Ayrton Siqueira chose the Energy Efficiency Laboratory to bring career to international level
A former Civil Engineering major from École Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Saint-Étienne (Enise), Ayrton Bernard Cedric de Siqueira chose PUCRS to do a one-year internship. After doing exchanges in Europe, the 24-year old French student decided to expand his international horizons in Brazil. He was attracted by the activities developed at the School of Technology’s Energy Efficiency Laboratory (Labee).
In his native France, Siqueira told us that his experience at PUCRS will be useful for him in the company he currently works for as he is engaged in energy efficiency projects in Paris. He can apply the insights and skills he gained at PUCRS, such as the language, energy efficiency techniques, project management and investments. “I can use these new tools in my everyday challenges. Labee has values as respect, proactivity, discipline and passion that I always keep in mind. Also, in the future I will be able to do projects with Brazilian companies and the language will no longer be a barrier”, says he.
He will go on to say that he learned a lot about communication from the laboratory’s multidisciplinary team and its coordinator Dr Odilon Duarte. “My Portuguese helps me a lot, my company has projects in Brazilian supermarkets and I can use Portuguese in my exchanges with the engineers”, tells he. Dr Duarte was very happy about the things Siqueira did at Labee. “He shared many of the experiences he had in France and added a lot to our studies. He was always very interested in projects and visitations. He was always paid special attention to the financial aspects and energy analyses contained in reports”, acknowledges he.
His experience at PUCRS
Siqueira, who has family in Porto Alegre, had previously received very positive reviews about the Main Campus and its beauty. This motivated him to come and, at the end, he was very satisfied. “My experience at PUCRS was amazing! It is always on my mind. What I really liked was the Library, a nice place to study and read. The campus has many other attractions: the nature; the possibility of choosing courses from others areas, such as Economics for instance; the Labee, where I learned a lot, and also the Panorama restaurant, to which I paid frequent visits.”
The coordinator of Labee claims that having an international partner taking part in the laboratory activities is very enriching both for the workplace and for the other students. “Sharing experiences with people from different cultures is something that benefits PUCRS and international students. It also fostered the internationalization of our Campus”, says Duarte.
At a more personal level, Siqueira has learned a lot about a different culture. “It was interesting to share moments with my Brazilian friends at churrascos. I liked how peaceful people are; I was really less stressful than Paris for instance.” That was his second and longest visit to Brazil. In his view, it was easy to adapt and people were friendly and helpful during his stay. “I felt completely welcome. I was inspired of how you welcome people. The Portuguese teachers were friendly and gave us tips about Porto Alegre and other cities to travel to. The academic mobility team of PUCRS was very welcoming too. I also made good friends at PUCRS and played some great soccer”, adds he.
