When the days are getting shorter and the sunny days make place for cool and windy times, people tend to spend more time together in a warm and cosy environment. In such a setting, enjoying good food and plenty of wine, the winter is at its best. That is why the annual Hydraulic Dinner becomes an unforgettable evening time after time.
Last December, the Hydraulic Dinner took place in the heart of Amsterdam, in a beautiful house alongside one of the ‘grachten’ of the city. At this location, 24 hydraulic students met with four well-known hydraulic companies, enjoying a four-course menu. All students passed a selection in order to be able to participate, which resulted in an enthusiastic crowd.
Students could ask whatever they wanted to the companies that were present, which were Witteveen+Bos, Van Oord, Royal HaskoningDHV and Boskalis for this year’s version. Each company had an own table where every student had to pass by at least one time during the dinner, to share a course with the employees that were present. Besides, there was an opportunity for the students to hand in a unique question for one of the companies anonymously. These questions were all put into a hat, so that every single time one of the students had to ask a question from somebody else. This created a good balance between the conversations at the table and some central conversations due to these questions.
Apart from this, every company presented themselves in front of everybody by means of a powerpoint. We heard a lot of interesting stories concerning the working environment, company activities, ongoing projects and interesting opportunities.
The crowd that is attracted to the Hydraulic Dinner is always really diverse. Approximately half of the students is just starting their master and hence they are still orientating and trying to get an impression of all of the companies. The other half is trying to find an internship spot or a graduation project, making their goals entirely different. In addition, this year was the first time we welcomed international students to the Hydraulic Dinner, which turned out to be a huge success.
After all, it can be said that the evening was both inspiring and entertaining. I personally really enjoyed organizing it and I could not be happier about the result. We want to thank all attendants of the companies as well as the students who were present during this evening. For all the others: we hope to welcome you guys at next year’s version!
