Industrial Engineering and Management: Caio about his study experience

Why did you decide to study at HZ?

"I got to know HZ from a friend who was studying Civil Engineering at the time. I had just finished a bachelors degree in Industrial Automation in Brazil, my home country. I was stuck on finding an internship or jobs in this sector and feeling sad because of that. One day, I decided to make a change in my life and go live abroad. That is when I remember that my friend had told me a lot of great things about HZ, so I decided to go after it."

Why did you choose this specific study programme?

"Luckily, HZ has the Industrial Engineering and Management course, which, in some aspects, is similar to the first bachelors I did, but broader and better. This was perfect due to my industrial learning background, and I signed up without hesitation. It was the best thing I ever did."

What is the most valuable part of your study?

"The most valuable part of this study is that we can go to companies from the very first day, twice a week. We get assignments during classes, and we do these assignments in real companies with real processes and actual problems. We also get to interact with employees to obtain the necessary information for our study. This aspect of the course is fantastic because you can experience a real work environment."

Tell us about your internship and your minor. How did you experience these semesters?

"In the third year of the course, you have to do a minor and an internship, with a duration of one semester each. For my minor, I did the Innovative Logistics and IT minor at Hogeschool Rotterdam. I selected this course because both logistics and IT are critical elements of any company, and I wanted to increase my knowledge of these vital elements."

"As for the internship, I worked at Pelt&Hooykaas, located in Rotterdam. My assignment, in short, was to improve communication between two companies. I had to do in-depth research and interview key stakeholders to obtain the necessary information to come up with a recommendation."

Read more about Industrial Engineering & Management at HZ University of Applied Sciences