From intern to full-time colleague: the story of Sven van der Velden

 

Sven studied Civil Engineering at Avans University of Applied Sciences, a programme where you learn to design and develop sustainable solutions in the fields of infrastructure and water management. After completing his internships, he stayed on at Ballast Nedam and began his career as a BIM Modeller. 

Sven, how did you experience the transition from intern to employee? 
“After completing my graduation internship, I first enjoyed a summer holiday. When I returned to Ballast Nedam as an employee, it felt like coming back to familiar ground. During my graduation internship, I worked on optimising the design process for noise barriers on the A27 motorway. After the summer break, I returned to the same project, the same team, and the same manager. It all felt very familiar.” 

How did you end up at Ballast Nedam during your studies?
“A former classmate told me enthusiastic stories about his graduation internship at Ballast Nedam. I also met Tommie Jacobs, BIM Manager at Ballast Nedam, during a careers day at school. I contacted him afterwards, and within a week I was invited for a meeting. I thought it would be a job interview, but it was the other way around. They were trying to convince me to join them as an intern.” 

And were the internships what you expected? 
“Absolutely. The atmosphere is pleasantly informal, and no one micromanages you. I could also work from home occasionally. As long as your work is in order, everything is fine. Whenever I needed help, I could turn to anyone. The team is great, and the work is interesting too. I learned more about software than I had expected beforehand. After my first internship, I stayed on as a working student. After that, I completed my BIM minor and graduation internship at Ballast Nedam.” 

What is it like now, working at Ballast Nedam as an employee? 
“The biggest difference is that I now carry more responsibility than I did during my internship. What hasn’t changed is the opportunity to grow. They look at your interests and learning goals so that your manager and colleagues can help support them. That way, you contribute to your own personal development every day.” 

What does your development path at Ballast Nedam look like? 
“As a BIM Modeller, I can go in two directions: I can develop towards BIM Coordinator, or specialise further. My manager and I have had good discussions about which path suits me best. My aim is to first become a BIM Coordinator, so I can gain a broader perspective on project-wide BIM processes. This will teach me how to communicate with different teams and how to exchange BIM models with project partners. After that, I can always choose to specialise if I want to.” 

Tommie, you supervised Sven during his internships. What do you expect from an intern?
“My approach is to give a lot of freedom: you’re encouraged to come up with your own ideas, but you must also take responsibility to make them happen. You need to be able to handle that freedom. Sven got many opportunities, and he took them. My philosophy is: just give it a try. The only thing I ask is that someone speaks up in time if something isn’t working. Better a surprise beforehand than afterwards. That way, I can still help steer things in the right direction.” 

Sven, what advice would you give to future interns? 
“If you’re interested in BIM, this is definitely the right place for you. You’ll get complex modelling challenges and learn how to properly structure a model. There’s also the opportunity to further explore parametric design. The guidance from Tommie is excellent. He really helped me during my graduation project as well. You get the chance to learn and grow. The team atmosphere is great, and there is a lot of trust and freedom. I’ve learned so much here, also from colleagues, and I’ve never come to work reluctantly. And not to forget: every Friday is chip day. Definitely the highlight of the week!”