Name: Rosa Navarro Pons
Graduation Year: 2010-2011
Company: Energ-IR (Belgium)
City: Brussels (Belgium)
Where are you working now?
I am working in Belgium in a company called Energ-IR, a consulting firm in Special Techniques and buildings with high energy and environmental performance designer. I am working as a freelance with a permanent contract.
Which are your professional aims at work?
My professional aims at work are to train me to develop new abilities and competencies in order to reach a higher level of responsibilities. At the moment the most important to me is to learn as much and quickly as possible especially that the field of my work is complementary of what I have learnt in my studies.
Which is your last project? And the most important?
I am now doing my most important project. We are doing a building of 13 flats where we have to implement all the special techniques trying that it consumes as less energy as possible . Including :
• whole building ventilation including removal and expulsion of air
• wastewater evacuation
• rainwater recovery
• supply of hot and cold water
• supply of rainwater recovery.
• …
Do you think your academic training at University have helped you in your daily work?
I think my academic training at University was very successful. It’s true that we can always study and learn more but the most important think that I learnt in the University was the foundations to be able to continue learning. I my case, I’m working more as an engineer than as an architect, but without the theoretical background that the university gave me, this would not have been possible.
Tell us briefly how is an usual day at your work.
A usual day at my work, time is flying. The first thing that I use to do is to switch on the computer and take a coffee. Every Monday we use to have a meeting with the whole team, and we share all the things that we finished the previous week and what is the work for the week coming.
We use to have a lunch break of half an hour at twelve o’clock. Every day at the end of the day, I have half an hour as well to ask about projects, ideas, problems, options… to my boss.
In general, what is your impression of the studies you did at University CEU Cardenal Herrera?
They are really complete and offer a real background to be able to adapt ourselves to the difficulties of the jobmarket. Teaching us varieties of learning that we can use in a field not reduce to strict architecture. More over being a not very big university we could interact easily with the teachers and get helped by our mates. There was a real will to share learning.
Would you recommend University CEU Cardenal Herrera to people with academic interests like your own?
Yes I would. And I would advise every student to take the benefit of the knowledge that the teachers can give you and try to learn the maximum without real pressure that you can have later in your future life and just enjoy learning as much as you can.
What are your future professional objectives?
My future objectives are to learn enough to be able to have the opportunity of where and with whom and on which project do I want to work. Be recognized for my competencies and have the possibility to choose, not to be obliged to accept everything.
How were your professors like? Did they motivate you to excel in your field of expertise, to reach for more than what might be considered the norm?
As I said previously the relations with the teachers were really motivating, they really wanted to share their knowledge and experiences with us, to give us the keys to do something once it’s over and be able to adapt to the context by being able to see further than just the studies we did. Especially they share with us their enthusiasm for architecture.
Do you think University CEU Cardenal Herrera did enough to assist you in developing your talents and skills? Could we have done more in this respect? If so, what more could we have done?
In my opinion we can always do more but in this case it is in the hands of each student. These last years one of the things that I have thought the most is why I was not more interested, curious in all fields that the University could offer to us.
For example all the conferences, workshops, travels to learn Architecture that the University CEU Cardenal Herrera did between my 6 years at the University were really interesting.
Yes, indeed I think I could have developed my skills and new ones.
Do you miss Spain? Do you plan on returning?
Of course I miss Spain, my friends, my family, and the sun… if I was saying the opposite it would be lying but it is not that bad.
Leaving away from our country gives you the opportunity to meet people of a lot of different countries, who have different way of life. Learn other languages, eat new dishes…
And of course discover another kind of architecture and way to work.
About returning, at the moment it is not in my mind, I know maybe now is not the best moment to come back to Spain but anyway Belgium gives me a really good opportunity that I have to embrace
Is there anything else you would like to tell?
I would like to say a lot of things but to sum up I think the people who study architecture use to remember more the last years because it is when we have the more hours dedicated to project but I remember two of super good teachers in mathematics and art history that made me love my first years at the University.
