Horiens welcomes a group of Poli-USP students for a chat about careers in risk management and insurance

During a visit to the company’s offices, students were able to learn more about career opportunities in the insurance market and about Horiens and its corporate culture

In June (13/06), a group of engineering students from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (Poli-USP), led by Professor Maria Eugenia Gimenez Boscov, visited the Horiens office in São Paulo (SP).

The students were able to learn more about the company, its corporate culture and the insurance market. “It was an opportunity for us to interact with the future engineers and introduce them to the world of risk management and insurance, as well as telling them about Horiens and the way we operate. It was a morning of great exchange with these young people, who are full of energy and enthusiasm. We could see how impressed they were with the various possibilities for engineers to work in the insurance market,” said Fernanda Antonelli, People, Communication and Marketing Officer at Horiens.

Civil and geotechnical engineer Márcio Santos, head of Horiens’ risk analysis laboratory, Risk Labs, opened the meeting by talking about the practice of risk management. In addition to Santos, Horiens members Orlando Rios, Ingrid Gregório, Caroline Duarte and Gustavo Corrêa told the students about their career journeys and relevant cases in the Brazilian and international engineering market in which the company has participated.

The students were accompanied by Professor Maria Eugenia, who is a national reference in environmental geotechnics. “It was an excellent experience. The visit was able to show her new professional opportunities, using engineering and the skills she develops in projects with a great social and economic impact, within a very well-structured company, with excellent financial prospects and a great working environment,” said the mentor.

In her assessment, the demands of today’s world have brought increasingly complex challenges, which need to be solved in order to address the well-being of populations and planetary health. “Engineers have the training and ability to work on these solutions, which open up a much broader field of work than is generally associated with the engineering. My suggestion is that young people try to find out about new opportunities and areas of work, especially at the start of their careers. Don’t be afraid to experiment, change areas, start a new job, until you find something that satisfies and excites you and, why not, that you fall in love with,” he added.

Throughout the meeting, the students raised their doubts and gave their perceptions of what was being presented. “I got to know a whole new world. Even after five years as an undergraduate, studying for a master’s degree and already in the job market, I didn’t know about this sector of the insurance market. I found the cases brought by the professionals very interesting,” said master’s student Gabriela Leal, one of the participants.

This opinion was shared by Luan Donadio, a 5th semester student. “The topic that most caught my attention, apart from seeing and talking about the magnitude of the engineering projects Horiens works on, was hearing about guarantee insurance. It’s an area that has grown on me. I became very interested in the insurance market, it’s different from what I thought. After the visit, I see the market as a career opportunity to pursue.”

According to Isabella Aureliano, who is currently in her second semester, the experience added a lot to her perspective on engineering and its fields. “It sparked my interest in learning more about risk management and the importance of the insurance market in this area. I will certainly take the knowledge I have acquired into my professional career, applying it to better assess and mitigate risks in future projects,” she said.

Gabriela added that it was a very important moment of exchange with professionals in the field. “We’ve discovered a new career possibility. It was very important for us to learn about the insurance market, which is and will always be present in the world of engineering,” she said.

Márcio Santos also spoke about the importance of engineering education for our country. According to him, in Brazil there are two engineers for every 10,000 inhabitants, while in the United States and Mexico there are 5 engineers, in Chile 4 and in China 13. “Not to mention that many engineers who graduate here are not working in infrastructure. The shortage of professionals impacts the entire market and the development of countries,” he said.

The meeting was closed by the CEO of Horiens, Marcelo Neves, who encouraged the young people to learn more about risk management and insurance. “The insurance market exists to protect companies from risks they shouldn’t take with their shareholders’ capital. Our job is to mitigate these risks and follow up afterwards. There are many job opportunities in this segment, which is important for Brazil’s infrastructure and the consequent development of our country.”

This was certainly the first of many meetings between Horiens and students, as a way of getting closer to university students and generating knowledge to help train future professionals.