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  • Lighter solar panels make it possible to place them on almost every roof.

    Client & Team

    • Solarge is a pioneering Dutch company that develops and manufactures lightweight, recyclable solar panels using innovative polymer-based technology instead of traditional glass, making solar energy more accessible for buildings with limited load-bearing capacity.
    • Worked together with the early Solarge team on-site.
    • 2018

    Project

    Solarge was still a small start-up in 2018 and busy with the development of their first product. I worked together with Gerard de Leede, one of the co-founders, at Heijmans and was asked to join their team to speed up the development process.

    Scope

    • Develop the single Solarge panel to make it ready for official testing.
    • Create new concepts and make proof-of-concept prototypes.
    • Visiting potential suppliers.
    • Set up stress tests and perform first tests.
    • Make patent drawings.
    • Make 3D renderings using SolidWorks and KeyShot for internal and promotional purposes.

    Challenges

    • Water or moisture cannot reach the electronics inside the solar panel.
    • Final solution should be manufacturable on a large scale.
    • The number of manufacturing steps should be as low as possible.
    • The total weight of the solar panel should be as low as possible.
    • The final solution should pass all mandatory tests to be able to be sold on the European market.

    Impact

    Eventually, Solarge managed to get their first two products ready for official testing, and they entered the next phase of manufacturing on a larger scale and building a factory in the Netherlands. Two patents were granted.

    • Solarge was able to take their company to the next level.
    • Co-inventor of a patent for the Photovoltaic panel itself. 20220059713
    • Co-inventor of a patent for the entire Solar panel. 20220190773

    Role

    The main focus was on the Glowing Lines project and its successor as an innovation designer.

    • Waterproofing electronics that can be implemented in a road
    • Setting up stress tests
    • Conducting material research
    • Sourcing and supplier contact
    • Rapid prototyping e.g. 3D-printing, laser-cutting, molding.
    • Creating artist impressions of possible project for Heijmans aquisition team
    • Preparing and managing implemention on the N329
    • Presenting results to upper management
    • Making patent drawings

    Balanced Approach

    “Stefan is an enthusiastic and driven designer, creative while also being very structured.”

    Huib van den Heuvel
    CSP Solarge & Co-founder

    Adaptable Collaboration

    “Stefan fits perfectly into teams but can also work in autonomous settings when required”

    Gerard de Leede
    CTO Solarge & Co-founder
  • Combining textiles and electronics to bring a patent to life.

    Client & Team

    • Spark Design & Innovation is a Dutch industrial design agency based in Rotterdam that helps companies create innovative products and solutions through their expertise in design thinking, engineering, and product development.
    • Worked together with the innovation team.
    • 2014

    Project

    The Center for Giftedness & Creativity, part of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, was established in 2010. The aim was to aid inventors and creatives to patent their ideas. After two years, the KFAS decided they wanted to do something with all those patents and asked a group of Dutch design agencies to bring some of them to life. Together with SpinnovBV, I was asked by the Dutch design agency Spark Design & Innovation to make a working prototype of a foldable road sign patent. The road sign should be appropriate for emergency services and two versions needed to be made: a stop sign and an arrow sign.

    Scope

    We were responsible for the electronics and the textile part of the road sign and Spark Design & Innovation for the casing. 

    Challenges

    • Incorporated electronics and textiles using industrial equipment to enable large-scale production.
    • The entire product should fit in a small box that can be stored in a car’s trunk.
    • Should match the description in the existing patent.
    • The arrow sign should be able to point either left or right.

    Impact

    The protype

    • Invented a way to combine an industrial embroidery machine with conductive yarns to incorporate small PCBs
    • Succesfull presentation of the prototype in Kuweit
    • The end result is a roadsign that is very compact when folded and stored in its casing
    • Can be unfolded and installed very quickly
    • Has optimal visibility 24/7
    • This was the most commercially viable option of the concepts made for this project.

    Role

    My focus was on the integration of the electronics and the textile

    • Sourcing materials.
    • Design of the textile part of the prototype.
    • Getting access to an industrial embroidery machine and conduct tests.
    • Write the patterns for the embroidery machine.
    • Integration of the PCB’s with the conductive yarn.
    • Construction of the textile part of the prototype.
  • Bringing an artist’s vision to life on a real piece of Dutch highway.

    Glowing Lines

    Client & Team

    • Heijmans is one of the largest Dutch construction companies, specializing in residential construction, infrastructure, and urban development projects across the Netherlands.
    • Worked together with the innovation team (4 members)

    Project

    In 2014 Heijmans started the Smart Highway project in collaboration with Studio Roosegaarde. Glowing Lines was one of the innovations, featuring photo-luminescent road markings that charge during the day and illuminate the road at night. After prototyping, in 2014 a pilot was constructed on the N329 in Oss, the Netherlands.

