If you already know everything, how will you ever learn something new?

IF YOU ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING, HOW WILL YOU EVER LEARN SOMETHING NEW?

In the midst of a tight Dutch labor market, companies are working harder than ever to keep and attract new talent. Thermo Fisher software manager Reinier Perquin believes that providing his employees with training opportunities not only helps bring in new personnel, but it also keeps his people fresh.

Collin Arocho

Thermo Fisher Scientific, a multinational leader in biotechnology product development, employs more than 70,000 people around the world. But how does a company, with such a large global footprint, manage to keep its workers and continually draw in new employees? According to the software group manager from Thermo Fisher’s Eindhoven offices, Reinier Perquin, the main attraction for engineers is the opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects. An example: using advanced software to help solve the problem of global diseases. To get these talented engineers on board, Perquin says investment in training – both technical and social – is a valuable tool.

As a manager within the Thermo Fisher R&D department in Eindhoven, Perquin is routinely interviewing to bring new faces to the software group. What he’s noticed in these meetings: training budgets are increasingly important to attracting prospective colleagues. “In some interviews, it’s one of the first questions that people will ask. We’re seeing that more and more. While we don’t offer individual training budgets, we understand how important it can be, so we have a group budget specifically to encourage our employees to utilize training opportunities,” explains Perquin.

Do you prefer internal or external training? “We offer both to our employees but getting an outside view can be very helpful and that’s why we encourage external training. Our workers can gain new insights and learn about emerging technologies and cutting-edge methods. In my department, we’re seeing that the whole architecture of software is evolving before our eyes. Before, it was closed off but now you see things happening in the cloud or edge computing. That happens because new technology enables that. In software, you must constantly learn and adjust. So, if you don’t invest in yourself, then, in the end, you stand still. These trainings are a great method to enhance skills and learn about novel solutions.”

What’s the greatest benefit of offering your employees training? “Well, first of all, people are really busy with their day-to-day tasks. Sometimes it’s good to step outside and take a break from thinking only about your work. It gives people the opportunity to not only get a break from their daily challenges but to focus on enhancing their personal skill set,” describes Perquin. “Also, it gives our engineers the opportunity to meet people from other companies and build a social and professional network. If people sit still too long without training – especially externally – they start to think in certain ways within their comfort zones. For some problems, you need to think outside of the box – not in absolutes like, ‘We’ve always done it like this, so we’ll continue to do this like this’. That’s the wrong mentality. Trainings help to disrupt this way of thinking.”

What type of courses are your workers choosing? “Being in software, we often see our employees opting for training

in design patterns in emergent architecture, taught by Onno van Roosmalen at High Tech Institute. In software, you see a repetition of certain patterns. By giving these patterns common names, essentially creating a unified software language, our engineers can better communicate and solve problems. Onno and I have a long history, going back to university, so I know the level of the knowledge that’s being taught and that training is easy to approve for our employees.”

Are there any other trainings you utilize? “To be honest, we probably spend most of our budget on the soft

skills training – probably more than the technical trainings. Sometimes when people come straight from university, they tend to think that they know everything. Technically, these people can be very strong but often their soft skills are their weakest spot. Everyone wants to believe they’re system architects but I always say, an architect is not a technical person. In that situation, soft skills are more important than the whole technical level. If you already know everything, how will you ever learn something new? Sometimes they don’t realize it and they need time for reflection. That’s something the soft-skills training is incredibly helpful with.”

Do you notice a return on your investment? Does it help output? “Absolutely. I don’t see it as we’re losing three days of work; I see it as a worthwhile investment, both for the company and for the individual. I believe it helps in terms of productivity, especially the soft skills. We see very positive changes because people realize that if they want to achieve something, they may need to adopt a different approach. We see that trainees come back communicating ideas more clearly and working better with people and it makes them a far more effective employee. We find that our colleagues come back with new ideas, new energy and new inspiration. It keeps people fresh.”

