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Catarina takes part in the Pegasus 2023 conference
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Catarina Da-Silva Lobo took part in the PEGASUS conference 2023 to connect with other students, professors, and industry representatives; broaden her scientific communication skills; challenge herself by writing a technical paper with her own research and finally, learn more about the aerospace work she is passionate about.
IF YOU WERE TO TAKE STOCK OF YOUR EXPERIENCE :
I can confidently say that participating in the conference was a tremendous learning experience. I could not only fulfil the objectives I had set a priori, but also engage in many other experiences.
First, I would like to highlight my technical experience. The fact that the conference was tailored to students was a unique and helpful formatMy paper was carefully reviewed by two professors, experts in the flight dynamics domain, who gave me great insight into different aspects of my paper, revision notes and advice for future work; my presentation was commented by two other professors who posed interesting questions and proposed improvements for my next presentations. I will put these comments to practice in my next technical conferences, and they will improve my scientific communication skills. I believe attending this conference highly boosted my capability of communicating detailed technical work in a simple and comprehensive way, while maintaining the audience engaged, aspect which was one of the strengths of my participation.
Secondly, attending the presentations of the other students was also extremely interesting. it was possible to collect ideas and insights that may be helpful for my research in the future, which is even linked with my master thesis project. It is also important to be aware of the current research domains outside of my PhD scope, as a well-rounded student and engineer.
Finally, I got to connect with many students and professors, hear about their experiences in the aerospace world and meet others who work in the same research field as I do.
A word to our donors?
Catarina Da-Silva Lobo
Overall, the conference was an all-round experience, from a technical and professional to a social perspective.
This experience cannot therefore fit into a single box, and it is precisely that the objective of the PEGASUS Student Conference: not only to share and discuss aerospace engineering, but also to give the students all over Europe the opportunity to connect.
None of this would of course be possible without the help of Foundation ISAE-SUPAERO. In fact, this aid was not only key in my availability to travel across Europe for three days, but also to obtain an annual membership in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), necessary for the participation in the conference, as AIAA was its main sponsor.
The conference certainly exceeded my expectations: the presented work was extremely interesting, the connection I could make with other students and professors invaluable, and the experience marked my professional life in a very positive light. Not only the content itself, but the attendance: overall I presented my work to more than 50 professors and students, met many of them and received comments on my paper and presentation from 4 different professors.
In this light, it is possible to tell how important this conference was in my professional path. From the technical perspective of a student and researcher to the human connection established with like-minded professionals, it was a unique set-up to develop my career as a young engineer.
To conclude, this experience was a unique setting to experience the aerospace research work as an aerospace engineering student. It is fundamental to highlight the importance of the Fondation in propelling students to succeed in their professional path, not only to attend conferences, but also to conduct projects and participate in other events. The Fondation’s support is crucial to allow students to visit partner universities and connect in ways very few can. I sincerely hope the Fondation continues to support these events and their students in future years;
Classroom knowledge is fundamental, but real-world experience, side-by-side with professionals, is a tremendous learning experience any student would be lucky to have.
I thank Fondation ISAE-SUPAERO for their support in making possible my participation in one of the most marking experiences of my early career as an aerospace engineer.