Academic or Professional Development - Emily Roth

I was very impressed with the schedule of our trip abroad. Our professor and his wife grew up in the city that we were staying in so they knew exactly when we should travel where and how we should get there. I felt that the schedule maximized our time in Brazil and I was happy with the number of trips we were able to take. We had at least one technical visit and one cultural visit every weekend. These visits were a good variety and showed us the past and present state of the city.

The technical visits we took allowed us to see some engineers in the field and the type of work they do in each industry. Our field of electrical engineering seemed to be as well respected in Brazil as it is in the United States though there were a lot less students studying engineering at the University of Pernambuco than there are here at Texas A&M. The tech industry was not large in Recife but through initiatives such as Porto Digital, an innovation park created in 2000, we saw how the city is moving towards a larger presence in the tech industry. The Jeep car plant we visited was also an impressive addition that the local economy benefited from. The plant created 8,000 new jobs for the state of Pernambuco. The experiences and classes allowed me to see that what I am studying is important and is affecting people across the world.

During our five weeks in Brazil we took seven hours of course work. We studied random signals and systems along with computer architecture. Neither class was a breeze, we did statistics and a lot of programming. This trip allowed me to see and learn from others in a way I had not in a long time. I found it interesting to be around the same small group for eight hours a day in the classroom. I saw different peoples’ time management habits, study techniques, teamwork, and leadership skills come out. We had to accomplish a lot of coursework in a small period of time so of course we learned how to work together as a team and how to teach one another when one was struggling. I think overall it was an effective class that was challenging and it allowed me to see where I need to improve when it simply comes to learning.

The ability to travel abroad and be immersed in a culture has given me a greater perspective. Last summer I worked in an electronics lab with engineers from India, Finland, China, and Peru. Now I feel that I have a greater understanding of just how different their backgrounds or college atmospheres may have been. What I find incredible though, is that they can all study electrical engineering in completely different countries yet now all work together on the same team. This trip has shown me the value of the field I am studying and allowed me to appreciate how universal electrical engineering is.