To stay ahead of the current developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence and to deploy these technologies for Pon, the Pon AI Lab has been founded. The AI lab is a collaboration between Pon and the Vrije Universiteit in which 3 PhD students will focus on optimizing supply chain processes. Read the stories of two AI Lab members – Yasmin and Mathijs. They tell you what drives them and share their experiences at Pon.

My name is Mathijs Pellemans and in my research I will mainly focus on Deep Learning and its applications. Consider, for example, text analysis (analysing online reviews), image analysis (paint damage detection on bikes) and the creation of prediction models. My first project will be about Vessel ETA prediction; making predictions with ship location data.

I know I can thrive in the form of a PhD trajectory at Pon; puzzling, thinking deeply about a subject, coming up with a mathematical solution and translating it into practice. Working together with other people and having fun in what you do is very important to me.

In my first months at Pon, I already spoke with several OpCo’s. For example, I spoke with Cannondale, Pon Cat, Pon Bike, and there are more interviews in the agenda in the upcoming period. Really like to learn more and more about Pon along the way!

Before I started this PhD, I completed the master Business Analytics at VU University. This study focused on applying mathematical approaches to societal challenges. A program in which many tools are offered to make impact in society. For example, for my graduation I did a project at 113 Suicide Prevention. I developed an AI tool to support care providers in conducting chat conversations. I hope to make this impact at Pon too! I am convinced that this will work out.

Furthermore, I live in Amsterdam, I like to do sports and I engage myself in music a lot. I sing and play the piano. I hope to have a great time during my PhD. At the VU, and together with everyone from the Datalab.

My name is Yasmin Roshandel and I’m a recent graduate of Applied Mathematics at Universiteit Leiden. Although ‘applied’ is in the name, it was still very theoretical. I chose this PhD trajectory at VU and Pon precisely because the work lies between academics and business. I do enjoy pondering over complex problems, but also need a connection to the real world (this is absolutely not a given in PhD research in theoretical mathematics). Aside from this, I aspire for my work to have a positive impact on society. Wherever I can drive change in business processes, I aim for it to be both responsible and sustainable.

Overall, the AI Lab will improve processes within the supply chain. My research will focus on optimization using operations research and AI. Operations research is an area of mathematics that seeks optimal solutions to decision-making problems. I plan to find out how AI can be integrated with knowledge and techniques from operations research. My first research project will be in the production planning of bicycles. In particular, I will investigate the possibility of multi-objective optimization. If you are interested in the outcome of this research (or perhaps have an opinion on what you think could be improved in production planning) feel free to contact me!

After work, I love to do anything creative, such as drawing, painting, or crocheting. On the odd occasion that I’m not busy with arts, I play games or hang out with friends. I’m excited to start here at Pon and work together with my colleagues!