Lennard has everything he wants in Twente

This article is part of a series called “Twente Leeft!” (Twente Lives!). You can read personal stories here about living and working in Twente. Twente is a nice place to be, according to the talents we meet. The beautiful nature, space, the down-to-earth mentality; they all characterise Twente. There are also plenty of career opportunities! Twente has many innovative, international and future-proof companies that are desperate for staff. Want to know what Twente has to offer? You can find Lennard's story below.

Lennard Poelman’s ‘lightning career’ at Innovadis shows that things can go fast at the company from Enschede. From intern to lead developer in a few years. It says something about Lennard; he feels at home at Innovadis and cannot imagine a better IT employer. But it also says something about Innovadis as an employer; they know how to bind young talent and do not hesitate to offer opportunities to ‘newcomers’.

“I am very satisfied with Innovadis as an employer”, says Lennard. He is originally from Delden, but he has been living in the centre of Hengelo with his girlfriend Sarah since the beginning of this year. “The thing I like the most is that people treat each other normally. Of course, everyone has different responsibilities and roles, but everyone is there for each other, and they are willing to help out. Being in a company where I have to be very formal with the director and address him by his surname doesn’t suit me. If I’ll ever work somewhere else, the way people treat each other will be the first thing I look at.”

The chances of Lennard wanting a different job soon is very slim. He recently became the lead developer, which means that he now manages the team he already was a part of. This means that, in addition to developing custom solutions for clients, he also talks to them on other levels, something he really enjoys doing. “Working with large organisations also means looking for and finding solutions for larger problems”, says Lennard. “That too suits me well.”

Lennard was already taking apart his radio-controlled cars when he was a boy. To see how they were put together, and also to see if he could combine two cars into a better one. Later, at high school in Enschede, he would do the same thing with computers. “I just liked doing it”, he says. “I’m not sure why. I think it is the combination of using both your hands and your brain. I could do the same thing when I studied computer science at Saxion and during my internship here at Innovadis.”

After his internship and his part-time job, Lennard was able to graduate at Innovadis. He worked for a client that rented out electric bicycles to their customers to figure out how the client could ensure that the bicycles would be returned in one piece instead of with a bent wheel, a broken key, or even no key at all. “The solution was a ‘smart’ lock that worked via Bluetooth. I developed an app that could track the bikes. You could see the bike's location, how many revolutions the wheels made, how fast it was going and more. It could be read remotely.”

Innovadis immediately offered a permanent contract to Lennard after he graduated. “They already knew what I could do for them”, says Lennard matter-of-factly. That simplicity is what keeps him in Twente, as well as the space and the peace and quiet. “For me, the world stops at the IJssel river”, he says jokingly. “The rush and the commotion in the west, the housing prices, the workload; it just doesn’t suit me and my Twente mentality. I’m fine where I am. There are many great employers in my field as well, such as Thuisbezorgd and Moneybird. You really don’t need to leave to find a nice job.”

But has he never thought about going ‘past the IJssel’? “It did cross my mind once, yes. I thought that studying visual effects in America might suit me because that is what I was, and still am, interested in. But then I figured I’d better get settled here first. And once I started doing that, studying computer science and finding this opportunity, everything fell into place. I have everything I need, both at Innovadis and in Twente. I am staying.”

Twente lives

Twente is the ideal place to live and work, according to the talents we meet. Want to know why? Read personal stories about living and making a career in Twente on twente.com/twente-leeft. Want to look for a job immediately? Then take a look at our extensive job site.