The first edition of the National Contest on Best Engineering Theses promoted by INVAP throughout the country closed its call for proposals with a great success of enrollment.
The contest, which seeks to recognize Argentine talent, received 139 applications validated by 38 universities from all over the country, both public and private. The objective of the contest is to value research with application in the engineering universe with a plurality of views and to highlight innovative projects that improve the Argentines’ quality of life. In this sense, the proposals presented complied with the guideline laid down by INVAP, the Argentine leading company in the field of technological projects worldwide.
From the variety of works coming from 16 provinces, those concerning electronic (29%), industrial (12%) and computer engineering (12%) prevailed; along with the rest of the disciplines, they compete for more than two million Argentine pesos in prizes. Each category will receive a remuneration equivalent to 5 (five) monthly internal doctoral scholarships of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET, in Spanish) in Bariloche for the winning doctoral thesis. Besides, there will be 3 (three) scholarships for the winning theses at Master’s level, and 2 (two) scholarships for those at undergraduate level. A special mention under the name “INVAP’s Founders” will also be awarded for well-regarded theses that propose a creative and interdisciplinary approach.
During the last week of June and in July the evaluation committee will be devoted to select the final works considered to be in line with INVAP’s motto: the actual implementation in strategic areas and the search for tools to build a better future for the Argentine people.
The president of the jury, Rozana Cocco, PhD in Materials Science and Technology from the National University of Mar del Plata, said that this call for proposals “is very valuable, since there are not many proposals of this type in the country that challenge engineering in a federal way. Buenos Aires city and the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Río Negro, Neuquén, San Juan and San Luis were the districts that submitted most of the works to be evaluated,” stated Cocco, who works at INVAP as chief engineer in qualifications for the PALLAS reactor project in the Netherlands. Among other objectives of this first edition of INVAP National Contest on Best Engineering Theses, Cocco highlights the motivational value it represents for those students who are thinking of choosing this type of career. “Science without engineering would be philosophy,” she said, adding that the mission of applied science “is largely the responsibility of engineering.”
Verónica Garea, nuclear engineer, PhD in Engineering Physics, president of INVAP Foundation, remarked about the contest: “This award harks back to the origins of the company, which was created to link academia, research and technological innovation with the economic development of our country. Today, we are motivated by the purpose of transforming reality. In universities, there are spaces for creativity; thus, with this initiative we intend to add such enthusiasm to recognize those works that respond to the needs of the community as well as to detect those students who could be future INVAP professionals,” she emphasized.
Winning proposals will be announced in August and the awards ceremony will be held in September, at INVAP’s 47th anniversary.
To see the results of the call of proposals and estimate the scope of this first edition of the contest, click here.
