So cool that I get to develop this: 'No I/O controller like this existed yet'

Like father like son, at least that applies to Mike who is doing his graduate internship with us.

The electrical engineering student at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (HU) really loves everything to do with electrical engineering. Via several side jobs in electrical engineering, he ended up at MSA-Service. In this article, he tells you all about his search for a cool internship, the great solution he was allowed to develop and how he sees his future at MSA-Service.

From electrical engineering internship to electrical engineering graduation project

Back to where it all started. Mike's father has a great job in electrical engineering at Schiphol Airport. He is clearly an ambassador for electrical engineering, because for Mike it was clear after high school that he wanted to study electrical engineering at HU.
He says: "In the second year, I started my first internship at a company that focuses on making buildings more sustainable. My assignment was to develop a power and voltage meter that offers as much data as possible to property managers via the cloud. The aim was to better measure and provide insight into a building's energy performance.

After several years, Mike needs to look for a graduate internship. He opens his laptop and starts looking for a great internship on LinkedIn, among other sites. "In my search, I quickly came across MSA-Service's profile. I contacted them and sent them as well as other companies an application. To my surprise, I got a quick call saying they were looking for someone like me. So I was invited. The interview that followed was great. I clicked immediately. In the interview, they said there was a great job for me. And it certainly was!"

A warm welcome and a challenging assignment

On the first internship day, the laptop is ready for Mike and he gets to start. "Immediately upon entering, I noticed that things are professionally organised here. I was also able to access all the systems straight away, so could get straight to work. Machiel 't Hoen, director of MSA-Service, explained to me that more and more sensors are being installed on ships. But that has a downside.
The IO controllers needed to pass the signals to Multiped (The platform for industrial data collection and reporting) all need to be powered. As a result, the number of cables on board is increasing. My assignment was to investigate whether I could develop an IO controller that can measure signals at high speeds and pass them on to Multiped in a simple, flexible way."

Developing a unique solution

"Naturally, I immediately set to work on my research. I searched extensively, but soon found out that no such IO controller existed yet. Together with a colleague, we developed a circuit board. The result was a working I/O controller. It was really great to be able to develop something like that," Mike says enthusiastically.

Working on sustainability

The benefits of this new I/O controller are considerable. "By using fewer cables on board, we save labour and therefore costs. Moreover, it contributes to weight savings, which in turn is good for sustainability. In addition, specifically this IO controller offers more flexibility in connecting other equipment, allowing us to eventually replace expensive controllers with this more efficient solution," Mike explains.

Future plans at MSA Service

Mike is determined to develop further within MSA-Service. "I would like to grow and set up an electronics department within the company. Of course, I still have a lot to learn for that, but I get the space here to develop myself. The fact that during my internship I was allowed to develop an IO controller that did not yet exist, was really a great experience."