“This is one of the most beautiful moments you are experiencing”. These are João Gandra’s words to an audience of dozens of students in the Great Hall of Instituto Superior Técnico. He is currently a materials and processes engineer at the European Space Agency, but ten years ago João was in the audience as a Mechanical Engineering PhD student. In fact, this former student started his lecture with photographs of what he called his “golden years” at Técnico.
The 13th edition of MecanIST, an initiative co-ordinated by Fórum Mecânica, the Mechanical Engineering Students’ Organisation at Técnico, took place from 14th to 16th February, as part of the Careers Weeks. The event was attended by 50 companies and featured 17 round table sessions, nine talks and six workshops, with the aim of bridging the gap between Técnico students and their potential career paths.
During his talk, João Gandra said that “Técnico was a launching pad” for his career growth. Although his career has been focused on space exploration, since 2010 he has worked on projects related to electric cars, trains, hydrogen storage tanks and offshore solar panels. He also emphasized that Técnico “played a significant role in both professional and personal development”.
Following João’s talk, eight others took the stage, which is something that Gustavo Guerreiro from Fórum Mecânica is keen to emphasise. Sitting on an exhibition stand in the Main Building, he shares “we have highly qualified company representatives attending this year’s edition”, such as the BNP Paribas representative, who was a former president of Fórum Mecânica, and several Técnico alumni who were among the line-up of speakers.
One of the alumni, Inês Nobre, shared her academic and professional journey with the visitors of MecanIST. She completed a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Técnico and currently works as a senior mechanical engineer at the LEGO Group. After an Erasmus experience at the University of Alborg, in Denmark, Inês ended up immersed in that country’s culture and went on to work in the wind energy sector before joining the company that produces the famous building bricks.
According to Joana Ruaz, a 1st year Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student, the career success stories were the highlight of MecanIST. “I am very interested in learning about motorbikes, cars, Formula 1, and everything else being presented there to get a better idea of what awaits me in the future”. She considered her MecanIST experience a success – “The event is well organised and very appealing”.
