TU Delft student Mathijs Verhoev chosen as chair of KIVI Students. Read all about Mathijs and his vision for KIVI here.
My name is Mathijs Verhoev, I am extremely passionate about engineering and therefore chose to follow a double master Life Science and Technology and Management of Technology at the University of Technology Delft. During my studies, I always strive to fulfill my maximum possible potential. I’ve devoted my time to numerous study-related activities, such as leading a large international student project, studying abroad, assisting professors with their lectures, and tutoring. As a student, I realized that (interdisciplinary) professional networks and events are as important as good grades, which is one of the reasons why I am excited to be part of the KIVI Students board.
I envision to unite students from all engineering universities. I believe that such a union of students has a great potential to contribute to society. The creative mind of students can be exploited to create revolutionary and progressive solutions. One of the many ideas I have is to host a competition for engineering students, where teams try to tackle a current societal issue by drafting up a plan based on science and engineering principles. Preferably, these societal issues to be tackled are a currently-debated political topic; my ultimate goal would then be to present the winning solution to Dutch politicians. I envision that such events provide engineering students with the opportunity to contribute early on in their career to society, and that these events contribute to the professional development of students themselves. Reaching out to- and getting in contact with fellow engineers of either the same or different disciplines, as well as non-engineering professionals opens up the opportunities to expand their network and obtain valuable contacts.
As chairman, my objectives are to make sure that the goals of our board are realized. I strive to be tactful, objective, strategic, a strong networker, and a good manager, whilst being approachable and taking the cohesion of the board into account.