Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Brazilian student internship in Silicon Valley

Juliano Silva, from UNIFEI, Minas Gerais, is interning at WV Advanced Transportation Technology and Energy, assisting the department in various energy efficiency projects.
On the left, Juliano uses a segway to visit different buildings in the college
On the right, Juliano with David Esmaili, Director, WV ATTE
"The opportunity to do an academic training through ATTE was highly important for my personal growth because I was able to challenge myself into this new set of responsibilities and improve skills that were not taught in college. My position required project engineering, economic analysis, product research and be involved with all the energy efficiency projects at West Valley College, such as a wide campus Lighting retrofit and a fuel cell for the swimming pool. I also had contact with environmental clubs of the District to discuss some ideas of how the colleges could go green, by improving student commute and doing workshops to present some of the hot topics regarding renewable energy sources. Now, we are finishing the editing of webcasts for the development of a green curriculum and I am preparing myself to leave California and fill my suitcase up with all the knowledge I acquired here. I hope to keep in touch with all the people involved with this amazing program and I am super thankful for all the support I had during the best year of my life."