2020-2021

After two years of studying, I found out there were a lot of student teams putting there knowledge into practice by competing in competitions. This was something which really spoke to me. Therefore I decided to join the DroneTeam Twente, where I became the Technical Manager of 2020-2021.

Together with a team of 9 people we started the challenge of building a drone from scratch which could compete in the UAS Challenge, a humanitarian drone competion in a simulated disaster area. The drone needed to deliver a package, scan the area for survivors and perform the mission as fast as possible. 

The year had a very steep learning curve. How do we design a drone, how do we manage a team, how do we get everything done on time. But this learning curve was a fun one to ride. Together with the team we took up these challenges and did our best to build the best drone witin our capabilities. 

In the design and building work a lot of challenges, mishaps and crashes also occured, these were learning points which brought us further. Design, test and break were the driving factor of our rapid design process. 

During the year there were lots of oppurtunities to talk about the DroneTeam on different occasions. We went to NPO Radio 1 to promote our team, and were invited to talk during the opening of the Academci Year at the Univerisity of Twente, were I explained how our failures led up to our succes. 

At the end of the year the team could look back at the hard work and enjoy what we build. Our Drone Phoenix capable of flying and delivering packages. Sadly, due to Covid-19 we were unable to attend the UAS Challenge in Wales, however we did manage to win the Most Promising Award. Meaning we were the team most likely of winning the competition, when we would be able to attend. 

Looking back, the team surrounding us let to a driven atmosphere, always trying our best and learning the most I have since starting my studies

Summarizing: One of the best years of my life.