David | Senior Space System Engineer
After graduating from his Aerospace Engineering bachelor, David continued his master’s in Aerospace Engineering in the Spaceflight track, specialising in Space Engineering. In 2021, he finished his studies and started working as a Space System Engineer for Ubotica Technologies, a company specalised in artificial intelligence technologies on board of satellites. Why did you decide to study Aerospace Engineering? “Actually, I was not too sure about what I wanted to study after high school. I figured I would try something challenging, but interesting, and that is how I ended up at the bachelor Aerospace Engineering. I continued my studies in the Spaceflight track for my master, and my interest for that actually came from my minor during the third year of the bachelor. I did my minor in International Entrepreneurship and Development, and for that I went to Suriname for a few months. During that time, there was a rocket launch in the neighbouring country French Guiana, and we got the chance to go there. Our project had nothing to do with that, but that was such an incredible experience. Space has always fascinated me, but if I have to name one moment that piqued my interest in space, it is for sure that visit to the space centre in Kourou.” How did you experience being a student? “My student time was amazing. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun, but I also really got the chance to develop myself in multiple ways. The Aerospace Engineering bachelor at TU Delft is one of the best studies in this field in the world, so you truly get a solid foundation to become an engineer at the top technical companies in the world. But even outside of the technical knowledge you acquire during your studies, you learn a lot from extracurricular activities as a student. For example, I did a board year with De Brielse Zeilschool, a sailing school, and I learned a lot from that experience as well. It had nothing to do with my studies, but I learned many other valuable skills while managing a sailing school. This can be quite challenging, as you need to work closely with people in intense situations, guide them, and solve problems together. So, next to the hard skills I learned throughout the bachelor, I also learned about valuable soft skills through these sorts of extracurricular activities.” How did you go from being a student to working for Ubotica Technologies? “For me that was quite straightforward. My journey to being a Space System Engineer started during my master internship. This is a mandatory part of the education program, and I went to Dublin for half a year to work on a space project on applications of data from satellites at Intel Movidius. That was already a leap into the unknown, because I had not really worked with data like that yet. I thought it was interesting, and I ended up learning a lot from that project. The project itself also turned out to be incredibly successful and we ended up writing three scientific publications on it. Some of my colleagues at Intel Movidius later joined a new company, called Ubotica Technologies. After finishing my thesis, they got back in touch with me and asked me to join the company. I did not have to think long about it - getting the opportunity to work on real space missions in a small and talented team, what's not to love?” Did you already know you wanted to continue in an aerospace related company? “During my master, I indeed realised I wanted to stay within the space industry. After my internship, I performed my thesis research with ESA in the Automation and Robotics section. After that, it felt like a logical continuation for me to stay in the space engineering field. What I really like is that I truly make an impact with the work I do now. As a student you do that through your projects too, but now I can really see how my work contributes to society. I like that a lot, and the transition from being a student to working was very smooth. TU Delft prepares you well for the work life after your studies. You have to do an internship, which is incredibly valuable. You get to experience what it is like to work at a company and tackle projects with colleagues. So, that prepares you very well for your career after your studies.” How else has the Aerospace Engineering programme prepared you for your career? “The Aerospace Engineering programme has prepared me well in many ways. First of all, of course, the courses and high quality of the education with very relevant projects prepare you very well. During my master's in Space Engineering, I had a lot of project-based courses. The content and set-up of those were very applicable to my daily work now. I learned a lot from those projects, both from the bachelor’s and master’s programme. During your bachelor thesis for example, you have to solve a difficult technical problem with your group, applying system engineering as well, and in my case, this was also a space-related project. I still look back to the system engineering approach we used during that project, and I can actually apply some of that to my work now. During your studies, you learn how to do academic research well. The master's thesis is such an elaborate project, it truly gives you a very solid scientific foundation. I notice that I apply those skills almost weekly. At my company, we also regularly publish papers or speak at conferences, and even our interns can do this already because they have such a solid foundation from their studies already. Next to the courses, the network that you build is also incredibly valuable. You get to know a lot of people who will later start working in the same field as you. From that, I got a very solid network which is very valuable to me, both personally and professionally.” Finally, do you have any advice for future Aerospace Engineering students? “If I would have to give a piece of advice, I would say that the study is important, the courses are very important, and you will need to work hard and do your best. But, you also need to remember that it is equally important to do things next to your studies. Things like voluntary work, committees, a board year, a minor abroad, internships. These things really help you develop yourself for your life after your studies. Besides that, these extracurricular activities are extremely fun and you grow so much as a person from that. So, even if it is not directly applicable to the studies, you still learn a lot from it. And lastly, at this university, you really do make friends for life. There is a tight community, and you can find the right community for you in many different ways. There are sport associations, theatre associations, and so much more. You can do a lot of fun things in Delft. You can build strong friendships both within the academic setting and through extracurricular activities. I think that is one of the strengths of this university.”