Data: 17 – 21 February 2020 (5 consecutive days) Location: Eindhoven Investment: € 2,700.00 excl. VAT Practical machine learning This course gives the possibility to get solid and state-of-the-art knowledge on machine learning and its applications. You will learn how to build a robust Machine Learning system suitable to solve real-world industrial projects on a step-by-step approach. The course is a set of lessons followed by intensive practical exercises with Matlab and perClass. It is structured to be useful also without this software. Emphasis is put on a “how-to-do-it” approach going beyond an inventory of methods. The teachers have extensive experience with design of industrial machine learning systems in different application areas. Intended for engineers from R&D and practitioners interested in machine learning and deep learning. The course is suitable both for those who are new to machine learning and who are already familiar with it. ELECTRONICS

MECHATRONICS Motion control tuning (MCT) The performance of controlled mechanical servo systems in an industrial setting is generally achieved by using PID controllers. In systems that suffer from dynamics and vibrations it is often useful to use additional filters. The application of frequency domain techniques for analyzing requirements, describing controllers and carrying out experiments to find the optimal settings is very useful and will be treated during this course. Starting with the time domain, the complete basis of control is repeated, placed in a modern framework, validated experimentally and applied to mechanical servo systems. During the course all aspects of ‘motion control’ are covered, including the use of feedforward steering. Participants have a BSc/MSc degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, physics or equivalent practical experience and some basic understanding of servo control. Data: 27 – 29 November & 2 – 4 December 2019 (6 days in 2 weeks) Location: Eindhoven Investment: € 4,495.00 excl. VAT

SOFT SKILLS & LEADERSHIP Time management in innovation The world of technical innovations is moving fast. That is exciting and challenging, but it also means that as a technical professional you often perform under tight deadlines and tremendous work pressure. Keeping up with the project seems hard and meeting your deadlines seems difficult. To perform at a peak you have to find a balance between doing things yourself and delegating tasks to others. Finding a way between “good” stress which helps you perform and “bad” stress when things get too much is often more difficult than one assumes. Finding a way to keep an overview is key to avoid stress. In this training, you will understand how to peak and perform better yet keeping a balance between “good” and “bad” stress. Data: 28 November & 17 December 2019 (1,5 day) Location: Eindhoven Investment: € 695.00 excl. VAT

Secure coding in C and C++ This course will change the way you look at your C/C++ code. We’ll teach you the common weaknesses and their consequences that can allow hackers to attack your system, and – more importantly – best practices you can apply to protect yourself. We give you a holistic view on C/C++ programming mistakes and their countermeasures from the machine code level to virtual functions and OS memory management. We present the entire course through live practical exercises to keep it engaging and fun. Data: 2 – 4 December 2019 (3 consecutive days) Location: Eindhoven Investment: € 1.850.00 excl. VAT SOFTWARE

Effective communication skills for technology professionals – part 2 20 – 22 November 2019 (3 days + 1 evening) Time management in innovation Starts 28 November 2019 (1,5 day) Effective communication skills for technology professionals – part 1 2 – 4 December 2019 (3 days + 1 evening) How to be successful in the Dutch high tech work culture 6 December 2019 (1 day) Improve the power of your speech 11 December 2019 (1 day) Leadership skills for architects and other technical leaders Starts 30 January 2020 (2 times 2 days + 2 evening sessions) Creative thinking – full course 6 & 7 April 2020 (2 consecutive days) Consultative selling for technology professionals 8 & 9 April 2020 (2 consecutive days + 1 evening) Benefit from autism in your R&D team 14 April 2020 (1 day) SOFT SKILLS & LEADERSHIP

ELECTRONICS Practical machine learning 17 – 21 February 2020 (5 consecutive days) EMC for motion systems 6 – 8 April 2020 (3 consecutive days) Ultra low power for Internet of Things 16 – 17 April 2020 (2 consecutive days) EMC course for mechatronic engineers 15 May 2020 (1 day) Design of analog electronics – analog IC design Starts 7 September 2020 (11 days in 18 weeks) Design of analog electronics – analog electronics 1 Starts 14 September 2020 (9 days in 16 weeks)

MECHATRONICS Advanced motion control 18 – 22 November 2019 (5 consecutive days) Actuation and power electronics 19 – 21 November 2019 (3 consecutive days) Passive damping for high tech systems 19 – 21 November 2019 (2,5 consecutive days) Dynamics and modelling 25 – 27 November 2019 (4 consecutive days) Motion control tuning 27 November – 4 December 2019 (6 days in 2 weeks) Mechatronics system design – part 1 6 – 10 April 2020 (5 consecutive days) Design principles for precision engineering 22 – 26 June 2020 (5 consecutive days) Thermal effects in mechatronic systems 23 – 25 June 2020 (3 consecutive days) Experimental techniques in mechatronics 23 – 25 June 2020 (3 consecutive days)

