Engineering student participates in the international EPS program in France
Liderazgo Anáhuac en Innovación
Guadalupe Morfín, a Mechatronics Engineering student, joined the program in which students from different universities attend classes and work in groups on industrial projects, all in English.
Student Guadalupe Morfín De La Parra (10th semester Mechatronics Engineering) participated in the European Project Semester (EPS) in France during the semester August - December 2024, an international program that challenges engineering students to work on real projects in multicultural and interdisciplinary teams, an experience that had a profound impact on her personal and professional development.
"I was fortunate to be part of a diverse team with talented colleagues from the Netherlands, Japan and Belgium. Our mission was ambitious: to optimize the transmission components of a hydraulic turbine to reduce cost without compromising performance," she said in an interview.
Referring to this project, she pointed out that the main challenge was to design a solution that would not only fit within a maximum budget of 1,000 euros but also be built with standard parts that would be accessible anywhere in the world.
"We worked with VISETA, a company dedicated to the development of sustainable technologies. Their model of a low environmental impact hydraulic turbine is designed so that individuals, companies and governments can purchase the plans and assemble it. Only the shaft and wooden parts are custom-made, which keeps costs down and guarantees its global accessibility," added Morfin De La Parra.
She emphasized that extensive research was carried out throughout the project, including 2D and 3D modeling, detailed calculations, and simulations. Although they did not reach the physical testing stage, they learned a lot.
"I now understand the value of effective communication in multicultural teams, the importance of careful planning, and how interdisciplinary collaboration can lead to innovative solutions," she said.
During the program, she also took classes in communication and project management. The latter provided her with not only useful industry tools, such as Microsoft Project but also an advisor to help her apply what she learned to the development of her semester project.
They were also assigned technical advisors who not only monitored the project in detail but also guided them in solving complex problems. "They helped us by checking calculations and teaching us simulation and design methods, which was essential to obtain the answers we did," she said.
She also expressed her deep gratitude to the EPS program and her colleagues for this enriching experience. "I am convinced that the lessons learned will have a lasting impact on my path as an engineer and on future opportunities for innovation," she concluded.
This program for engineering students is offered through a network of 19 universities in 13 European countries. For one semester, students attend courses and work in groups on industrial projects entirely in English. The École Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Tarbes (ENIT) is the only school in France to offer this program, which welcomes between 15 and 20 students per semester and in return, sends some of its students to the institutions in the network.
It should be noted that ENIT offers this program twice a year, in the fall and spring, and this semester the students developed multicultural awareness, teamwork, language and communication skills, as well as industrial experience.
For more information:
Andrea Katalina Gómez Treviño
School of Engineering