Giving back to society - Joost Pigmans about his experience with the Brunel Foundation
The success of the Brunel Foundation stands with the positive energy and enthusiasm of Brunellers around the world. One of these Brunellers, involved in the Brunel Foundation from the very beginning, is Joost Pigmans. Joost worked at Brunel IT for over 10 years. Three years ago he followed his career elsewhere. In conversation with Joost we take a trip down memory lane.
Even before the Brunel Foundation saw the light of day in 2012, Joost was already engaged in projects within Brunel to give back to society. He was committed to various charities as part of the Brunel Talent Development Program, but was also actively involved in sports activities for charity, especially cycling. In line with this, our paths soon crossed. Joost also worked at the Eindhoven office, so the connection was quickly made.
Collaboration
Joost: "I had many Software Engineers in my care. When the Brunel Foundation came to me with the idea of coding workshops for children, I immediately thought it was a great idea to connect our team to this project. I noticed that our specialists really enjoyed sharing their knowledge and passing on their passion for IT and technology to the next generation. I still remember how exciting the first session was, the building in Eindhoven open on a Saturday, the large meeting room packed with kids, full of energy busy with coding. It turned out the way we had hoped, it was a success!"
The next project was the collaboration with the Dutch Lifeguard Organisation (Reddingsbrigade) who are present throughout the Netherlands at events close to or related to water. Joost's team helped in developing an event management application, which allows the lifeguards to efficiently organise and manage these events in a safe way.
Joost: ”In the beginning this was a kind of collaboration ‘on the side’, but in the end we proudly succeeded in linking our trainees to this project. A win-win for everyone. When the Reddingsbrigade invited us for a rescue practice session, the project really came to life for all who were involved."
Sense of meaning
Joost: "I really liked being involved in the Brunel Foundation. Brunel is a commercial organization that gave me energy about 90% of the time, but there is also a sense of meaning. I may not be able to code, I can't transfer the knowledge, but I can empower others to do so, together with the Brunel Foundation. If you have the opportunity to get involved in these kinds of projects as part of your job, it feels great."
Joost regularly thinks back to the good times at Brunel and the pioneering period with the Brunel Foundation. Joost: "I wish for every company to have a foundation. My compliments to Brunel for having the guts to make this matter important ten years ago, at a time when there wasn't widespread attention for ‘giving back to society’. I've brought the Brunel Foundation experience with me to my new employer and I try to add a sense of meaning to my job and to the people around me."
"My personal message to every Bruneller: Be open to the Brunel Foundation, come on board and make time for it, you’ll get a lot in return.”