Hi, I’m Matts Verkest, currently working as a Industry Process Consultant (IPC) at 3DEXCITE. My journey at 3DS began in 2019, starting as a 3D Artist intern until I officially joined the Production team as 3D Artist in September of that year. The talented team I was a part of primarily focused on creating marketing visuals for automotive companies with 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN. Here, I learned the ropes of creating engaging visuals and collaborating with agencies and clients alike. I also gained experience in supervision, taking the lead, and handling client communication directly. Within my role as a Creative, taking initiative and exploring tools and new ways to develop cutting-edge solutions for our clients was not only encouraged but also sparked my growing interest to make a meaningful impact outside of creating nice eye-candy.
As I delved deeper into these projects, I was introduced to the PIONEERS initiative, which opened up new dimensions of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. This allowed me to engage more actively in the community features and utilize its 3D tools for the first time, also broadening my exposure to diverse clients and industries.
Through hands-on experience and navigating the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, I gained valuable insights and expertise in collaborating closely with clients across different sectors. This included conducting workshops and training sessions – both online as well as onsite. This journey ultimately led me to my current role as IPC, with the help of Els Van Langenhove as my former team lead in an intermediate role. Under supervision of Tim Rau, this is where I now operate at the intersection of Sales, Production, and R&D as a Tech-Sales professional within an awesome global team with very talented people from a wide range of backgrounds. In this capacity and environment, I thrive on experimenting, providing feedback, offering advice, coordinating efforts, and sharing knowledge. In other words, challenging the status-quo.
Recognizing the importance of spreading knowledge in an engaging manner while continually learning from within and beyond our organization, I started working on an initiative. Unsure on how to build it, I was driven by a passion to foster knowledge sharing, enhance visibility, and promote teamwork on a global scale. I wanted to dismantle barriers between brands and continents, creating a platform that celebrates learning, encourages collaboration, and strengthens connections across our entire organization and beyond.
As it turned out, this perfectly aligned with the vision of the PIONEERS initiative. Therefore, when I discussed this with Stefan Radauscher, who leads the PIONEERS initiative, two ideas converged, giving birth to The Lodge – a PIONEERS extension
The Lodge opened its doors!
Over the past year, we have embarked on an exciting journey with The Lodge, a vibrant community initiative designed to foster learning, collaboration, and fun challenges within our company. As an extension of the 3DEXCITE PIONEERS initiative, The Lodge aims to cultivate innovation and shape the workforce of the future by spreading knowledge and onboarding people onto our diverse portfolio – even across different brands!
What is The Lodge?
The Lodge serves as a virtual hub where employees from all roles, brands, and experience levels can come together to share knowledge, participate in engaging challenges, and attend insightful webinars. Our goal is to break down silos and create a more interconnected and collaborative company culture. By tapping into teams and offices worldwide, including our experience centers, we are building a community that is well-versed in our company’s extensive and varied global brand portfolio.
Monthly Challenges and Webinars
Each month, The Lodge hosts a new challenge alongside a series of webinars that are open to everyone. These activities are designed to spread knowledge, promote collaboration, and help employees get to know the wide world of our company better. With each challenge, there’s are also prizes to be won among which as head prize Dinner On the Boss: a dinner up to 100 euros paid by Tom Acland, CEO of 3DEXCITE.
We greatly appreciate our CEO’s open support for this initiative, not only by presenting the main prize but also by promoting it through his channels. As a result, you may occasionally see Tom featured in some of the visuals, such as during this BBQ event:
Here’s a look at some of the exciting challenges and webinars we’ve hosted since the launch of The Lodge. Note that certain challenges have been extended, which has occasionally adjusted our monthly schedule:
Challenge Highlights
We aim to offer engaging challenges that align with each month’s theme or events, as well as industry-related trends. These challenges are thoughtfully crafted to be both fun and educational, encouraging participants to explore new skills and ideas. By integrating relevant themes and industry insights, we ensure that our challenges are timely, meaningful, and impactful, fostering growth and innovation within our community.
