From João Pessoa to Toronto: one student’s story

By Robyn Dugas, Mitacs

Rodrigo Araujo de Medeiros is a student at Universidade Federal da Paraiba. With a passion for business, Rodrigo was interested in helping companies develop efficient, reliable, and safe processes for oil and gas transport. This passion led him to seek out research opportunities around the world, including Mitacs Globalink program, which brings top-ranked undergraduates to Canada’s universities to do research from May to September of each year.

Rodrigo applied to Globalink in September 2013. After submitting the required transcripts and letters of recommendation, he was able to review a database of professor-submitted research projects and then apply to do those that best matched his interests and area of study.

Rodrigo’s application was one of 481 that were approved, from a pool of over 2,600 applications from countries such as China, India and Mexico. He was then matched with Dr. Sharareh Taghipour of Ryerson University’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and began preparing for his life-changing experience.

In May 2014, Rodrigo travelled to Toronto. Over the next 12 weeks, under Dr. Taghipour’s supervision, he developed methods to strategically predict which sections of the pipeline would be most in need of maintenance. These methods will help to ensure the long-term integrity of many of the oil and gas pipelines across Canada, preventing environmental damage caused by spills.

Rodrigo’s involvement with Mitacs has given him a new perspective on research in Canada: “I never thought about what Canadian universities were like before I came here. Now I see that there are a lot of different cultures… and I am learning so much from this experience.”  

When asked to summarize his experiences in Canada, Rodrigo provided a simple, yet powerful, response:  “I have all that I want here.”