Category: News

Jaco Friedrich and his team have developed an online version of the “Effective communication for engineers” training, as an alternative for their classroom course. The e-learning program is full of interactive assignments and several virtual classroom sessions. The first edition is scheduled for this June.

To learn about communication via an online course calls for more than just a webinar or video conference. Such a course needs to provide lots of interaction like break-out rooms, individual and group exercises, role plays, feedback rounds (both giving and receiving), all under the constant guidance of the trainer. As a result, the first online course for ”Effective communication for engineers” will be offered in our completely new online-learning platform together with six live virtual classroom sessions.

The focus of this online course will be on the three most important topics in corporations:

• Create clear communication and mutual understanding.
• Convince (mixed) groups of stakeholders and transform resistance into buy-inn.
• Learn the psychology behind your own behavior and that of others.

For those who prefer the classroom training, a new session is available in October.

High Tech Institute is planning a special edition of the training System architect(ing) in November 2020.

 Tech companies in Belgium have shown an increasing appetite for the System architect(ing) (Sysarch) training, and that’s why High Tech Institute decided to plan a special edition in the city of Leuven – which is easily accessible from Brussels, Liège and Antwerp.

Luud Engels will be the trainer for Sysarch in Leuven. Engels is a senior systems architect with extensive experience in the consumer electronics and high tech industry.

The course is being held at ‘De Hoorn’, located at Sluisstraat 79 in Leuven near the train station. Ample parking, all within walking distance, is available.

All social distancing measures, aimed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, will be taken care of by De Hoorn and High Tech Institute.

This special edition takes place from 16–20 November 2020.

We are really proud of our trainers Wendy Luiten and Clemens Lasance, who managed to develop an online version of their workshop “Thermal design & cooling of electronics” as an alternative for their classroom course. The training, which traditionally attracts many trainees from abroad, will now offer easier access via the online course modules.  The first edition is scheduled for this May.

The COVID-19 pandemic calls for a different approach in exchanging knowledge. Since video conferencing is indispensable these days, people are getting more comfortable utilizing this type of communication. As a result, the first online course for ”Thermal design and cooling of electronics” will be offered through Microsoft Teams.

The online version has been split up into two segments: the thermal design-oriented part, followed by the advanced topics portion. The thermal design section is being extended by two half days, allowing for more opportunities to practice and achieve an active skill level for designing new thermal applications, evaluating existing thermal applications, and assessing computational simulation models. The advanced section builds on this foundation and is scheduled several weeks later. This provides participants with more time to get familiar with the material and facilitates the uptake of the advanced material.

For those who prefer the classroom workshop, a new session is available in November.

Photo by Martien Schouten

Susan van den Berg MSc. and Piet van Rens MSc., the lecturer duo of the design principles in-company training, were announced as “Teachers of the Year” during High Tech Institute’s annual get-together in Eindhoven. Their training scored high praise and an overall rating of 9.8, as the duo notched a 9.4 for them as lecturers.

In October 2019, the duo was asked to come to Wilton in the USA to deliver an in-company edition of the “Design principles for precision engineering” training to a group of 18 employees. When asked if the course was recommended for others, participants responded with an emphatic 9.8 points out of a possible 10, and handed the lecturers a score of 9.4. Respondents also offered several praising comments. “Trainers were very helpful and really understand the items taught. Well organized, great class materials,” one of the trainees commented. Another pointed out that the discussions with the instructors were very valuable. Other positive comments: “I would recommend this training to all new employees” and “Great training for me at this point in my career. I wish I had learned a lot of this earlier.”

Susan van den Berg teaches mechanical engineering at the Fontys University of Engineering and Piet van Rens has a distinguished history of working in the mechanical or industrial engineering industry and will soon celebrate his retirement. They are both part of the lecturing team for the mechatronics training “Design principles for precision engineering”. The 5-day course for all engineers involved in mechanical, mechatronic and system design focuses on recognizing and analyzing mechanisms with a predictable and reproductive behavior.

The High Tech Institute’s annual get-together with clients and lecturers was held on 10 February at BCN in Eindhoven. The selection of the “Teacher of the Year” award is based on all training evaluation forms.

High Tech Institute is experiencing an increasing interest in its technical and leadership trainings.

In 2019 the organisation welcomed 44 percent more engineers, researchers, architects, developers, technical group leads and managers to its courses – see chart below. Total revenue increased 23 percent from 2018 to 2019.

Both regular course editions (trainings with open enrollment) as well as the number of in-company trainings increased. Out of 33 in-company editions in total, 9 took place at locations across the Dutch borders.

