SWE Mexico held a “Strengthening the Network” virtual event series which took place on 14, 21, and 28 Sept. 2023, consisting of two-hour sessions each day. A testament to the growth of networking in Mexico, there were 577 registrants from industries all over Latin America.
Five companies participated in the event: Cummins, PepsiCo, John Deere, Honeywell, and ABB. Two leading universities, La Salle University and UACJ (Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez), also participated. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about SWE, create connections, acquire significant knowledge and share experiences across various STEM fields with fellow Spanish-speaking participants.
Cristina Burrola, the Cummins Latin America vice president, was the keynote session speaker. In her presentation, titled “From Engineering School to Leading Cummins Latin America,” Cristina emphasized the responsibility that each person has in their own career, as well as the power of intentionality in the professional sphere. She inspired the participants to pursue livelihoods in STEM and seek out leadership positions.
Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez (UACJ) gave a candid presentation about the challenges and opportunities they had in the advancement of women’s participation in STEM. Notably, this year was the first time the academy participated in the Mexico SWE event.
Grisel Rojas from PepsiCo presented a talk entitled “3 Tools for Professional Development,” where she underlined how crucial it is to be able to say “no” and provided strategies to identify when to ask for help. Further, Carlos Cisneros, an international speaker from Honeywell Mexico, provided insights into the benefits of networking. His tip was to stay connected with others — not just in the realm of work but also in daily life.
Sandra Torres, senior project manager at John Deere, gave a well-received talk, titled “Personal Branding.” She discussed the positive impact of creating a professional image on social media to increase networking and promotion possibilities. In addition, Carla Balan from ABB Mexico led a talk called “Connecting the Dots in STEM.” During her presentation, Carla highlighted challenges faced by women in STEM pertaining to environment, friendships, schooling, professional life and personal development. She also encouraged participants to seek out support networks.
To close out the event, we welcomed the participation of the first University Affiliate in Mexico, La Salle University. Through MHA Maria del Carmen Arquer Ruiz, the university addressed the ways they promote gender diversity among engineering students to foster an increase in women’s STEM participation.
We are so thrilled by the achievements of the second SWE virtual event in Mexico. We look forward to becoming a larger SWE Spanish-speaking community in 2024, and we’re excited to host our third event. We count on you to make this happen! For more information, please contact swe_san_luis_potosi@swe.org or swecoahuilamexico@swe.org.
