Our extraordinary fellow workers

“I’ve been working at Ingenium for 29 years now. When I started we were three people in administration: a receptionist, someone for the financial administration and I then joined for the word processing, spelling and layout of all documents. Now there are 11 of us, under the heading of 'Team Pillar'. This name groups together all support services: reception, accounting, sales, communication, building management, legal affairs and project administration. The main evolution in those 29 years is that it has become a different job in terms of working method. Today we work much more efficiently than back then.”

“My two main tasks are project administration and checking quotations. We take part in a lot of government contracts. For these we develop administrative specifications using a highly efficient software package. From these specifications we also obtain bills of quantities: our estimate of the cost price of the installation. Once the files have been published and contractors submit their quotes, I check that they are mathematically correct and that all necessary documents are in the file. In addition, I have a whole range of additional tasks. For example, I manage part of the invoicing in our projects, I do the final 'editorial check' of all kinds of texts, I give new employees basic training in our administrative operation, I take care of the e-mail filing and regularly assist in reception and with the telephone. In addition, I’m the 'helpdesk' for colleagues who want to call on my in-depth knowledge of Word. I make sure our website remains up-to-date and I also look after the administration for the 'quotations': that is the offers that Ingenium submits in order to bring in new projects. This versatility makes it a very exciting job that continues to evolve. What I know and can do today, I’ve learned mainly on the job.”

“What I like about my job is that I master certain tasks well and do them very efficiently because I've been at them for so long. But I’m also open to new tasks and challenges, because then you stay 'fresh'. What gives me even more satisfaction is teamwork: interacting with colleagues and completing an assignment together.”

“I’m not a leader and I feel good in my position. I'm a silent worker behind the scenes, and I like that. Social contact with colleagues is very important to me. I live alone, it’s a pleasure to come to the office. Colleagues appreciate my listening ear and the fact that I can often help out. Some have even become real friends, with whom I sometimes catch a movie or concert in my free time.”

“For me, Ingenium stands for 'positive vibes'. It gives me energy to be able to participate in projects that also prove useful in society. I started to look at buildings in a completely different way. Once upon a time I used to see them more as a kind of necessary evil, but when you know how a building is designed and what it involves, your view changes. We have very nice projects, including government buildings, hospitals and schools, but being a big culture lover myself, our concert hall and museum projects are the ones I’m most enthusiastic at. The integration of TTAS Theaterbouw into the Ingenium Group can only strengthen this.”

“The family feeling is really not an empty concept here. Ingenium is a company with a heart that also knows who you are as a person and takes that into account. Not only do they regularly ask if you are feeling well here at work, but also how things are going at home. When my mother was struggling with health issues and I needed to be able to support her, I got a lot of understanding. Nicolas' father often used to say to the employees: ‘You're family’. And although Ingenium is much bigger today than it was then, it still is.”

“I started here in October 2017. I got to know Ingenium at a job fair. I saw the many beautiful projects on the website. Moreover, an old classmate who already worked here told me only positive things. What particularly appealed to me, however, was the sustainable focus. I’m very interested in green energy myself and try to integrate sustainability in my daily life. Like I don’t run a car and am fortunate to be able to live within cycling distance of work, family and friends. It is very motivating that the colleagues have this sustainable mentality, which is really part of the internal working of Ingenium.”

“I started as an electricity project engineer, matching my training as an industrial engineer in electrical engineering. In the meantime, my job is gradually evolving into that of project manager: following up a project internally and being the point of contact for the architect and the client. I myself had indicated both that I wanted to take more responsibility and that I enjoyed the social aspect – the contact with the customer.

I find this role very interesting, because I’m keen to build up a broad knowledge base. Now, in addition to electricity, I am also learning about ventilation, heating, plumbing, EPB, etc. Fortunately, I can count on the help of a team of fellow specialists for every project, for which I’m hugely grateful. It’s exciting to learn from them and to look for the best solution with them and with the architect. I really like the way I’m developing.”