OPTICS Applied optics in Eindhoven Starts 18 February 2020 (15 weekly afternoons) Modern optics for optical designers – Part 1 Expected in September 2020 (15 weekly morning sessions) Modern optics for optical designers – Part 2 Expected in September 2020 (15 weekly morning sessions)

SOFTWARE Introduction to deep learning 19 November 2019 (1 day) ISTQB Advanced test analyst Starts 19 November 2019 (5 days) Embedded Linux 25 – 29 November 2019 (5 consecutive days) Secure coding in C and C++ 2 – 4 December 2019 (3 consecutive days) Object-oriented analysis and design – fast track 9 – 12 December 2019 (4 consecutive days) Object-oriented system control automation Starts 6 February 2020 (2+3 consecutive days) Software engineering for non-software engineers NEW ! Starts 19 March 2020 (2 evening sessions) Multicore programming in C++ 23 - 25 March 2020 (3 consecutive days)

SYSTEM Introduction to deep learning 19 November 2019 (1 day) Systems modelling with SysML 25 – 28 November 2019 (4 consecutive days) System architect(ing) in Eindhoven 9 – 13 March 2020 (5 consecutive days) Value-cost ratio improvement by value engineering 16 & 17 April 2020 (2 consecutive days)

Jan Bosch is a research center director, professor, consultant and angel investor in start-ups. You can contact him at jan@janbosch.com

Who manages your system architecture?

This week, I spent two days in systems engineering workshops.

Systems engineers are concerned with designing products and solutions including mechanical, electronic and software components. Systems engineers and architects address all requirements of a system, including regulatory constraints, such as functional safety, customer-facing functionality, such as the features that the customer uses on a daily basis, and evolvability and maintainability, decreasing the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the system.

The systems engineering workshops were concerned with the implications of digitalization, which we define as software + data + artificial intelligence. The consequence of digitalization on most of the systems is that changes are required to their architecture. The interesting finding was that in several companies, there was nobody in the organization who was responsible for the overall systems architecture. Instead, the original architecture had become incarnated in the organizational structure. Each of the departments or units was responsible for one subsystem or component in the traditional architecture.

Of course, the strong relationship between architecture and R&D organization isn’t new. Many are aware of Conway’s law from 1967 and the BAPO model (Business-ArchitectureProcess-Organization). However, in both cases, the assumption is that there’s some role or team that governs the overall system architecture.

How can so many organizations end up without such a role or team? One explanation is that in many industries, there’s a ‘dominant design’ that has been established as the standard everyone in the industry adheres to. It allows individual companies to provide specific components identified in the dominant design. The same pattern occurs inside the organization, where each component in the dominant design is mapped to an organizational unit. The interfaces between the components are then

In many organizations, there’s no role or team governing the overall system architecture

used as coordination and integration points within the organization. Once the dominant design has been established in an industry, there’s actually no need within the company to govern or manage the system architecture as the industry as a whole operates according to this architecture.

The consequence of digitalization is that, in many industries, the dominant design that has been in place for many years or even several decades ceases to be the optimal solution. Instead, we need to return to architecture design to explore alternative architectures that better support the incorporation of software, data and artificial intelligence. The realization I had this week was that many companies are not realizing that the ‘dominant design’ architecture of their industry is outdated and needs to be replaced with a better alternative. This requires large amounts of experimentation with various architecture alternatives across the industry. Each company needs to conduct its own architecture experiments with the aim of identifying the new dominant design for the industry.

The challenge I want to highlight is that although companies need to experiment with alternative architectures, many have no system architecture function that actually is able to perform this experimentation. Either there’s no system architecture governance in the company at all or the system architecture and engineering function has atrophied to the point that it only manages small decisions within the context of the conventional ‘dominant design’ architecture such as selection of suppliers, interface management or system validation.

Concluding, digitalization is causing the disruption of the ‘dominant design’ architecture in many industries. In industries where that architecture has been the norm for many years or even decades, companies have no or severely atrophied systems engineering functions that are unable to provide governance of nor experimentation with the system architecture. This lack of capability is extremely dangerous for incumbent companies from a disruption perspective in any industry as ecosystemlevel disruption is typically driven by the introduction of a new architecture that’s adopted as the new dominant design. So, the question I’d like to leave you with is: who manages your system architecture?