Copernicos Groep

Copernicos Group is a small organisation that helps companies manage their assets (such as ships, trains, infrastructure, plants, platforms, power plants and buildings) more innovatively and cost-effectively. Copernicos Group specialises in Asset Management, the management of complex and capital-intensive technical systems. Many people work together around assets in a variety of collaborative forms. Copernicos Group provides services to improve the performance of the entire cooperation chain and the assets themselves. Copernicos Group does this by connecting different 'worlds'.

For us, good Asset Management includes connecting everyone's individual 'mental model' into a coherent whole. After all, the interactions between people and technical and information systems are decisive for results.

For more information see also our website: http://www.copernicos.com.

What distinguishes Copernicos Group from other companies?

Because our services are so specific, Copernicos faces hardly any competition. Other companies in asset management specialise in the technical or process side. Copernicos, on the other hand, brings together the worlds of people and technology and adds an integral System Dynamics component. Within the world of System Dynamics, Copernicos is also one of the few companies that does something in the area of asset management. The application of Asset Dynamics, that is Asset Management and System Dynamics, within companies and organisations is exceptional.

Who are we?

Copernicos Group is a company that operates from a network of companies. The core of the company is formed by the two partners Michel Kuijer and Arjen Ros. Around them is a flexible layer of experts and advisors. Furthermore, Copernicos is a member of several (international) associations/networks. Copernicos Group has been working for larger clients in the Netherlands for a long time, and also has the ambition to offer its services internationally.

What kind of students are we looking for?

Copernicos Group is looking for students who are skilled in systems thinking and who can conceptually understand how our methods work.  Developing models (in Vensim, Stella or Ventity) on problems with a high degree of complexity is also important. Communication and group facilitation skills also come in handy. Not only do you have to be able to cooperate well yourself, but you also have to be able to facilitate that others can cooperate.

You have to be a good listener (we process a lot of information from organisations in our models) and be curious (which is a prerequisite for getting to the information in the first place). We think that in particular students from the subjects EPA (Engineering and Policy Analysis) and SEPAM (Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management) are suitable for us.

Because assets are technical systems, we prefer to find students who have knowledge of technical systems, and for example have a bachelor degree in a technical field (mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, shipbuilding, aerospace, etc.).

What projects does Copernicos offer?

Copernicos mainly deals with issues related to the performance and design, use, maintenance and recirculation of physical assets. Together with our client, we try to optimise the performance of these assets while keeping the costs down (taking into account any risks).

The second type of projects we are involved in involves the development of new assets. In the future, assets will increasingly fulfil multiple functions simultaneously (e.g. a road as a source of energy). The emphasis will increasingly lie on multifunctionality. This increases the complexity, which calls for a more thorough optimisation approach.

A third type of project is a group modelling method called STORM, developed together with Deltares, knowledge institute for water management. We use this method to test innovations in assets for their innovative value and their chance of success. We do this together with various stakeholders. STORM has been successfully applied more than 40 times in recent years, mainly by the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management.

What are the possibilities?

Copernicos Group offers students opportunities for

• Bachelor and Master graduation projects, for example, to contribute to:
• Further development in the area of modularisation in system dynamics models
• Further development of system dynamics (partial) models for asset management in relation to specialist domains such as finance, HRM and logistics 
• Further development of a hybrid modelling environment, in which not only system dynamics models but also other types of models work together in a so-called model complex in order to be able to simulate integrally
• Part-time work, internships or work experience positions (e.g. to fill up free time between the completion of the BSc and the start of the MSc) in which, among other things, one works on system dynamics models for customer projects
• Traineeship as a start up for a job within the Copernicos Group

Interested?

Please send an email explaining your interest and your CV to the managing partners of Copernicos Group, Arjen Ros (arjen.ros@copernicos.com) and Michel Kuijer (michel.kuijer@copernicos.com). For more information, please visit: www.copernicos.com