Maarten’s internship for a circular future

An internship designed for impact

Maarten, a 23-year-old industry engineering student at Fontys, joined TMC for his graduation internship. He was drawn to the chance to work on something innovative and meaningful. “What I researched during my internship was the skills necessary for employeneurs to make a difference at their companies outside of TMC to make a transition to the circular economy” he explains. 

His work was guided by Pepijn Rinzema, who leads the TMC Innovation Lab and initiatives in the circular manufacturing industry. “The circular make industry is highly complex. Maarten’s research focuses on the operational skills our people need to make a real impact,” Pepijn says. 

Skills for collaboration and change

Maarten: “No single organization can tackle circularity alone. Success depends on cooperation between companies and across teams. Awareness is crucial. Everyone involved must understand the goals, the expected impact, and their role in the transition.” 

Pepijn emphasizes that training must happen on multiple levels. “On a macro level, there are developments like CSRD. On a meso level, people need to understand how to work effectively across organizational clusters. On a micro level, specific skills such as double material assessment or lifecycle assessment are essential. The next step is seeing how these skills are applied in practice.” 

The research also highlighted the need for structure. Circular initiatives are often approached in an ad hoc way, making progress hard to measure. “We want to help organizations develop a project vision or roadmap for circular transitions,” Pepijn says. “This provides a clear timeline with milestones and deliverables, turning ambitions into action.” 

From internship to Employeneurship

Maarten describes his experience at TMC as outstanding. “The support and workshops were great. The environment and high-tech workplace made it an amazing place to work. Overall, a really good experience.” 

The collaboration did not end with his internship. TMC is hiring Maarten to continue his work in the circularity domain and contribute to the Innovation Lab. “He did very well,” Pepijn says. “We are excited to have him continue building on this work.”