Internship at ACE Eindhoven

Can you introduce yourself?

Bas: "My name is Bas van Gerwen and I'm studying mechanical engineering at State School Avans in Den Bosch. I'm 20 years old and third year student. I have just finished my 6-months internship at ACE in Eindhoven."

What was your internship assignment?

Bas: "My assignment for this internship was a redesign project of part of a machine. This process I had to describe in detail and I had to explain the design choices and approach."

How did you get in contact with ACE?

Bas: "Every year Avans organises a speed-meet for second year students to meet up with different companies that offer internships. There I met ACE. After an initial conversation I revisited ACE a couple of times to discuss the possibilities. What appealed to me was the diversity in projects that ACE works on. ACE has 5 business units: high tech systems, industrial automation, product development, construction technology and automotive. During my internship I was working at industrial automation. Before I started my internship I had no clue in which direction I wanted to plan my career. Because of the different projects that I have seen at ACE, I have more insight in my next steps."

What did you like at ACE?

Bas: "At ACE there are various training possibilities available for the development of employees. There is a large variety of CAD systems available and there is always space for engineers to get to know a new system."

"A week at ACE consisted mostly of working independently which I'm very comfortable with. I had the chance to glance at other projects at ACE where the project leader would then share the specific challenges of that project. For me this was valuable not only from a learning perspective, but it also gave me the opportunity to see other engineers at work. Every week I would have a status meeting with my counsellor during which we would discuss what I had done and what would be the next step in the process."

The culture at ACE is quite serious but there is also room for informal contacts. As an intern you have a lot of freedom at ACE. There are no fixed begin and end times of a day, you can choose your own schedule. There are also possibilities to work on some side projects if you like. The ACE colleagues are very helpful, you are not treated as "the intern" but considered a true colleague!"

Thanks for your story Bas, we wish you good luck finishing your education at Avans!