NAEN organised the 7th conference on Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, on 26th and 27th February, at Técnico – Alameda campus. The participants had the opportunity to attend lectures and to participate in training and networking activities.
“Our main objective is to bring a little bit of this industry sector to our colleagues”, says Carolina Mangas, vice president of NAEN. “I think that what makes this event unique is our ability to bring former students who share their inspiring and different stories. And even if they do not work directly in this area, they will tell us why the skills they acquired at Técnico were important in their professional lives”, she added.
Four Técnico alumni attended the conference closing session on 26th February: João Silva (Royal Huisman), João Pedro Beja (Technip FMC), Tiago Santos (Instituto Superior Técnico) and Carlos Silva (West Sea).
After sharing their professional path, the alumni answered some questions from the audience, related to Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering course, the skills that are most valued by companies, the importance of having an international experience and extracurricular activities. “Técnico gives us this ability to find our own way, to find solutions, to think outside the box, to solve problems very quickly and effectively”, said Carlos Silva. “It’s very important to know how to communicate, to be proactive. But the most important thing for an engineer is not to be afraid of making mistakes”, stressed João Beja. “These extracurricular activities are very important and you should continue investing your time in such activities”, said professor Tiago Santos. “There are no impossible things, there are difficult things. It depends on the energy you put into things, it depends on the effort you are willing to make, what are your predisposition to give up. Idealizing your career is possible”, said João Silva.
Inspired by the success of last year’s edition, the organisation team decided to repeat the NAEN TABLES on the second day of the event, whose objective is to promote a conversation between representatives of companies in this area and a group of students. The second day also included a Business Communication Workshop by Spark Agency.
A debate on the future of ports will mark the end of the conference. “I think it will be very interesting because we have renowned speakers attending this debate and because it is a very important topic in this field”, says Carolina Mangas.
The vice president of NAEN emphasizes how differentiating elements of this initiative are “the capacity to impact”. “I like to think that we are developing a project that started a few years ago and that will be continued by other students. And I like to think that we were able to help and to inspire our colleagues”, says Carolina Mangas.
