Four years ago, Paola Pantoja decided to move from Colombia to Brussels to study Civil Engineering at VUB. She now works as a geotechnical engineer at Jan De Nul.
My name is Paola Pantoja, I am 27 years old and I am from Colombia, I have been living in Belgium for almost four years. A few years ago, I decided to start looking for an opportunity where I could study in another country. VUB has a very good and well-ranked programme for Civil Engineering since it covers all aspects you need to know and skills you need to possess as a civil engineer. I applied and VUB accepted me with a scholarship.
I am currently working as a geotechnical engineer for a company called Jan De Nul, a leading company and expert in project development. With my team, we perform calculation of design and installation of foundations for wind turbines in the sea, offshore. My ambition is to gain more experience in my position and perhaps at a later stage go onsite, which I really enjoy.
VUB has a very good and well-ranked programme for Civil Engineering since it covers all aspects you need to know and skills you need to possess as a civil engineer.
Looking for a job was not easy, as I had made many applications to different companies without any result. In the end, I saw that Jan De Nul had posted several vacancies on their website, I applied for my job and it finally worked out, for which I am grateful. It was essential for me to have a degree from a European university if I wanted to be hired in Europe. My studies at VUB played an important role for me whilst looking for a job, since I could not have applied directly with my Colombian diploma.
For future alumni looking to work in Belgium, my main advice would be to apply first for jobs that particularly match with your background and interests, even for the very big companies that you would never think possible. Moreover, I would say to be very patient and to do many interviews.
My main takeaways whilst studying at VUB are the good quality of the teaching and academics, and the chance to interact with a large international student environment. I also found it very useful to study in Belgium since it is very easy to travel from to other countries. If you like traveling, it is definitely a good location for studies.
Apply first for jobs that particularly match with your background and interests, even for the very big companies that you would never think possible.
Finally, I would like to share a personal experience, which I think could be helpful for current or future students. When I was in my first year of my Master studies at VUB, I found it very difficult because I had to adapt to a new culture and way of studying other than the one I was used to. I thought I would fail all exams after the first exam period. I decided to travel to Switzerland to visit a new place and to clear my mind, forgetting about results, emails, exams and letting go of the pressure. When I came back, I was amazed to see I had passed all my exams. To those students with similar doubts, I would like to say that when things turn ugly, try to find the beautiful side and remember that everything will be fine. The university staff and academics are all very supportive and you will find all the help that you need if you ask for it.
If I could share one message with the wider community of the Faculty of Engineering, it would be to keep evolving to a more technological and changing world, and to keep encouraging students to think big and outside of the box, in line with the motto and identity of the VUB as a university.