“For me it's special that everyone finds their own way to do things. You’re not in a fixed box defined by your job title, every hour of the day. You can be given additional tasks and responsibilities based on your interests. You may be interested in battery storage systems. Then, in consultation with HR, it’s possible to take training courses and become a specialist. I also had the opportunity to monitor the implementation of a construction site for which I had designed the electricity part. It’s very interesting to collect direct feedback from practice on the theoretical design.”

“At Ingenium we don't just work on 'a' building. These are really cool projects. When I speak to friends or family about cable ducts or transformers, it means little to them.” (laughs) “But if I can tell them I‘m working on projects at the Brussels Conservatory or the Ghent Fire Station, it certainly speaks to their imagination.”

“For me it’s interesting and practical that you can do your job at Ingenium very flexibly within a certain framework. You choose when you start in the morning and when you take your lunch break, and even which of the 4 offices you want to go to that day. Want to go straight home after a meeting or a site visit to continue working there? That too is possible. It’s great that there’s such a focus on alternative mobility. The choice is large: bicycles, train tickets, bus passes, electric scooters, Cambio, the Ghent BattMobiel, etc. Everything for a smooth connection with as few traffic jams as possible!”

“There’s a good vibe at Ingenium, which has a lot to do with the enormous enthusiasm of CEO Nicolas Vyncke. Even though we’re getting bigger, you always sense that family atmosphere. You never feel like a number here. You’re a colleague with a first name. And like that you quickly feel at ease here.”

“Being a site supervisor requires you to be knowledgeable about many different aspects. It’s therefore logical that from time to time you’ll hit a problem that you’re unable to solve yourself. But the project engineers, with their greater in-depth knowledge, are always ready to help, no matter how busy their schedules are at the time. That collegiality is great and very important.”

Marc: “TTAS stands for Theatre Technologies Advice and Study. That last word is very important, because we do more than just give advice. We stay on board until delivery, until everything is ready for the first performance.

Pieter: “The addition of 'Theaterbouw' to TTAS is no coincidence. My specialization is sightlines. In 9 out of 10 assignments we design the footprint of the hall for the architect. We deal with everything from the size of the boxes to the number of toilets.” (laughs) “It’s the contact between the audience and the performance – literally the distance between the front row and the front of the stage – that makes all the difference between a good theatre and a bad one. Everything is based on one simple principle: even the voices of lesser gods should reach the back of the hall. But the smooth technical handling of the performance and getting all technical material in and out quickly is also very important. That’s why in every project we also involve the room technicians who will have to make it work in practice.

Gerrit Walckiers: “I’ve been working at Ingenium since 2016 as a project engineer with a specialization in electricity. But the world of music and theatre has long had an important place in my life. As a voluntary stage technician with the small Ghent company Barraca, I got to know all facets of theatre technology. And I was also a sound engineer at lots of concerts and parties. I’m therefore very happy that I can further develop this interest at Ingenium along with my colleague Pjotr. The cross-pollination of TTAS’s expertise and that of Ingenium is exceptionally fascinating for me. Marc and Pieter are absolute experts in their field when it comes to theatre construction, while we are forerunners in technologies like HVAC. In this way, in years to come, we will most certainly be able to raise our services to the cultural sector to an even higher level.”

"At Ingenium, my main job is project engineer. I work out concepts from A to Z, but as a senior engineer I also assist colleagues with less experience and supervise junior engineers. I don't do the rather repetitive study work anymore. In addition, I am also a technical sanitation expert. I write work instructions, introduce novelties, organise training courses and make sure our model documents remain up to date. In the 13 years that I've been working here, I've been able to try out all kinds of jobs and tasks. Also project management, but that didn't suit me as well. That's how I stayed within project engineering and developed myself further. It gives me peace of mind that you can plot your own path and try things out.

Nicolas, our CEO, is really working on his strategy for Ingenium. It does give us confidence that we will be well positioned here in the longer term. Moreover, we continue to grow, and that is also important. After all, an engineer is ambitious. But despite that growth, we are not a number one here as an employee. Everyone is really taken into account. That family atmosphere creates a good atmosphere".