Behind the scenes with Wouter Neirinck, project engineer
Published on 31-03-2022
What is your role at EconCore?
I’m engaged in development of new technologies.
What would you do during a typical day?
My spectrum of tasks is wide and it changes as the projects evolve, hence a typical day barely exists. Luckily, I would say.
How did you get into this industry?
A not challenging enough job, too far away from home, an interesting vacancy for a more challenging job closer to home and a hiring Professor desperate for anybody, that all meet in space and time.
In my childhood I left a trail of components from dissected alarm clock, coffee machine, tape recorder amongst many others, to see how it all functions. Now I combine components and see how it all functions. It must have been predestined. Not the industry as such, rather the job description got me into the industry.
What has been the biggest impact/challenge on your career from the coronavirus pandemic?
We are lucky that our Company, unlike many others, is resilient enough or less susceptible to the reshaping of the economic landscape; work continued and time remained a scarce commodity. Thus, the impact on the career was small. A more significant impact was noticed in life besides the career.
The commuting time saved, home office days made days airier, made food less fast, made (air)traffic decrease, made nature recover, … despite the unfortunate, not much negative impact.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Translating different opinions/options into factual numbers to make the best choices on the best moment in time. Govern those choices made are in line with new insights.
What is sustainability for you?
A system in balance is a sustainable system.
Sustainability is a wooden chair that survives longer than needed to regrow the borrowed wood, metaphorically speaking. Sustainability is not diverting too far from the essence. The essence of a car is going from A to B. The radio in the car is not essential, thus as such a useless deficit on the balance, luxury. Sustainability is being happy with the essence.