Internship Circular Crew Cabin Demonstrator

Internship Circular Crew Cabin Demonstrator

About us

At Damen, much effort is put into designing sustainable ships. One team of our Research department is working on sustainability in the circular economy and different projects that come with this topic. Think of reducing raw material usage and encouraging the reduction of waste by using alternative materials, rethinking the design or facilitating recycling at the end of life. Within the research project Circular Crew Cabin, we are looking at defining, measuring and improving circularity of a typical crew cabin onboard workboats and large offshore vessels. This internship will be directly contributing to the last phase of the project, which is designing and producing a demonstrator for a 100% circular crew cabin.

The Role

The main objective as an intern in this project, is to use and implement the knowledge and suppliers that have been gathered in the first phases of the project. This will help to elaborate a design of a standard crew cabin using circularity principles. You will be able to bring the available circular materials, components and suppliers together in order to create a design that reaches the highest circularity level. The main issue is to ensure that the design is “vessel proof”, which means that the new materials and arrangement are suitable to obtain vessel certification (fire integrity, MLC, EU Marine Equipment Directive) and fulfill the standard requirements (comfort, safety, humidity). After a period of familiarization with the project, you will engage with colleagues and external suppliers to develop the concept design(s). These will evolve into basic and detailed designs and the necessary practical aspects of circularity. The deliverable result will be a usage of circular materials (bio-base and technical) arranged in a circular design, using principles like design for disassembly and modularity. All of this, while staying within the boundaries of the cabin main requirements.

Key Accountabilities

This assignment aims at creating a feasible design of a crew cabin that is as circular as possible with the already gathered knowledge and suppliers. Quick adaptation will be key to start developing the initial designs.

Since the end goal is the built of a demonstrator, a practical approach will be appreciated together with a good understanding of the theoretical definitions of circular metrics and indicators and requirements for vessel interior.

Good communication skills are necessary because of the multiple stakeholders that you will engage with, both internal and external. You will work together with the project team and you are responsible for planning, executing and reporting the defined tasks of this research. You are expected to present your final results to the department and other interested colleagues.

Skills & Experience

The following skills and background are necessary to be taken into consideration for this assignment:

• Bachelor or Master student with a background in Maritime Technology, Industrial design engineer, Sustainable development, Circular design, Architecture and build environment or something related.
• Affinity with circular economy principles and vessel interior
• You have a practical design approach and are creative in problem solving
• Enthusiast about helping Damen to create more sustainable products
• Good communication skills in the English language (spoken and written)

What do we offer

As an intern at Damen, you will be part of a dynamic and young RD&I department, where the combination of theory and practice leads to the best results. There will also be many interactions with the different divisions and suppliers.

And furthermore:

• A pleasant, informal working atmosphere and professional guidance
• A challenging, international environment where you have a lot of freedom and responsibilities
• A very educational and fun internship
• An internship fee and travel allowance

Due to housing issues we cannot accept international students that do not have accommodation in the Netherlands yet. This assignment can be taken up from next semester onwards, September 2025.

Recruiter: Liselotte van Veenendaal, Email: liselotte.van.veenendaal@damen.com

Why Damen?

Damen has 35 shipyards on five different continents and operates in more than 100 countries. We are still growing and that gives you options. You contribute to this growth while benefitting from the diverse development and career opportunities that our company offers. We will continue to challenge you. With our extensive portfolio of products and solutions you will never get bored and never stop learning. We offer you a world of possibilities. Working at Damen means contributing to the highest quality in shipbuilding, with an eye to the future and future generations. We want to make the world a better place by becoming the most sustainable maritime solution provider. For that, we need you. Become part of our family.

About Us

We are Damen. We’re a family company that has been building ships for almost 100 years. However, our focus is not on the past, however – we’re looking forward. Our ambition is to become the most sustainable and connected maritime solutions provider there is. To achieve this, we combine digital technology with our philosophy of standardised shipbuilding to offer a portfolio of services that takes care of vessels throughout the entire lifecycle. Working at Damen offers the best of several worlds. Active in more than 100 countries, with over 30 shipyards, we are internationally renowned for quality. And we are still growing, still innovating. Which means we will continue to challenge you. You will never stop learning, and you will never get bored – we promise you that. We offer you an ocean of possibilities. Join our family.