Lluís, engineering, economics, and energy
This time we talk with Lluís, an engineer by vocation because: he wanted to be an engineer since he was thirteen years old.
Lluís is an exemplary case of a trajectory oriented towards the professional world. This is one of the many possibilities that the graduates of the GTIAE have in front of them.
The current moment
We contact by video call on a Monday at three in the afternoon. Surely, one of the few moments of the day that Lluís has free to dedicate some time to us. To begin with, he clarifies that he now works at Engie, a world-leading industrial company in renewable energies and solutions for decarbonization. In addition, he is in the first year of the master’s degree in industrial engineering at the ETSEIB. However, he clarifies that he enjoys a “normal” employment contract, unrelated to the internship programs contemplated by the master’s degree. In addition, it must cover a total of 3,600 hours of work to be able to validate the compulsory internships that must be done in the master’s degree. A couple of years of work.
The option of continuing to study at the ETSEIB is not the majority among GTIAE students. For this reason, we are interested in the reasons for his decision. Lluís is very clear about his vocation towards engineering and wants to train as much as possible, and that is why he has always been clear about his choice. The more training, the more professional qualification, and more job opportunities.
In addition, Lluís knows that his vocation is specified in everything that refers to electricity. This is one of the specialties offered by the master’s degree: there are optional subjects and you will be able to take this specialty.
The work
Engie is a worldwide engineering company with about 90,000 employees. More specifically, the work focuses on the energy maintenance of buildings and on providing real solutions to move towards energy efficiency and decarbonisation.
Lluís is dedicated to operating buildingsfacilities where the client companies are housed. In this work, two main objectives are sought. Firstly, to ensure the proper functioning of the building’s facilities. And, at the same time, to offer innovative technological solutions to advance in the improvement of energy efficiency and decarbonisation. This objective is of interest to the company itself due to the cost savings it has and to society due to the reduction of CO2 emissions.
Lluís works for large companies that have office buildings with many workers or large production systems with high energy consumption. Therefore, they need to reduce their emissions. Thus, when entering a new building, first of all an analysis of the current conditions is carried out. Subsequently, by knowing how the facilities work, improvements are proposed to provide greater profitability and savings in the medium and long term.
Opting for the GTIAE
Lluís studied the GTIAE between the 2020-2021 and 2023-2024 academic years. He is sincere when he states that he found out about the existence of the degree by chance. During high school he never doubted his desire to study engineering, in any of its disciplines. However, he had the bachelor’s degree in industrial technology engineering (GETI) as his reference studies. Thus, when he was studying the second year of high school, he went to the Saló de l’Ensenyament and discovered the GTIAE.
Although the question of English was a challenge to him, he opted for this alternative because he also liked economics. He justifies his decision by saying that he was attracted to having a broad background in engineering and that the GTIAE went further. And he aknowledged it was a degree promoted from the business world.
Combining the GTIAE with Covid-19
Lluís relives the beginning of the degree and admits that it was horrible because of Covid-19. They started doing everything online. They only knew their classmates through the screen and from having coincided in some exams. The rest of the exams were done from home: the camera had to provide a general plan of the student while taking the exam and the teacher kept an eye out for possible cheating. In this way, they took a few online exams. The classmates knew each other from talking on the internet.
The teachers gave lists to do the teamwork. However, a teacher took about four face-to-face classes and they were able to see and talk to each other without screens. This situation lasted practically the entire 2020-2021 academic year. At UPF, classes were held both online and face-to-face, but at the UPC face-to-face classes did not arrive until the following year.
The assessment of the GTIAE and the professional future
Lluís is very satisfied with his time at the GTIAE. He says classmates had many qualities, that the academic level was very high and that this surprised him very positively. For example, classmates from other engineering departments told him that in the classroom there is a lot of student turnover due to repetition of subjects. On the contrary, the GTIAE looks more like a high school class. Lluís experienced it as a curious fact and that is very good. In the degree you make friends who accompany you and who become your friends once the GTIAE is over.
Lluís was one of the 20% of GTIAE students who did not leave Erasmus but did do internships throughout the 2023-2024 academic year. It was his option to gain experience, already at Engi, and then he was offered to continue working with a part-time contract. After six months, he was hired for six hours a week. This has been the transition to the labour market.
He wants to finish the master’s degree and gain more experience over the next three or four years. He is clear that he wants to take on more responsibilities within the company. Do it little by little, focus on working and progress in its work. Nor does he rule out the idea of international mobility. Of course, he will continue in the energy sector and wants to take on more responsibility.
Economist and engineer
Finally, he reaffirms that everything he studied in economic analysis during the GTIAE has been a must because everything is based on economic profitability. The directives of the European Union are purely a matter of economic analysis. In the Engi department where he works, they incorporate it every day, they have a turnover and balance sheets that must be interpreted. He concludes that if you move up the corporate chain, you become more of an economist than an engineer. You need a basis of economic analysis to better understand everything you find in the professional world.
Thank you very much, Lluís, for your testimony.
And a lot of success in the professional work you carry out, the reduction of CO2 emissions it’s something that matter to everyone!