High Tech Institute is expecting a continued and increasing demand of its trainings in 2020. We look forward to keep facilitating the growth of both individuals and teams working professionally in technology organizations.

We are hereby pleased to invite team leads, department managers and HR managers to a get-together with our trainers on 10 February, 2020 at BCN in Eindhoven.

In a presentation of loosely half an hour, we shall tell all about our ‘Training Highlights’. Afterwards, our content partners and their trainers will be available for questions, over nibbles and drinks.

4:45 PM – Doors open
5:15 PM – Presentation ‘Training Highlights’ (by our content partners)
5:45 PM – Nibbles & drinks
6:15 PM – Announcement ‘Trainer of the year’
7:00 PM – Gifts + End of get-together

Registration is required, so please inform us about your presence by e-mail.

We look forward to welcoming you at this get-together.

High Tech Institute plans an extra edition of the training System architect(ing) in March 2020.

 Tech companies in the Dutch North East regions have shown an increasing appetite for the training System architect(ing) (Sysarch) and that’s why High Tech Institute decided to also plan an edition in Zwolle, a city that can be easily reached from the provinces Drenthe, Friesland, Groningen and Overijssel in the Netherlands.

Luud Engels will be the trainer for Sysarch in Zwolle. Engels is a senior systems architect with extensive experience in the consumer electronics and high tech industry.

High Tech Institute picked the completely new location of BCN at Lubeckplein 21 in Zwolle as the course location. BCN in Zwolle is right next to the NS train station. There is ample parking space and a beautiful view over the square and the station.

This extra edition will take place on 23 – 27 March 2020 at BCN in Zwolle. Sign up here.

How to be successful in the Dutch high tech work culture

Holland Expat Center South organizes the workshop ‘Dutch high tech work culture’ in the evening of 28 November 2019 at Holiday Inn Eindhoven. Trainer Jaco Friedrich will talk about the do’s and don’ts of working in Dutch High Tech Culture. There is no charge to attend, but registration is required.

This evening workshop is related to High Tech Institute’s training ‘How to be successful in the Dutch high tech work culture’, intended for non-Dutch technology professionals who are working with Dutch colleagues in the Netherlands or abroad.

Program 28 November 2019:
17.45 – 18.00 Doors open;
18.00 – 19.30 Do’s and Don’ts of… – Jaco Friedrich;
19.30 – 20.00 Drinks & Snacks.

Location: Holiday Inn Hotel Eindhoven

Registration: Register here.

If you want to attend the full workshop, please have a look at the online course description.

Ten participants at the recent edition of the course ‘Secure coding in C and C++’ rewarded trainer Ernõ Jeges with an average score of 9.7 out of 10 for his training. When asked, ‘How likely is it that you would recommend the training to others?’ participants responded with a 9.3 (out of 10). Jeges ran the training recently a part of an in-company training at a Belgian tech company.

‘This was really impressive! With a few lines of code, the theory was put into reality’, was one participant’s feedback. Other remarks were: ‘Very interesting.’ ‘You can feel the trainer’s passion for the topic.’

For software security trainings, High Tech Institute has an exclusive partnership with Cydrill, a Hungarian Institute that specializes in this field. Security for embedded systems is one of Cydrills specialities. Cydrill’s goal is not to educate people about hacking but to develop paranoia. The focus of the secure software training is to help participants cultivate new coding habits for secure encryption that do not require extra time or effort.

High Tech Institute organizes this training twice a year.

The 3rd edition of the revised training, Design principles for precision engineering, once again received high scores. When asked, “How likely is it that you would recommend the training to others,” participants responded with an 8.94 (out of 10).

The most common feedback received from participants is that they appreciate the opportunities for interaction and the numerous practical exercises, all designed to enhance understanding. Because of this, the training is in high demand and sold out both the June and the upcoming November 2019 courses. The next edition is slated for June 2020 and registration is now open.

About two years ago, Jan van Eijk and Adrian Rankers from our partner Mechatronics Academy have taken the lead in the transition to the new format and new team of trainers. When asked about the success of the training, Adrian Rankers answers: “The secret of this course is the great mix of experienced teachers from industry and academia. Huub Janssen and his co-trainers from Entechna, Twente University and NTS are doing a great job in fine-tuning and further improving each edition of the training. All of the instructors have their own style, and based on their extensive experience, they can tell a consistent and coherent story while utilizing several relevant exercises. Near the end, participants break up into four to five teams, and we assign them a larger case to work through. To end the course, we invite two guest speakers from precision surgery start-ups to come and talk about their applications and to highlight why DPPE is so important.”