Sebastiaan Fauquenot
Tell us a bit about yourself.
“Hi, my name is Sebastiaan and I’m studying applied physics at the Delft University of Technology. I’m currently interning with Applied Materials as a Business Development intern.”
Why did you apply for the Internships in the Valley program?
“I visited the US a lot as a kid and always loved the culture, the nature, the people. When I started my studies, I found out that a lot of the innovation and technology that we currently use is coming from Silicon Valley. So I figured, okay let’s go there! I believe that the powerful entrepreneurial mindset there best suits me as an individual.”
Can you tell us about your internship?
“I’m an intern at the CTO office, which mostly does research on new, upcoming and disrupting technologies that Applied Materials could get into in the near future. I’m currently part of the team focusing on the research on quantum computing. This position was a perfect match for me because it was in the technology field, related to my field of study, and a business-type role.
During my project, I was responsible for developing a go-to-market strategy for Applied Materials in the quantum computing industry. This consisted of lots of market research (i.e., interviews with experts, companies, and potential partners), but also technical deep dives into our current products and high value problems the industry is currently facing. I finally put everything together in a coherent strategic recommendation for the CTO office to pursue,”
How has your technical background helped prepare you for a business development internship?
“Applied Materials tries to make business and strategic decisions from well established technological hypotheses. Developing these hypotheses requires you to dive deep into scientific material, understand it, and even become an expert on the topic. Without a technical background I can imagine this process to take a whole lot longer…”
So we hear you’ve set up a pretty cool living situation! Can you tell us more about that?
“That’s right! I’m currently living in Palo Alto with 2 other interns from Internships in the Valley: Friso and Ward. We connected with each other well before we headed to the US since our internship periods overlapped quite well. We then decided to go look for something with the three of us. After lots of hours scrolling through housing posts and writing emails, we finally found something for 3 months in Palo Alto, and I can really recommend anyone to look for something with multiple people. It’s very nice to move into somewhere with people you already know and feel comfortable with. Also it makes things a lot easier if you’re looking for someone to surf or head to the city with.”
Have you had a chance to go on any cool trips within California?
“Yes! I have done lots of day-trips to places near the Bay Area (Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, etc.), and one big trip all the way down to San Diego and back. During that last trip we visited Santa Barbara, LA, and San Diego on the way down, and went to Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park on our way back up, which was a really cool mix of both cities and nature!”
“This position was a perfect match for me because it was in the technology field, related to my field of study, and a business-type role. ”
