Sister Chapter Spotlight - June 2018

During this month’s Sister Chapter spotlight, the Executive Student Committee (ESC) is pleased to introduce you to the dynamic Sister Chapter duo made up of the Student Chapters from Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) from Brazil and University of Florida from Florida, USA. The two Chapters became Sister Chapters in January 2018. To summarize the Chapters' first few months of sisterhood, UFC created a document sharing how the Chapters became Sister Chapters and background information about each. The document also includes a short Q&A asking questions about what they do in their free time, the local climate, and more.

We asked each chapter to answer a different set of questions about their experience as Sister Chapters and compiled their responses below.

How did you become Sister Chapters?

UFC: After we read the Sister Chapter Interest Survey submissions on the ESC's website, we thought that the AIChE Student Chapters at UFC and University of Florida have similar goals because both have experience organizing events and projects that foster professional development and industrial relations with companies. Ana Luisa, external vice president from UFC AIChE, and Nathan Garcia, Sister Chapter liaison from University of Florida AIChE, were responsible for starting our Sister Chapter relations. Anna Wagner and Eloiza Contreras, members of the ESC Sister Chapter Subcommittee, greatly contributed to UFC AIChE  by offering advice.

Do your Chapters have any shared goals or projects that you’re working on as a team?

University of Florida: We are planning on working together to help introduce Chem-E-Car® to our Sister Chapter. UFC is really interested in participating, as the Chapter hasn't before.

Tell us a little bit more about the last communication you had with your Sister Chapter.

UFC: We talked about how we could improve our communication and shared updates about our Chapters, including officer elections, corporate sponsorship, social events, and Chem-E-Car. Differences of habits and culture between Brazil and USA were discussed also.

How has being a part of the Sister Chapter Program brought you closer to AIChE?

University of Florida: The Sister Chapter Program has really helped open our eyes to the grandeur of the world, by allowing us to experience the differences in our major in a country that is culturally different than our own. From this we’ve had the opportunity to adopt all the positive influences that come with it.

What is your Chapter’s biggest challenge or opportunity for improvement and how will your partnership with the University of Florida Student Chapter help you to tackle that challenge?

UFC: Our young Chapter needs to improve its connections with companies through sponsorship and events at UFC, be a part of international AIChE competitions, and strengthen networking opportunities for our members. We feel that University of Florida AIChE, with its knowledge and experience, could help us address those challenges.

What has been the most rewarding part of your Sister Chapter partnership with Universidade Federal do Ceará so far?

University of Florida: Our largest reward from this partnership is that we have aided in making our members more culturally aware. In addition, we now have the ability to network with students from Universidade Federal do Ceará, as well as to experience what ChemE means to them.

What advice do you have for Student Chapters that are thinking about getting involved in the Sister Chapter Program?

UFC: We recommend that other AIChE Student Chapters become Sister Chapters because we at UFC have gained knowledge, experience, networking opportunities, and friendships. Participating in the Sister Chapter Program allows us to learn about other cultures and help each other to grow as professionals. 

Have your Chapter members ever met in person?  Do you have plans to do so in the future?

University of Florida: Our members have not had the pleasure of meeting in person; however, we are planning on having an exchange in which we select an individual from each respective Chapter to travel and represent one another. That way we can easily translate and share many of our existing goals, experiences, and share some of our thoughts on the making of a great Chapter. In the meantime, however, we are thinking of interacting through Skype calls that encompass most of our general body members, in order to allow even more exposure to all of our members.

For more information on the Sister Chapter  Program, check out the website here. Questions can be sent to studentchapters@aiche.org.