IT Student Lab: a combination of internship and first job

This summer, two students in the Arnhem-Nijmegen region jointly launched IT Student Lab to strengthen the link between students and businesses. Their aim is to retain IT students in the region and give them the opportunity to have an enjoyable part-time job whilst studying.

We spoke to Job Sluiter, entrepreneurship student, and Daan Verlinden, Artificial Intelligence student, about their venture.

This region offers everything for IT professionals

“We hope to connect students and companies. This gives companies the opportunity to secure students’ loyalty to their organisation at an early stage. In the IT sector, job security is so high that IT professionals themselves do not worry about finding a job. With IT Student Lab, students can see for themselves what great companies there are in this region and do not need to travel to a city like Amsterdam to do so,” says Verlinden.

Connection between study and work field

During their studies, the students realise that there is too great a gap between what they learn at university and what they will actually do after graduation. Sluiter gives the example that university students do not have the opportunity to undertake an internship.

"To create a bridge between studies and the working field, we have set up IT Student Lab. By carrying out assignments, students get an idea of what they will do when they finish their studies."

The first assignments become concrete

A lot of hard work is going into finalising the first projects. Verlinden says they want to get started on the first project as soon as possible. “We aim to begin work on a second project later this year.”

There are already a few enthusiastic and motivated IT students keen to work with them on these projects. Both companies and students can register via the Home – IT Student Lab website.

Support from Avisi

Software company Avisi provides coaching and guidance to students as they carry out their projects. Avisi also provides them with software that the IT Student Lab is authorised to use. This ensures the quality of the projects undertaken by the students.

Good time management proves essential

Both are still studying at different institutions themselves. This sometimes makes it difficult to schedule meetings at times that suit them both. But Sluiter and Verlinden are keen to start a business together. That is why they believe it is important to work efficiently so that they can find enthusiastic students in the short term. One thing that is already going very well is building a network. They have held several meetings with interesting organisations in the region.

Connecting students to companies creates pride

“We’re proud when we can introduce motivated employees to companies and help students build a network. It would be great if the first students were to find a job at a leading IT company in the region through us. What’s more, if we can really get young people excited about the subject they’re studying, that’s worth a great deal,” concludes Sluiter. It Student Lab is affiliated with one of the working groups of the Human Capital Agreement. This agreement was signed on 13 April 2023 by the province of Gelderland, The Economic Board, the Arnhem-Nijmegen Green Metropolitan Region, the labour market regions in Gelderland, entrepreneurs and knowledge institutions.