Intern in the spotlight: Toma Constantin Garofil

Could you tell us about yourself, and your internship at Signify?
 

T: Well, I’m very passionate about the work I do at Signify. Right now, we’re developing new solutions for our lamps in the Horticulture lineup. These are the lamps, you can see in those vertical green houses, helping with plant growth using less energy. Our aim is to move away from old technology and focus more on LED. I’ve been with Signify since my graduation project, which was exciting and challenging at the same time since it required a lot of programming, along with the regular hardware work we usually do. But I’ve enjoyed it enough to stay on longer!
 

What does an ordinary day look like for you?
 

T: My days are far from ordinary, when I arrive in the morning, we have a briefing with the team where we assign tasks for the day as well as discuss the progress we made during the week. One of our important places is the coffee machine, since this is where the greatest ideas are usually born. During the day, we work on prototypes, and most of our time is taken up by optimizing these, to perform at high efficiency, which can sometimes be a challenge, since Signify has standards that require over 90% efficiency.  

What was your experience with the people at Signify?
 

T: Everyone at the department was very helpful, always ready to help, or guided me to someone who knew the answer.

They listened to every idea I came up with, and it seriously inspired my creativity, and I felt that I was important, and supported.
 

What motivated you to join us?
 

T: Signify was and still is one of the biggest companies around Eindhoven, and back then, when I joined it was still part of Philips. And where I grew up, Philips means quality. If you wanted the best, you went for a Philips product. So, with this mentality, when I did my studies here in Eindhoven, I viewed it as a personal challenge to get a position here.