The second edition of the event, held on November 7 in Puerto Montt, almost doubled the number of participating companies. It also included the participation of secondary school students from the commune.
With the aim of strengthening the link between the academic world and the productive sector, the Department of Engineering Sciences of the University of Los Lagos organized the Second Engineering and Business Fair. In this way, the event is consolidated as a meeting space between students, professionals and companies in the engineering field.
The second edition of this event took place on Friday 7 November at gym 1 of the Puerto Montt Campus and featured the participation of companies such as Grupo Aconser, Invermar (and its subsidiaries Astilleros Calbuco, La Portada and La Península), Enerlim, Enerpry, Voltaje Austral, Detroit S.A., Rhona, R&S, Crell, Empresas LN, ABB and Integra. In addition, secondary students from the Colegio Salesianos and the Liceo Vicuña Mackenna attended. Puerto Montt, next to the Francisco Hernán Pizarro High School in Calbuco, where they were able to get close to the opportunities offered by the industrial sector of the commune.
For Rubén Barría Pizarro, academic from the Department of Engineering Sciences at the University of Los Lagos, the aim of this second version is to be a link and a point of connection between the academia and the productive sector of the Los Lagos region.
Puerto Montt has a great advantage, as it has many associated companies from different areas, therefore it is an important opportunity for us as the Department of Engineering Sciences, with the four engineering disciplines we have, which are Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Civil, Electrical Civil, Civil Engineering in Civil Works and Civil Informatics, and our students, to be close to the productive sector, already "both in the form of practices, thesis projects and obviously having the opportunity to participate in employability processes of these companies," said the teacher.
During the day two presentations were held by invited professionals. Hardy Sepúlveda, general manager of Voltaje Austral SpA, addressed the topic "Energy distribution systems", sharing his experience in the energy sector.
As for the commercial engineer Bárbara Rivas, she presented the talk "Personal Brand: How to Stand Out in the Job Market", where she emphasized that "A personal brand is a strategic reputation. How others perceive you and the way you communicate is your unique value in the market; it must be worked on and enhanced," she said.
Solutions for fish farms and wellboats
A company that was at this fair for the second consecutive time is MMS. For Esteban Gutiérrez, general manager of the company, this year they participated to "show the new products we have which are equipment to oxygenate the water in fish farms and wellboats. This year was interesting, as well as the engineering team, students from schools also came," he added.
The company presented its various solutions for aquaculture, among them a new project, which is an oxygenator that reduces the amount of oxygen wasted. "For example, conventional oxygenators operate in a range of 14 liters per second and ours, as it is more efficient, can work with 6.5 liters per second, with a huge difference in oxygen consumption to achieve the same goal," said the manager. General of MMS, who added that "it is a solution for a client. They asked us for a prototype that met three objectives, which was one, to reduce the amount of energy they consume, increase the amount of oxygen in the water and at the same time be able to clean with this same oxygen on the walls of the tanks where the salmon are raised," explained Gutiérrez.
Importance of the academic-industry link
Another company that had already participated in the first edition of this fair and that once again was present at this event is Voltaje Austral. As Hardy Sepúlveda, general manager of the company based in Puerto Montt, commented, "we had high expectations and we are already thinking about the third edition. We were exhibitors this time and I really believe the objective was achieved, not only to establish relationships with" students, but also see the participation of many more companies.
For the representative of Voltaje Austral, it also drew attention to the participation of technical professional high schools in the region, so not only a commercial relationship was achieved, "but also a academia-industry link, which is very important today for the development of our region".
Enerpry, on the other hand, participated for the first time this year in the Engineering and Business Fair of the University of Los Lagos. "It was quite interesting and enriching to participate in this event. And secondly because the exhibitors were also of high level. We really liked listening to trends in the work that are important for the development of new professionals," explained Marcelo Mansilla, head of human resources at the company. period specialist for aquaculture
For the representative of Enerpry, they managed to attract potential students for internships and also graduated professionals. "Therefore, it was quite positive to be present at this fair. We presented the three types of solutions we have as a company related to the photoperiod area, the industrial engineering area and the renewable energy area," clarified Mansilla.
Connection with students and professionals
Invermar participated in the fair showing what they do as a group of companies. Florencia Civit, development analyst at Invermar, said "mainly we came to promote our brand, so that they know us and know what we do. Today we came with the four companies we can represent (Invermar, Astilleros Calbuco, La Península and La Portada). And the idea is that they understand how one connects with the" another and how we work so that each day is a more sustainable process for the industry and for the region.
As explained by Civit, the event exceeded our expectations, as students and even colleagues participated, with whom we could discuss what we had seen and capture new trends in the industry. For us today it is very important to promote everything that is the employer brand, to present what we do and show why working in one of our companies makes a difference in the market.
Positive balance
Once the event had finished, academic Rubén Barría highlighted that "the balance of the meeting is excellent, as we increased the number of companies. From 12 last year, we now had 20, along with a large attendance of students and even people from outside the university community. Additionally, the interaction was very good. I am convinced that it has to be generated and if they do not come to me, I will go to them. So it is very important that the" University of Los Lagos, and this must be recognized, is taking the initiative, in that the academia links with the socio-productive environment and of course also links with the community through this initiative," added the lecturer from Ulagos.
According to the organization, this second edition of the fair reaffirms the University of Los Lagos' commitment to the comprehensive training of its students, promoting early linking spaces with the labor environment and encouraging the development of key skills for future professional life. "The idea is not only to grow the aquaculture sector, which is of great importance here in the area, but also to make visible all sectors" industrial productive. We as engineers have to attend to their needs and of course our graduates can make great contributions to that company to improve its value chain and obviously generate the resources for all of us to grow," stated academic Rubén Barría.
Under his perspective, for the coming years we have to "think about growing, taking on new challenges, creating more opportunities and adding more companies. As Universidad Los Lagos we are making this bet and are determined to create this link with the productive company and for our students to also know what they have around them," he specified, adding that more activities of this type are coming.
