Time setter story: Karla Rojas Martínez on TNO Traineeship

From Mexico to space

Karla Rojas Martínez’s path to TNO is anything but linear. She grew up in Mexico, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in marketing and communications before realising she wanted something more scientific. ‘I was longing for more research.’ So she applied for a scholarship, packed up, and moved to the Netherlands to study physics at Amsterdam University College.

The liberal arts and sciences programme suited her perfectly: a physics track with room to explore the humanities alongside it. That spirit of building your own path continued into her master’s in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam, where she specialised in high-energy astrophysics and spent a year at SRON on her thesis about neutron binary stars.

But academia alone was not what she wanted in the long run. ‘During my thesis work, I noticed I was missing a team. And when I looked back at the projects I had really enjoyed, they were always team projects. I have a collaborative spirit.’ That insight made her apply for the TNO Traineeship.

Innovation in her DNA

Even during her studies, Karla was drawn to the space where science meets society. At CERN, she followed a summer course on transferring high-tech techniques into industrial applications. At the UvA Summer School in Vietnam, she worked with students from across Europe and Asia on tackling complex social issues like overtourism and gentrification.

‘Those experiences confirmed that I liked being at that intersection of research and the real world. Right in between academia and business, TNO just felt like the natural place to land.’

What drew her over the line was that in the traineeship, she gets to grow into roles like consultant and project manager. ‘I also met a lot of people who have been happy at TNO for many years. They kept exploring new roles or fields. That was reassuring for me: I have many different interests that I can keep exploring for years to come.’

Flipping the coin: from data to instrument

Karla’s first trainee placement was as a project manager at Space Systems Engineering. Working with a familiar topic and partners from the astronomy world made it a great fit. But the focus on engineering was new. ‘It felt like flipping a coin. During my studies, I was the person processing the data from an instrument. Suddenly I was on the other side, helping to build it. That was a really eye-opening shift.’

She worked on projects including adaptive optics technology for ground-based astronomy and a small work package for the Einstein Telescope. The Einstein Telescope will be the next generation observatory for detecting gravitational waves: 100 times more sensitive than current detectors. ‘We are building instruments that are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Even Einstein didn’t think we’d ever be able to measure gravitational waves. Now we can. That blows my mind every time.’

She was surprised by other TNO labs as well. During a trainee project developing a facility fitness check, Karla visited many facilities across the organisation. ‘Time and again I heard: this is the only setup of its kind in the country, sometimes even in Europe, or in the world. It really confirmed that we are working at the very edge of what is technically possible.’

Deliberate switch

For her second placement, Karla made a deliberate switch. After a first spot focused on two defined projects, she was curious whether it was the field she loved or the role. ‘I want to answer the role question first. So I went in completely the opposite direction.’

She is now a strategy consultant for internationalisation and investment partnerships, working on a defence strategy initiative. The work involves stakeholder management, market validation and identifying where TNO’s research could find new industrial applications. ‘As a project manager, I was very focused. Here, I’m learning to zoom out and think across multiple initiatives at once. It’s more strategic, more about connecting the dots.’

During this second spot in the traineeship, she also continues as project manager for a ground-based astronomy project in the Canary Islands. ‘It is a project for which I was involved in the proposal and I was excited to see it through. So I discussed if it would be possible to continue as a PM for this project and made it happen. You can be creative about how you shape your spot at TNO, as long as you can explain why it matters for your development.’

Going deeper

One of the surprises of the traineeship for Karla has been the depth of personal reflection it demands. ‘In an academic setting, the emphasis is always on performance and hard work. I thought I knew myself well. But it turned out I mostly had passive knowledge about qualities others had told me about myself. The coaching here asks questions I would normally only face much later in my career: what do I want to achieve, what really drives me, where do I want to grow? It is not just about knowing who I am now, but who I want to grow into.’

One TNO, many cultures

Moving between departments has given Karla a rare view of how TNO works across the organisation. Every unit has its own culture and way of working, she says. ‘Though there is also a shared identity that everyone can feel part of. Wherever I go, I encounter people here that are genuinely passionate about what they do. That’s quite rare.’

The right mindset

Karla’s final message is for anyone who is hesitant to apply. ‘You don’t need a perfect match with TNO’s topics to make a valuable contribution. There’s plenty of room to grow here. What matters most is having the right mindset.’