KE@Work: information for students
Are you a student of the bachelor's programme in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence? Are you doing well in your first year and looking for an extra challenge on top of the regular curriculum? Our honours track KE@Work (Knowledge Engineering at Work) gives you the opportunity to take what you learn during your studies and apply it directly in a real-world setting at a company or organisation. This way, you gain valuable academic and professional experience.
Instead of the regular group projects in year 2 and 3 of the bachelor's, you will work at a KE@Work partner organisation for two days a week. You will also write your bachelor thesis on a subject that is relevant to your KE@Work organisation. Altogether, you will spend 50% of your time in class and 50% of your time at the partner organisation. You will earn a fixed allowance in return for your work. In addition, KE@Work participation covers 36 ECTS credits within the regular bachelor's programme.
Why join KE@Work?
Gain relevant work experience before even graduating
Get to know the local job market for Data Science and AI-related positions
Real work, real money: KE@Work students receive a monthly stipend
Curious? Do read on! For more information, you can always send an e-mail to kework@maastrichtuniversity.nl. You can also attend the KE@Work information session.
KE@Work partner company Mediaan created this video to share their experiences with KE@Work.
The video also features a number of KE@Work students who share their insights: "You really get to combine and implement the things your learn at university and see them in practice."
Selection of projects
Tsvetan Naydenov (Bulgaria)
Works at VDL Nedcar: "to predict the probability of a downtime on a certain production line in the assembly shop of a car manufactory and automatically inform the person responsible for that line."
Berfin Inal (Turkey)
Works at Sitech: "to explore the possibilities of securing process safety and societal acceptance using all kinds of data available."
Nikolas Oikonomou (Greece)
Works at Q-Park: "to try and identify the different types of customers in Q-Park's parking facilities, understand their parking behavior and link these insights with the company's business objectives."
How do I join KE@Work?
KE@Work is an honours programme where you can find an extra challenge within your studies at the Department of Advanced Computing Sciences. Since it's an extra challenge that requires a time investment of approximately one extra day per week, we want to make sure that you perform sufficiently well in your studies to handle the additional hours. If you have an average grade of at least 7.5, you can apply for KE@Work at the end of the first semester of the first year.
There are a number of steps - including interviews and workshops - between the moment you apply for KE@Work and the moment you first set foot in your new office. You can find an overview of the process below.
KE@Work: from application to start of the programme
KE@Work interviews
We want to get to know you and you surely have questions for us. Therefore, we invite you to a 10-minute interview with with the KE@Work team. Based on your grades and the results of the interview, we will let you know whether you can join the next part of the KE@Work track.
KE@Workshops
To prepare you for KE@Work, we offer a sequence of four mandatory workshops of two hours each:
- Introduction
The first workshop is all about getting to know each other! We will also go through all the ins and outs about KE@Work with you once again. CV Workshop
What does a good resume look like? What should you mention and what should you leave out? What to do with a gap? In this workshop, we will discuss these questions and many more. Equipped with this knowledge you then fill in your KE@Work CV. We will use these CVs to inform KE@Work partner organizations.
- Professional Business Communication workshop
Whether you have previous job experience or KE@Work will be your first, there is always something new to be learned about business communication. In this workshop, we discuss the various business cultures you may encounter as a KE@Work student. We will also teach you about the correct use of your professional email and calendar.
- Job interview workshop
Interviews are your moment to shine. Do you really have to? What are the two kinds of interviewers you might encounter? What sort of questions are asked? How do you prepare for an interview? And what should you absolutely not do? In this workshop, we will get you up to speed for the KE@Work speed dates.
You will receive a calendar invitation to each workshop via your UM-mail.
Matching: Pitch Event
The Pitch Event is the first moment you get to meet the KE@Work partner companies.
Prior to the event, you will have received the projects available at our partner companies. Study them well. Which projects appeal to you? What kind of organization offers it, and who is the project leader? With whom do you want to talk during the event? You should have an idea, but the participating organizations should too: they have received your CV and know beforehand in whom they are most interested.
First, the organizations give a 5-10 minute pitch. Second, there is an opportunity to talk to the representatives of the organizations over informal drinks. After the Pitch Event, you have a few days to think about which projects are the most interesting to you. Once you have shared with us your ranked preferences for the available projects, we will plan the Speed Dates.
Matching: Speed Dates
The concept of the Speed Dates is simple: in the week after the Pitch Event, you get to talk to the organizations that interest you in a one-on-one. You will get your own 10-minute interview. No worries though, we have prepared you for this.
Most probably, you are not the only student who is interested. At the end of the day, the organization gives us a ranked list of the students they prefer. We then approach the first student on the list. If that student says ‘Yes’, we have a match. If that student says ‘No’, we approach the second student on the list. If the student says ‘Maybe, but tomorrow I have another one interview I want to wait for’, everybody waits. This way, we match each student to their optimal available project. We can then sign the contracts and draft the work plans.
Start KE@Work
Now the real work begins. One week before classes start, we will ask you to already visit your KE@Work company for a day. This gives you the opportunity to familiarise yourself with your new environment without any distractions. Once the regular curriculum starts, you will work full days on Wednesday and Thursday during your second year. In year three, the working days are on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Get in touch
If you have further questions or are looking to participate in KE@Work, feel free to reach out via kework@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Anouk Quaden
KE@Work coordinator
Anouk runs KE@Work on a day-to-day basis. She's your first point of contact for all matters relating to KE@Work.
Prof. dr. Frank Thuijsman
KE@Work initiator
Frank founded KE@Work in 2014. He's a fulltime professor, who is still actively involved with the programme.
Kurt Driessens
KE@Work co-coordinator
Kurt joined the KE@Work team as co-coordinator in 2023. Previously, Kurt's roles included programme director and head of the programme committee.
Further reading
Five years KE@Work, more A-team than Beauty and the Beast
What makes the KE@Work partnership unique, and which philosophy is behind the programme’s collaboration?
Two silver Reimagine Education Awards for KE@Work
KE@Work won a silver award in the category Best Employer-University Partnership during the gala ceremony in San Francisco.
