Jildou Brander

I’m currently working is Switzerland, at Marenco Swisshelicopter as System Engineer Flight Systems.

During my studies I came into contact with the theoretical and practical aspects of fibre reinforced composites. I liked the diversity of composite material applications and therefore I decided to go deeper into the science and engineering of this field.

My best experience was the combination of theory and practice. In most courses you needed to apply the theory in some way, e.g. defining a composite production technique for a product, working in the laboratory, and designing a component. I enjoyed the lectures, and liked the contact with fellow students and the staff.

As system engineer I’m working on the design and development of the carbon-epoxy main rotor blades of the SKYe SH09 helicopter. My main tasks have been designing the blades (with extensive use of CAD), checking stress analysis results (coming from finite-element calculations) and helicopter stability parameters, and coordinating (and sometimes performing) dynamic and static tests of the rotor blades. Additionally, I am also in charge of planning and coordinating the work with suppliers and subcontractors which perform some of the tests and analyses.

Think about which courses you liked the most and which topics you would like to learn more about. If this fits with the ASM courses then this is the right MSc track for you.