Students Share the Impact of the 2018 Winning Project of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund to Program Officer at UTEC

From left to right, Patrick Venail, Director of Environmental Sustainability and Director of the Water Research and Technology Center at UTEC; Julien Noel, Director of University Experience at UTEC; Mariana Cabrera, Program Officer of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund; Patricia Orbegoso, Head of Internationalization at UTEC; and UTEC alumni Giuliana Estela Pareja Guzman, Luz Mayte Estrada Torvisco, and Jose Martin Paredes Santur.

 

On August 25, 2023, UTEC had the pleasure to host Mariana Cabrera, Program Officer of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, an initiative that supports collaboration between universities and institutions from the United States and Latin America. 100,000 Strong in the Americas’ purpose is to increase student exchange opportunities and strengthen regional cooperation in America as a whole.

 

This visit was to learn more about the impact that the 2018 winning project had on participating students. This project, “Collaborative Effort Extension UTEC – SEAS: Impact of Informal Mining on the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest” was presented by Carlos Ríos, Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UTEC, and Joost Vlassak, Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Materials Engineering at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). 

 

During the first part of this meeting, Professor Ríos gave a presentation of how winning this grant promoted the extension of this collaborative project between UTEC and Harvard SEAS, where undergraduate students from both universities participated. As a part of this project, students and professors traveled to Madre de Dios and Cusco to learn more about the harsh consequences of artisanal gold mining in these regions and to develop solutions to mitigate these issues through innovation in agriculture. In the same year, students also traveled to the USA to continue developing the project in the laboratories at Harvard SEAS.

 

During the second part of the meeting, alumni had a space to share their experiences and the impact this project had on their lives.

One of the most significant experiences was one shared by Jose Martin Paredes, UTEC alumnus of Industrial Engineering. After visiting some remote areas in Peru, he saw the different needs that were not being resolved or acknowledged. He realized that he had plenty of opportunities that he could do to retribute to society. After returning from the trip, he immediately applied to become a firefighter, and it has been nearly five years since he became one. Jose Martin also works as an Engineer of Security, Occupational Health, and Environment at Oben Holding Group, a job that he feels aligns the best with his background in industrial engineering and firefighting, as he always centers the wellbeing of others.

 

Additionally, this project has had a positive impact on Adenka Estela Muñoz Ushñahua, an alumna of Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios (UNAMAD), as it has helped her define her career and research path. Adenka currently works as a Researcher in the Soil Laboratories - Responsible for the Soil and Plant Fertility Analysis Lab and the Mercury and Environmental Chemistry Lab at the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP) in Madre de Dios and Selva Sur. Here, she participates in multiple research projects focused on the health recovery of the soil in areas damaged by the malpractices of mining in the region.

 

Lastly, Luz Mayte Estrada Torvisco, UTEC alumna of Mechanical Engineering and current Sales Engineer at Spirax Sarco, mentioned that the project greatly impacted her personal and professional life. Thanks to this experience, she earned pre-professional and professional internships at transnational companies, such as Spirax Sarco and Austral Group. Moreover, she has since participated in multiple related activities that promote the love and use of science, such as Papaya, Tutor Doctor, and Crea+. Luz Mayte highlighted that this project left a “little seed of social collaboration.”

 

These experiences and testimonies showcase the relevance and impact of these collaborative projects, which gives students the tools to enhance their professional and academic profile by exposing them to the multiple opportunities they have to contribute to the development of our society.