According to the Academic Coordination Office, the goal of this event is to build a sense of community, foster exchange, and help students learn about the job market.
Four graduates—Mercedes Gatti, Nicolás Levy, Emiliano Zapata, and Renato Freitas—took part in this exchange program alongside more than 40 students from various semesters, all eager to ask questions and learn more about the degree programs and the business sector.
During the meeting, questions such as the following arose:
What opportunities are available in Uruguay, what are the risks of starting a business, how important is it to pursue a master’s degree, what their final graduation projects were about, what their work is like today, among other things.
The graduates began by sharing their experiences and describing their first steps in the professional world. But rather than letting the conversation veer into personal territory, they managed to connect with the students’ concerns and offered them insights for their professional futures.
Everyone emphasized that these fields offer great opportunities and open the door to many career options. For example, Emiliano Zapata shared that he has started several businesses, and that while some projects failed, others succeeded—as was the case with Atari Pong Table, a reimagining of the 1970s video game. He is currently working on a project to combine blockchain and music, and stated that “the focus shouldn’t be limited to Uruguay; rather, they are global workers.”
For his part, Renato, who works at UTE, emphasized that these fields of study allow you to explore many different areas: “There are a lot of gray areas, which gives us room to maneuver. Today, I’ve specialized in legal issues within engineering.” And he advised:
"Don't stress out—you have plenty of time to figure out what you like."
Nicolás Levy and Mercedes Gatti, both telecommunications engineers, also recalled their early days and described how they advanced in their careers. Nicolás is a co-founder of Qualabs—along with other ORT graduates—a technology and video distribution company that provides services to countries such as the United States.
Mercedes, for her part, specialized in cybersecurity, a field in high demand but with a shortage of professionals. She works at ANDA and is responsible for developing strategies to combat cyberattacks.
According to the students, the talks were enlightening, addressed their questions, and helped them learn about the opportunities available in the job market and connect with professionals in the field.