Pitic Excellence Scholarship

Pitic, in coordination with the Fundación Esposos Rodríguez, supports young people from Sonora to pursue postgraduate studies abroad through the Pitic Excellence Scholarship. This scholarship grants an amount up to 20 thousand dollars to study a master's degree in the United States, Canada or Europe in Scientific and Technological areas.

Below we present the scholarships awarded since 2011 when the initiative started:

The requirements are basically that the person be from Sonora, not be over 40 years old, have a letter of acceptance to where they are going to enter and an essay with their reasons for pursuing the master's degree. The agreement that is reached with those who are awarded scholarships is that they have the commitment that when they return from studying the master's degree, they have to apply the knowledge acquired within the Sonoran territory and thus contribute to the development of the entity. Joaquín Corella, recipient of the 2013 Pitic Excellence Scholarship, shares his experience with us.

1. What does the support received represent for you?

The support for me represents the opportunity to fulfill a dream, the opportunity to improve myself, get to know another culture and have a great challenge that was the master's degree. The support not only represented the economic part but it was also a support and an emotional stimulus during the master's degree, knowing that I was chosen among many other participants makes you feel special, it makes you know that all the past efforts have been worthwhile and that the challenge that he was about to face was also going to be worth it. Knowing that a company like Pitic had believed in me was always a great boost during my stay in the Netherlands. And personally, that is what Pitic does with these scholarships, it creates a commitment with young people to support Sonora. It's a chain of favors and it's an obligation as a former fellow to support the community, to find some way to repay that support we receive, not financially, but a responsibility to society.

2. What does the master's degree in sustainable energy technologies consist of?

It is a fairly complex master's degree due to its great focus, it consists of understanding the operating principles behind the different technologies, each one in detail. But it is much more than just the engineering part, it was also about learning the economic, political and social landscape facing sustainable energy technologies. It was a very heavy master's degree due to the large number of subjects and topics that were covered, as well as the difficulty of the Dutch education system. The subject matter was very varied from sustainability, user psychology, energy and economics, sustainable development, solar, wind, biomass energy; more topics of specialization that I chose in sustainable development. But doing a master's degree at a university of excellence is much more than the academic part, it is preparation outside the curriculum, stress management, hours without sleep, projects and especially when you deal with people from all over the world who They have different personalities and customs. Learning to tolerate, understand and become great friends with people from different cultures and especially cultures very different from ours is a great challenge.

3. Some anecdote from your stay in the Netherlands

Anecdotes are difficult to remember, since everything seems so normal looking back. What I really enjoyed was not driving, we are so used to using the car that it is difficult to imagine a life without driving, however, once you live it, it is very comfortable and liberating. Not worrying about parking, gas, if you're going to have a beer or who's going to pick you up. The bicycle culture fell in love with me, since all you need to move is your desire. All the cities are completely adapted for bicycle transport in such a way that during the time I was there, I did not get in any car and even if you believe it, I did not miss them at all.

4. Are you currently participating in any project derived from the knowledge acquired?

I am pleased to say that the master's degree was very helpful to me personally, I currently have my own company focused on savings

of energy and consultancy on Solar Energy issues. The master's degree gave me apart from the knowledge, skills on handling information, data, presentations, documents that are currently the basis of my business and my personal distinctive. Also as a way to contribute to society, I teach courses on renewable energies, making a 15-hour summary of what I learned in the two years of my master's degree. Achieving in this way to spread the knowledge acquired thanks to the support and taking it to other young people or professionals who feel attracted by the topic of renewable energies.

Currently, more than 50 people from Hermosillo have had the opportunity to take the course and understand how renewable energy works, making the support received by Pitic not just for one, but for the entire community. I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate Pitic for making this great decision to support young people like me, telling them that all the money, work and effort they have invested in the Excellence Scholarship is worth it and that they are making young people committed to their state. It is a small seed that is already bearing fruit, generation after generation of alumni.