April 2023 – Challenge 001 Artistry VS. Algorithms
The goal of the first challenge was to create visually appealing posters that highlight the brand’s portfolio disciplines. These posters needed to effectively communicate the key elements of those disciplines in an engaging and informative manner. However, there was a twist! The challenge was open to both individuals and teams, who could use any software or tools they preferred, including AI. This set up an intriguing competition between traditional (digital) artistry and cutting-edge algorithms.
May 2023 – Challenge 002 The Generative AI Explosion
Contestants were tasked to design the key visual with AI tools for 3DEXCITE Live’s next event about “The Generative AI Explosion”. To support contestants in this challenge, three training sessions on AI were provided to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge.
September 2023 – Challenge 003 E-MTB X-Render Challenge
In this challenge, participants created two stunning renders of an e-mountain bike based on a selected reference image from a curated collection of ten made with an AI model. They used the provided bike model and created two renders using different methods: the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform and any software of their choice (e.g. Unreal Engine, Blender, Deltagen).
This comparison highlighted differences between our proprietary software and competitors. It was valuable for our R&D team, providing insights into our software’s strengths and user needs. The challenge included a training session on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform for rendering techniques and a shared post explaining how the reference images were created using AI with a synthetic data model. And the challenge concluded by hosting a head to head social media contest to decide the winners!
March 2024 – Challenge 004 Earth Day Challenge
In celebration of Earth Day (April 22), we held a challenge inviting participants to use their creativity and design skills to craft digital creations embodying environmental awareness and sustainability. They created ‘visuals’ addressing specific prompts, using any software, tool, or medium—whether a VR experience, video, or (AI-generated) image.
The theme for that year’s Earth Day was Planet Vs. Plastics, which served as the inspiration for the challenge.
June 2024 – Challenge 006 Timeless Creations Challenge
Our sixth challenge in our series has also officially begun! In anticipation of the World of High Precision event (June 11-14, Geneva, Switzerland), we invite people to create high-quality watch renders inspired by the following themes: Pride Month (June), World Oceans Day (June 8th), International Yoga Day (June 21st), World Music Day (June 21st) and Paris Air Show (June 16-22, Paris, France).
July 2024 – Challenge 007 Summer in Space Challenge
To celebrate World UFO Day (July 2nd), the Moon Landing Anniversary (July 20th), and the AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum (July 29th – August 2nd), we launched a challenge inviting participants to create a visual depiction of “summer in space.” The task encouraged creativity in showcasing the beauty of celestial landscapes and extraterrestrial adventures, with the option to infuse humor. Whether illustrating present-day space exploration or envisioning future space colonies, participants could submit solo or team entries using any preferred software or tools.
Webinar Highlights
We strive to offer engaging webinars that complement our monthly challenges and themes. Each webinar is carefully designed to provide valuable insights, practical skills, and inspiration that align with the specific focus of the month. By doing so, we ensure that participants are well-equipped and motivated to tackle the challenges, fostering a deeper understanding and stronger community connection. And with it, we provide a platform for those who wish to present, offering them an opportunity to gain more visibility.
Building a Brighter Future Together
The Lodge has been a slowly growing success, bringing together employees from all corners of our company to learn, collaborate, and have fun. By participating in the challenges and attending the webinars, employees are not only expanding their knowledge but also contributing to a more innovative and interconnected company culture.
As we move forward, we remain committed to making The Lodge an even more dynamic and engaging platform. We invite everyone from Dassault Systèmes to join us in this exciting journey, participate in the upcoming challenges, and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared through our webinars. Together, we can build a brighter future for our company and make a lasting impact in our industry. And perhaps one day, The Lodge may open its doors to even more people!
Stay tuned for more PIONEERS and the Lodge news. We can’t wait to see what we can achieve together!
I am Matts Verkest, an Industry Process Consultant at 3DEXCITE with a foundation in VFX and 3D visual production as a 3D Generalist. Since 2019, I have transitioned from creating marketing visuals for the automotive industry to developing demos, proof of concepts, and training for a very wide industry portfolio, focusing on addressing client pain points as a reliable point of contact between the client and our internal teams. Through initiatives like PIONEERS and "The Lodge," I also try to contribute to internal improvements by providing feedback to R&D, supporting production and sales teams, and overall enhancing our client engagements.