My name is Maxime Arts and I am a 1st-year student of Mechatronics at the Fontys in Eindhoven. I chose this course because technology has interested me from an early age. I want to contribute to technology by applying technical solutions in daily life. I live in Veghel and in my spare time, I spend a few hours a week on Team Rembrandts. I joined Team Rembrandts in the 2018 season, FIRST Power Up.
My first trip with Team Rembrandts to America was in 2019 where we participated in 2 regionals (in Los Angeles and San Diego). This trip lasted a little longer than 2 weeks, during which we traveled to the USA with about 55 team members and former students. The long journey, good mutual atmosphere, and competition tension have made the team a very close group. What you put there together as a team is very special and makes you so proud!
My role in America was to set up a presentation for the Chairman’s award. Together with 2 other team members, we gave this presentation to the judges in America on behalf of the entire team. At both regionals, we manage to get into the semi-finals, but we received the Engineering Inspiration Award at Orange County Regional and with this award, we got qualified for the world championship in Detroit. At the world championship, after 3 very exciting final matches, we became world champions at the world championship in Detroit!!
During the first three years that I was at Team Rembrandts, I mainly focused on the outreach side of the team. Outreach is the enthusiasm of young people for future careers in the field of technology. We do this by organizing projects in a fun way to show what you can do with the technology. My presentation in America is a summary of all our projects, goals, and results.
By giving presentations and maintaining contact with companies, I learned a lot of communication skills. But I also learned practical skills such as setting metal with a finger press. Team Rembrandts gives me the opportunity to broaden my technical horizon. It is fun and super educational, you come into contact with many other students from various courses, nationally and internationally and you don’t even have to have a technical background for it.
I recommend Team Rembrandts to anyone who is looking for an extra challenge and is willing to join a team. Are you still in doubt? Then come and have a look before you make a decision. I hope to see you soon!