    Scope

    The initial implementation of the Glowing Lines on the N329 failed fairly quickly. The innovation team needed to analyse why it had failed and find a solution to get the pilot up and running again. When the original visual design of Studio Roosegaarde was not feasible, the Heijmans innovation team designed and implemented the succesor of the Glowing lines on the N329.

    Challenges

    • The N329 was an actively used road with a lot of daily traffic.
    • The electronics to light the lines were extremely susceptible to moisture
    • There was an ambition to turn the pilot into a commercial product that could be installed on large stretches and various climates
    • The pilot should work for 5 years
    • Road safety needed to be guaranteed

    Impact

    The Glowing Lines project got international media attention and gave Heijmans the public image of an innovative company. I was able to be at the forefront of road innovation and had the possibility to pilot in real life situations.

    • Successfully iterated the design and implementation of the Glowing Lines
    • Co-author of a patent for light transmitting road marking. NL WO2017086795A1
    • Implementation of the Glowing Lines successor on the N329

    Role

    The main focus was on the Glowing Lines project and its successor as an innovation designer.

    • Waterproofing electronics that can be implemented in a road
    • Setting up stress tests
    • Conducting material research
    • Sourcing and supplier contact
    • Rapid prototyping e.g. 3D-printing, laser-cutting, molding.
    • Creating artist impressions of possible project for Heijmans aquisition team
    • Preparing and managing implemention on the N329
    • Presenting results to upper management
    • Making patent drawings

    Results & Problem Solving

    “Very result-oriented. He knows how to transform difficult requirements into creative and economically viable solutions”

    Gerard de Leede
    CTO Heijmans Technology

    Client-Focused Problem Solving

    “Quick to understand and to translate clients’ needs in cutting edge proposals”

    Jozien van de Linde
    Managing Director Heijmans Technology

    Speed & Expertise

    “Fast, masters his craft!”

    Kristel van Haaren
    Director Sales, Marketing & Business Development Hejmans

    Innovation & Creativity

    “Able to generate creative out of the box solutions”

    Jos Heerkens
    Innovation Manager Heijmans
  • Delivering top educational experience to 172k students and teachers each day

    Client & Team

    • Sanoma Learning provides digital platforms in Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy and Sweden.
    • Malmberg, the largest educational publisher in the Netherlands
    • International agile SCRUM team (SAFe) (5 FE, 4 BE, 2 UX, 1BA, 3 QA)
    • 2017 – 2024

    Project

    MaxOnline is Malmberg’s digital learning environment in the browser that gives teachers full control while providing personalized learning experiences. Every day, over 150k students and 12k teachers use the platform and are dependent on the service being available and up to date.

    Scope

    Sanoma/Malmberg works in Product Increments (PI) of 3 months. Each PI has new goals and deliverables that need to be prepared and managed. For 26 PI’s (6.5 years), I was responsible for this.

    Challenges

    • Changes in features and design have an immediate impact on thousands of users (6,500+ active users at any moment).
    • Different levels of education use the platform, from vocational (MBO) to secondary levels (Havo/VWO).
    • Years of legacy content and features that need to stay available.
    • MaxOnline platform is part of a larger Sanoma Learning ecosystem, resulting in code and stakeholder dependencies that need to be managed.

    Impact

    Through the years, I worked on several big projects and features – see the list below. In addition, I created significant impact by analyzing and resolving bugs. My ability to quickly comprehend problems and distill solutions by analyzing complex data and systems was highly appreciated.

    • Successful migration of thousands of vocational users to MaxOnline
    • As a rapid response to COVID, all Malmberg books were made available as e-books within 2 weeks
    • Design and integration of the test and assessment features in MaxOnline
    • Teacher-added materials
    • Improved accessibility
    • Migrations to Angular and Spring

    Role

    As Senior Business Analyst & Product Owner at Malmberg/Sanoma, managed complex stakeholder relationships and led development of their digital learning environment MAX Online.

    • Managed international agile SCRUM team (SAFe) (FE, BE, UX, BA, QA)
    • Managed stakeholder alignment and cross-team dependencies
    • Co-responsible for team roadmap and PI planning
    • Conducting user research
    • Transforming ideas into solutions
    • Defining functional requirements
    • Creating user flows
    • Creating Risk- and impact analysis for team and upper management
    • Presenting bi-weekly demo to internal stakeholders

    Project Management Excellence

    “His ability to manage multiple initiatives while keeping a strong focus on detail and timelines was impressive”

    Gavin Esajas
    Group Product Manager at Sanoma Learning

    Data & Analysis Skills

    “He consistently demonstrated a deep understanding of complex data and could break it down into clear, actionable insights”

    Virginie Wagenaar
    Product Manager at Malmberg

    Product Innovation Skills

    “Capable of transforming ideas into solutions, always with a customer centric approach”

    Mariëtte Bosch
    Product Manager

    Versatility & Expertise

    “He’s been working as a Business Analyst, but on top of this he has acted as PO, Scrum Master, Tester, UX Designer and UX Researcher when needed”

    Katariina Mäkelä
    Competence Lead, Sanoma Learning

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