My name is Thiago Rios, I started my Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering at Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). Through the AWARE program I came to Technical Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI).

For the first time I had contact with THI when a small delegation from Germany came to Brazil to the UFSC and presented their university and projects. At that time I was working in the Baja SAE Team UFSC, was interested in the automotive field and also planned to apply for an exchange. In short, the opportunity that AWARE offered me was perfect! Shortly after, I was selected to participate in the II International Summer School at THI. During this event I had contact with students from different nations, with local companies, with Schanzer Racing Electric (Formula Student Team) and with Prof. Sitzmann, who later became my mentor in his Laboratory for Machine Dynamics, where I worked.

During my first six months at THI I studied and took the last courses required by UFSC. The last half year was dedicated to my final thesis in the field of Systems Analysis Dynamic, which I recently completed - together with the laboratory and the support of Prof. Sitzmann. During this time, I have developed a lot in the field of engineering, which may later be decisive for my engineering career. But also personally I was allowed to get to know the way and approach in the organization, at work and in the everyday life of Germans. These experiences and the fact of having done development research as a foreigner in Germany led to the fact that I got a trainee position at the Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH in Offenbach am Main. There I will spend the next seven months and complete my Bachelor's degree.

The past year in Germany was incredible and exceeded all expectations! Thanks to the exchange my future opportunities have expanded. My plan is now to do a binational Master's in Automotive between Brazil and Germany. This will allow me to support the exchange of experiences and information between the partner institutes of AWARE and ensure a more extensive and differentiated professional development for myself.

Thiago Rios
Student of Mechanical Engineering at Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). He completed his Bachelor's degree at THI within 2 semesters.