Platform on civil engineering, underground infrastructure, energy, construction equipment & construction machinery
On the InfraExperience Online Platform, over 500 students and young professionals were introduced to the infrastructure sector through discussions with various organizations and the extensive digital knowledge program. Nearly 350 matches were made.
During the next level career event InfraExperience Online, participants were able to chat and schedule 1-on-1 appointments with organizations such as Rijkswaterstaat, BAM, ProRail, ENGIE, Ballast Nedam and VolkerWessels and take part in 20 different knowledge sessions. The online program opened with a panel discussion on working in the infrastructure sector from organizer Rijkswaterstaat. After that, visitors could participate in master classes from NGInfra and Bouwend Nederland, watch a live dike building competition and play the Rijkswaterstaat Escape Game, among others. Part of the program was broadcast live from Studio Ahoy in Rotterdam Ahoy. This completely new Studio allows organizations to host live, virtual and hybrid events.
The visitors were students from 70 different schools and universities from across the country and from different courses such as Civil Engineering, Construction, ICT, Transport and Logistics and Spatial Development.
"Today, 500 students and young professionals were able to experience the infrastructure sector for the first time from home, meet clients and market players and hopefully get a lot of appetite to work in the sector! We are very happy with all the matches we made on the professional platform," said Luca van Melick, Coordinator Young at Rijkswaterstaat.
InfraExperience's first Online Event took place on April 23 this year. The online events are part of the online strategy of Rotterdam Ahoy, which is developing leading online knowledge platforms for several key sectors - maritime, industry and infrastructure - with its own productions and trade shows. Due to the corona crisis, that strategy is being accelerated.
"Of course we hoped for a long time that a physical event could take place, but after intensive contact with our partners, exhibitors and other stakeholders it was decided to hold the event completely digitally. Both the participating organizations and the students are very enthusiastic. Many great matches were made between students and the professional field and the diverse knowledge program was received very positively," says Kim Vrolijk, Exhibition Manager.
InfraExperience is a new production of Rotterdam Ahoy and was launched by InfraTech, the national platform for the entire infrastructure sector. With InfraTech, Rotterdam Ahoy has been pitching itself as a facilitating partner of the Dutch infrastructure sector for many years, helping the industry with major and impactful challenges. InfraExperience stems from the needs of partners and exhibitors of InfraTech to generate more influx for the future of the sector. HBO/WO students, starters and young professionals can experience what it is like to work within the infrastructure sector and what developments are taking place. InfraExperience's founding partners are Rijkswaterstaat, Techniek Nederland, Vereniging van Waterbouwers, Je Gaat Het Maken/ Bouwend Nederland, Gemeente Rotterdam, NGInfra, MKB Infra and De Bouwcampus. Hogeschool Rotterdam, Rotterdam Academy Associate Degrees, Vector, EuFlex, University of Twente, STUW, Construct and Dispuut Verkeer are Talent Partners.
