Marianna | AeroDelft

Marianna is a third-year Aerospace Engineering bachelor student. Next to her studies, she has spent a full year as Exposure Manager and Liquid Hydrogen Engineer at AeroDelft. 

What is AeroDelft? 
"AeroDelft is a student team that promotes liquid hydrogen as a viable option for sustainable fuel in the future to make flights carbon free. We are doing that by creating a small, unmanned prototype aeroplane that is going to fly on liquid hydrogen. We then apply everything we learn from that into creating a full-scale, two-manned aircraft. 

We are a team completely run by students and we work in the aircraft hall of our faculty. It is completely voluntarily, but it’s really a way to apply all the theoretical knowledge you gain during your bachelor in a practical way. Besides that, you learn so many valuable lessons and skills just from working in a professional environment like the aircraft hall."  

Why did you decide to become a part of AeroDelft? 
"I decided to become a part of a student team because I wanted to be more immersed in my degree and the aerospace field. Everyone around me also agreed that it helps with your studies and makes you more confident in your knowledge as you’re applying it in practice. So combined, I realised I wanted to be working more in the aerospace field next to my studies. To decide on which student team I wanted to become a part of, I did research on all of them, and I was drawn the most to AeroDelft. Their mission to provide emission-free aviation and the family size and vibe of the team really resonated with me."  

What does it mean to be an Exposure Manager and Liquid Hydrogen Engineer?  
"The first six months I worked part-time as Exposure Manager, after which I took on the job of Liquid Hydrogen Engineer full-time for another six months. As the Exposure Manager I was in charge of the AeroDelft brand and its image. That means that you work closely with the whole team and communicate all the newest updates to the rest of the world through social media, outreach, and events. As the Liquid Hydrogen engineer, I worked on the gaseous and liquid hydrogen flight of our prototype. To do that I used knowledge that I gained from my bachelor, but also through additional research which taught me a lot. Besides that, I got to perform measurements and tests, which was a very fun and valuable experience!" 

How did your student team experience help you in your studies?  
"It helped me the most with my Design Synthesise Exercise. I went from working full-time as a Liquid Hydrogen Engineer to designing a drone for my final bachelor thesis project. It was mind-blowing how much of a head start I had compared to my fellow students. I already knew how to set up a design process, connect all requirements, and perform measurements and tests. I realised that through my student team experience, I had already learned how to tackle such a big project, and when other people felt intimidated, I felt prepared."  

How did you combine your studies with working for AeroDelft?  
"When I worked as Exposure Manager, I did that part-time next to my studies. That does get busy sometimes as you are both studying and working for a student team at the same time. But for me, that did not matter so much, because I enjoyed working on my tasks. Combining this with your studies can of course still become a lot of work, but that is also when you learn to set your own boundaries. Besides that, we are a team of students. We all understand if you have to focus on your studies for a bit and then that is okay too. Overall, I had a lot of fun working for AeroDelft, so I did not experience my workload as too busy because I was having a good time." 

What is the most exciting aspect of being part of a student team? 
"It was a lot of fun learning how to set up tests and perform them. You learn so much from these practical activities, it really increases your engineering skills. It is incredibly rewarding as well, because it is your own work, and when you get your results it’s from something that you did. That is just so fun and rewarding, it is really exciting!  

Aside from the learning experience, I also made amazing friends with the people in my team. We did a lot of activities together, had a lot of dinners, so it really felt like a small family. And you learn so much from each other. I still go to some AeroDelft people for advice, and I know I always can." 

What message would you give to a prospective student interested in joining a student team? 
"They should definitely consider joining a student team from their second year onwards. It will really accelerate their learning experience. At TU Delft there are so many opportunities for this, so not doing it feels like you would be missing out on what is one of the coolest things that TU Delft has to offer. You could join any of the student teams, they all do great things. Any team that you find interesting, you will end up loving."