Have you met our most recent colleagues and Young Graduates yet? Here are Arno Van Eetvelde and Leonard Van Vlierberghe. They have only just left university life behind and are the epitome of that typical eagerness of young talent. Their potential is incredibly interesting for our team as they combine the knowledge of an industrial engineering degree and an advanced master’s degree in AI. Let’s introduce them!
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Introducing Leonard and Arno

Leonard and Arno met in college where they both obtained their bachelor’s and master’s degree in industrial engineering. For Leonard, it was about following in his father’s footsteps in a way, while Arno had been enthused by technology since he was a kid. They both turned out to be interested in an advanced master in AI as well. They soon became good friends and even submitted their thesis together. After they graduated, Leonard took some time off to review his options, while Arno, man with a plan, immediately went on the hunt for a job in AI.

After his uncle gave him the tip to put his CV on the Cronos website, Arno was referred to Coretecs. By the time of his second interview, he happened to be talking to Leonard. As soon as Arno spoke the words ‘start-up’ ‘consultancy’ and ‘AI’, Leonard was convinced Coretecs would be the right place for him too. So, once we’d offered Arno a contract, he put in a good word for Leonard and, well, the rest is history!

“I also applied elsewhere, but the relaxed atmosphere here really pulled me in.”

-Arno

“I love that I get to find my way here and just immerse myself in new and exciting challenges.”

-Leonard

From low code to AI

The lads' interests extend beyond AI, which is great because we actually needed some low code assistance. We were looking for someone to help us with Power Platform, which Arno took upon him, and with Mendix, which Leo (no one here really calls him Leonard) is currently covering. It’s about building dashboards and websites in a way that they’re safely linked with big databases. Power Platform also provides automation, for example. In fact, Leo is enjoying himself quite a lot.

“I do think the strength of low code lies in its speed and safety. It's easy to just drag and drop instead of having to code, and Mendix indicates errors when something’s off.”

-Leonard

These projects form the perfect bridge towards working with AI and ML in order to get predictability in there and work smart(er) with the data involved.

In addition, Leo and Arno are joining the data and AI team that Nick (Remouchamps) is currently leading. They’re glad to band together as they feel Nick can bring them more practical experience while they’ll be offering up their theoretical knowledge. Furthermore, they’ll learn more soft skills like, how to communicate properly and effectively with clients. Things university hasn’t taught them of course, but that they’re keen on getting into now.
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The buzzwords according to the next generation

As you can probably notice, Arno and Leo are critical individuals. They’re both very aware of the current ideas surrounding buzzwords like AI, automation, industrial revolutions and what not. Leo has indicated that he sees lots of companies using terms loosely without really knowing what they mean. In his opinion, it should all be about automation, though.

Arno, from his point of view, adds that he thinks as soon as things like ChatGPT and other AI tools get more robust and less mysterious – less black box, if you will – they'll get more useful, and people will automatically see why they’re worthwhile. If you ask him, he’s pretty sure that efficiency is the first, useful thing we can get out of the evolution towards smart industries.

“I think it can be a bit overrated when people approach Industry 4.0 as they do with AI. It always seems cool and edgy, but you’ve got to know what it does and see the added value and not just hope for a silver bullet solution. That’s not what AI or Industry 4.0 is about.”

-Arno

A bright future at Coretecs

Leo isn’t too worried about the next steps and is confident in his growth process at Coretecs. For now, he’s very into Mendix and he’s looking forward to delving into it even more. As long as his days are varied, he’s happy. Arno, on the other hand, dreams of an ideal project where he’d be able to dig deeper into complex questions, to research, test and develop useful things with AI and ML.

“I’d love to get into building small proof of concepts. I'm grateful that Coretecs is open to that option because that’s part of the reason why, and how, I’ll learn.”

-Arno

Coretecs is more than just a bridge to AI for Arno, though. It’s also all about our team for him. He thrives when everybody’s at the office on Wednesdays and Fridays, laughing together and having fun. It’s a vibe he picked up on when he first came here and he’s glad it never left. Arno said he never feels left to his own devices. On the contrary, he remarks it's nice to notice how much we believe in his abilities and push him to next levels. Leo concurs:

“It’s really refreshing to witness the mentality of our three founders. They show us that they have total confidence in us and in the way we spend our time. They don’t micromanage at all. It’s a start-up mentality and management style that works best for me.”

-Leonard

It hasn’t been long yet but so far, we’re loving what these gents are doing. Marvellous to have you in our team, Arno and Leo!