While looking at tables full of sandwiches, snacks and biscuits, Thomas Hietala, a Chemical Engineering PhD student, explained to a group of curious students the different data analysis and machine learning tasks involved in his research. The ‘networking session’ – an opportunity to get in touch with older students and Técnico alumni, and exchange experiences about the academic path and career scenarios in the field of Chemical Engineering – held at the Civil Engineering Building, brought together several students.
This was one of the activities included in the 37th edition of the Chemical Engineering Seminar Series (JEQ) – a series of initiatives that took place from 19th to 22nd February, with dozens of sponsors and supporters. The JEQ calendar was filled with talks by company representatives, workshops and visits to companies in the Chemical Engineering sector, including industrial facilities. The activities were organised by members of the Chemical Engineering Group (NEQIST) and student volunteers. Learning about professional experiences and research careers was the motto of this year’s edition.
Ermelinda Maçôas, a professor at Técnico and a researcher at Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE), gave a talk on her research career at the beginning of the week. She shared her academic career and her experience as a PhD student in Finland through the Erasmus programme. She also gave some examples of areas that she had been able to explore within Chemical Engineering, such as the behaviour of molecules in the presence of light and what applications in imaging and biomedicine can be explored based on these phenomena.
Later that week, and back at the networking session, Leonor Garcez, a 3rd-year Chemical Engineering undergraduate student, talked with fellow students. He highlighted the workshop ‘How to Stand Out in a Pitch Interview’, in which participants developed their communication skills to make a ‘good impression’ on their interlocutor. “The workshop was very useful”, says Leonor. “I had already done a few pitches before, but I had never got feedback on my performance.”
Ricardo Martins, also a 3rd-year Chemical Engineering undergraduate student, helped organise last year’s JEQ and took part in almost all the activities at this year’s edition. “The event has covered interesting topics”, he shares. According to the student, JEQ has been very useful “to get to know new companies” and to “help think in other ways and see how people from other areas, such as marketing, approach a problem”.
Several students also shared their enthusiasm for the opportunity to visit the facilities of a large pharmaceutical company and a fuel refinery at the end of the week. The aim is to get to know the day-to-day life of a chemical engineer and see what they learn in the classroom “really happening”.
