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Héctor González (top, 3rd from left to right) in Montreal with friends and university classmates |
Héctor González, thesist of Delphos Mine Planning Laboratory, was awarded a scholarship by the Government of Canada through the Canada-Chile Leadership Exchange Grant (LINK)
to carry out a research internship at the Polytechnique of Montreal, which was directed by the professor of the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, Dr. Michel Gamache.
Héctor did his internship between January 08th and July 02nd, 2019, when he returned to Chile to defend his master's thesis in mining. Below, we collect his comments regarding this experience:
How did the option to go to Canada come about?
The option came thanks to Professor Nelson Morales. He constantly asks about his students' interests and goals, and in face of my interest in going on an internship abroad, he offered and encouraged me to apply for an exchange scholarship.
What was the purpose of the stay?
The academic objective was to work in a foreign university on a topic according to my thesis. Although, I could also consider aiming to live the life experience outside of Chile and practicing another language.
Where did you go specifically, and who did you work with?
I went to the Polytechnique of Montréal in Canada. I worked under the guidance of Michel Gamache, an academic at the Polytechnique, and inspired Louis-Pierre Campeau, his Ph.D. student. I was received in one of the University's research laboratories, which had a complete infrastructure.
What was the research topic?
The topic to be addressed was the Short-Term Planning of Loading Equipment in Open Pit Mining. We work using Constraint Programming techniques, using a Python library that allows us to raise and solve scheduling problems quickly.
What was your experience like living abroad?
I spent six months in Canada. I rented a room in a house, which I shared with five other people from different countries. It was a new experience for me to be totally immersed in a language other than Spanish. The winter months were long, but they became easier with the friends I met there. I also visited different places in and around Montreal. I visited Quebec, which lies to the east, towards the coast, and Toronto, where we went to see Niagara Falls.
It should be noted that Héctor joins other members of the Delphos Laboratory who have won the Canada-Chile Scholarship to carry out research internships and live the experience of studying/researching abroad with known worldwide professors.
Previously, Gonzalo Nelis (2014-2015) and Pedro Sanhueza (2017-2018) won the scholarship to travel to Montreal to work with Dr. Michel Gamache. In addition, Cecilia Julio (2014-2015) also won the scholarship to do her internship in Montreal with Dr. Roussos Dimitrakopoulos at the Cosmo Laboratory. Finally, Enrique Jélvez (2015-2015) won the scholarship to do his research internship at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where Dr. Hooman Askari-Nasab directed him at the MOL Laboratory.
We hope that in the future, many more members of our Delphos Laboratory will be able to live the experience of doing internships abroad, strengthening ties of collaboration, and learning from cultural exchange!
