Marijn van der Steen

Marijn van der Steen is 32 years old and studied Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology.

After his study he was trained as a Java developer at Capgemini and eventually worked at ABN Amro as frontend developer. After this he started working at Bureau Moeilijke Dingen, which is a design and engineering studio founded by alumni of Industrial Design. 

During his studies Marijn became an active member of Lucid, the study association of Industrial Design. Marijn organized several activities within committees which sparked an interest to become more involved in the association. As a result, he did a board year at Lucid. “I got interested in a board year because I saw you could learn so many different skills that were hard to learn within the curriculum". During his board year Marijn especially noticed he learned to adapt quickly to new situations and solve them professionally: "During my time at ABN, I once had to give a last minute pitch for 20 managers, which I did without hesitation.” 

A board year was also beneficial for his network, he now works with 4 former board members whom he knows trough Lucid. “I feel you learn to become more entrepreneurial as doing a board year is similar to running a mini company. You learn to talk and act professionally to different groups of people and to collaborate with them.” 

Lastly, Marijn thinks different types of associations offer different learning experiences: “In a study association you learn a lot about other students and your own study field. But in sports or student associations, you get to know a lot of people from other studies, broadening your network a lot.”