New exchange program an opportunity to showcase engineering programs

Bruno Yon (Image: Supplied)

In 2023, the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC), located in Lima, Peru, announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with the University of Alberta to strengthen its educational and research activities.

This agreement enables students and professors to carry out academic exchanges, participate in seminars, develop research and joint publications as well as other benefits that contribute to the training of students at both universities. 

The U of A, and in particular, the Faculty of Engineering, gain a reciprocal benefit in knowledge exchange as well as the opportunity to showcase the faculty’s outstanding programs and facilities to an international community of students and educators. 

An inaugural participant in the program, Bruno Yon, arrived in Edmonton on December 20 to begin his research internship in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He said he was “mentally prepared” for temperatures in the range of minus 40C, but was pleasantly surprised by the unusually mild conditions that awaited him upon his arrival. 

“It was much better than I expected,” laughs Yon, who was on campus for the entire winter term.  

Under the supervision of a PhD student in ECE, Songyang Zhang, Yon worked exclusively in the Real-Time Experimental Laboratory (RTX-Lab) which specializes in power and energy systems’ simulations. Digital circuit design and other related research is an area of interest Yon was keen to learn more about as a electrical and computer engineering student in the final year of his undergraduate program at UTEC, who in addition to his internship, also took part in online classes at his home university.  

“I’ve done circuits, programming, cloud computing – these are the fields I’m really passionate about,” says Yon, who is grateful for the opportunity to expand his knowledge while also gaining career-building research experiences that he says would not be available to him without going abroad. 

“I think this kind of exchange program gives you a comprehensive vision of what it is to be a future engineer,” he says. “Of course, we have code laboratories in Peru that I’ve worked in for the last four years, but here you have different technology, different tools, different methodologies. In Peru, there are a lot of engineers who love their jobs and have good careers, but specifically for this type of research work, there is not much funding. I learned a lot.”

Beyond the laboratory, Yon found a welcoming community on campus and in the city, starting with his roommates, who were all female and “taught him a lot about Canada and the U of A”.

“As an international student, I felt very welcomed. It was really nice to see the diversity, both social and cultural. I found people who are part of the LGBTQIA and Latino communities, so it felt like home, in a way.” 

Yon returned to Lima in April, and will graduate this July. He plans to work for the next few years gaining hands-on experience in his field and is considering a graduate degree program, possibly in Canada. 

“My experience has been great, honestly. I made a lot of friends here on campus and also at social events organized by the U of A. I’ve loved living here and being part of the community.”