technologies while also becoming an entrepreneur and creator of sustainable, scalable solutions. This transformation of people will eventually be the engine for corporate and societal transformation. ‘Business Model Innovation in an Exponential World’ gives the insights needed and allows us to experience it first-hand.

In the upcoming months, this concept will be tested in various formats: a half-day compressed version for students and four full sessions with a few Eindhoven Engine projects.

Start the course

The course will be structured with two variants. Following the concept testing, the short virtual course will start in December 2021. Information about registration and other details will follow soon. The full five-day course is planned to take place in the first quarter of 2022.

“Make sure that in every meeting or every project, someone takes the role of the seventh generation”

The Great Law of Haudenosaunee Confederacy

SmartMan was one of the selected projects of Eindhoven Engine’s OpenCall 2020. The goal in this project is to increase the collaboration between Fontys University of Applied Sciences Engineering and SMEs in the Brainport region. By tackling challenges together, more knowledge and better knowledge will be gained and shared in order to unleash their collective intelligence; the power of innovation will therefore be optimized.

In the time of corona, the project team of SmartMan has succeed in carrying out a lot of activities in their first year: contributions by Fontys students to 39 projects at 34 companies, preparation of the ‘Flexible Manufacturing Competence’ college for Fontys students and the building of the SmartMan community have all begun.

39 projects

Third-year students have a minor to follow at Fontys Engineering. A nice proportion of these students have signed up for an assignment with SmartMan. In the 2020-2021 academic year, Fontys students have worked on 39 projects at 34 companies. The projects are focused on three different technology areas for SMEs:

• four projects on topologic design: additive manufacturing and lightweight structures
• 10 projects on Intelligent Systems: AI, low-code modeling and digital twinning
• and 25 projects on factory automation and robotics

College

Partners at SmartMan have also contributed in the first year. Partner TNO has prepared the ‘Flexible Manufacturing Competence’ college. Around 50 Fontys students attended the online lecture. For the next academic year, TNO has also submitted two graduation assignments on Smart Manufacturing.

Building the community

SmartMan has also started to build a community of students, people from SMEs and knowledge institutes, through which their expertise and knowledge can be easily shared within the SmartMan community. In November 2021, the community will organize the first meeting to showcase examples of innovative projects. 2021 has been quite a busy year for SmartMan. We look forward to even more activities in the fall of 2021 and in 2022.

Eindhoven Engine is one of the Regio Deal innovation projects with social impact. Check out this video showcasing our way of working, the Carbyon project and SmartMan project.

All good things must come to an end: Dick Koster, TNO’s liaison manager at Eindhoven Engine, will retire on 30 September. In this newsletter, Dick looks back on his experiences building up the Engine and what he sees in its future.

One step after another

“I never had a long-term career plan,” Dick begins. “But after executing R&D, I got involved in organizational management and setting up external collaborations. Three years ago, I was ready for a final step.” After reaching out to the TNO network for a fresh challenge, Dick was introduced to Eindhoven Engine – then a concept waiting to be brought to life. “It was an idea that resonated with me. How do you make your organization fit for the future?”

The challenge of connecting innovative minds was nothing new to Dick, having played a key role in TNO collaborations in places as diverse as Germany, Russia, Australia and Japan. “Trying to team up with various cultures is something that really interests me, and I took this with me when we started the Engine. TU/e is a technical university and Fontys has a focus on practice-oriented students. I had my background in TNO – somewhere between universities and industry – so we looked at how we could benefit each other.”

“There’s another step to take: assessing the composition of teams and making people aware of blind spots.”

Benefits on all sides

For TNO, a major advantage of becoming an equal stakeholder in Eindhoven Engine was the opportunity to cluster strengths and uncover new ways to accelerate innovation in the Brainport region. “TNO has a long history in cooperation with both TU/e and Fontys separately, the new cooperation within Eindhoven Engine unleashes the collective intelligence in an optimum way and enables better access to engineering talent (BSc and MSc students from the knowledge institutes).

Added value was envisioned through co-location, boosting their operations with the spirit of student teams while allowing TU/e and Fontys access to their industrial knowledge. “You really see the enthusiasm of the students, who are able to mobilize support from external parties both big and small,” continues Dick. “On a national scale, I think it’s new and I’m pleased it’s worked out. But innovation won’t happen just by putting people together; you need to coach, guide and stimulate their interactions, for which we’ve created tools like design thinking in the Engine Academy.”

“I’ve realized that my career progress was due to a talent for communication and inspiration in collaboration with people and organizations. Looking back, that made the difference.”

“Another big benefit is network support. When you combine our networks, you can involve a lot more skills and experience than just a project team alone. Personally, I think there’s another step to take: assessing the composition of teams and making people aware of blind spots. People often try to find lookalikes who confirm their beliefs, but you then end up in ‘thinking alleys’ where you don’t really understand the missing skills in your team. I have a firm belief that the Engine will be able to make another contribution here.”

This future will be realized in part by Dick’s successor, Joelle van den Broek. “I met Joelle 20 years ago and we had creative experiences sharing approaches from her product/industrial design background, so I’m sure she’ll fit right in,” Dick smiles. “As for me, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a good time to retire from my professional career. I’ll see where my talent for communication and inspiration takes me. One ambition is to spend more time on my board membership at the Talent Foundation, which supports young people in developing their talents and creating a better future for themselves and their environment.”

In June, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) accepted the second phase of the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) tender. In this SBIR project, Eindhoven Engine and its partners TNO and HAVEP will develop sustainable medical isolation gowns that can be used multiple times. With an allocation of almost EUR 290,000, the partners will further test the feasibility of the isolation gowns. Work to obtain certification is ongoing and the first 1,000 insulation jackets will be produced in September. In the fall, the gowns will be tested by medical parties and the results will be collected.

More information about this project:

• Eindhoven Engine, TNO and HAVEP to develop sustainable medical isolation gowns
• Accelerate by working together