Victor Pagani Cintra

Experience

Tell us what your greatest academic, professional or personal awards/achievements have been.

So far, my greatest achievement was to succeed in the entry exams at São Carlos School of Engineering USP, straight from High School. Usually, students in Brazil spend up to three years of full time preparatory programmes to get in the top Engineering schools in Brazil.

Why did you decide to study your Summer School course and why specifically did you choose to study with Imperial College Business School?

It is truly valuable to use summer and winter holidays to develop new skills, especially those that are not easily available along a classical engineering Term. Once back home I was working on developing an entrepreneurship league, this summer programme seemed a good way to leap frog my level of knowledge in terms of Entrepreneurship.

Programme

What makes your Summer School unique?

Not only did it bring an amazing opportunity to learn about many different cultures – networking was great – but also lifted me to a complete new threshold when it comes to Entrepreneurship knowledge.

What aspects of the course did you most enjoy?

The course was structured in a way to have lectures in the morning and hands on afterwards. Thus, by the end of the programme I was able to see the whole picture of a true project. This is, our team came up with many ideas, we managed to use tools just acquired to separate the best one and, along the three weeks, we went deeper in all the aspects to get it from a blueprint to what a reality would be.

What was the most challenging part of the course?

Definitely, the part to contextualise the ideas and pick only one and most important. This involved lengthy discussions but stick to it, is the most challenging part of the programme.

People

Imperial places a large emphasis on group work, what inspires you the most about working in this type of environment?

Multiculturalism is the answer. Working among such a multicultural environment gave me a broader view of entrepreneurship and relationship among professionals than any other programme that crosses my mind.

How would you describe your Summer School class?

They were all young and serious about bringing a positive contribution to society while also being committed to the results and always in a hurry to learn.

What parts of the social programme did you most enjoy?

The Boat party.

Opportunities

What has been the greatest opportunity during your summer at Imperial that you don’t think you would get anywhere else?

I believe the Multiculturalism and the high quality of the lectures.

What are your future career goals and how do you think your time at Imperial will help/has helped?

Among the many career goals in mind, I would like to actively participate in the development of businesses where services or products would be delivered in the highest quality, and be financially rewarded as a result. Imperial College has given me many tools I am sure will be of great help in achieving this.

Location

Whereabouts did you stay in London and why did you choose to stay there?

I stayed at the dorms at Prince’s Gardens. Location – just a few steps from Imperial College – was why I choose it.

What can a weekend in London look like for a Summer School student?

Since the beginning of the programme we were able to make  friends very easily with the other students since we share many goals and aspirations. We visited the city of London as a bunch of friends, getting views and perceptions that we would not be able to get as typical tourist. The best Fish and Chips is the one shared among friends sharing very similar goals.

In your opinion, tell us about the most exciting thing you’ve done in London.

As a musician myself (as a hobby), the high standard of the street artists did impress me. I could see they were from different parts of the world and played all kinds of music extremely well. Very nice to say the least.

Tips

What advice would you give someone who was thinking about applying for the Summer School?

If you are looking for an excellent programme on entrepreneurship, with workshops (hands on) and a sensational networking (high quality professors), Summer School is definitely the place to be. You will be fully exposed to both technical knowledge and practical work (drawing up a business plan from scratch in just three weeks). I strongly recommend it.

Share with us a handy hint or trick that made settling into Summer School that much easier!

Be as open-minded as possible. Most probably you will have the chance to meet extraordinary people from all over the world. Be interested in other cultures, try to learn one or two words in another language.  Your time at Summer School will be much more pleasant if you are surrounded by new friends. Your group brainstorms will be more creative, meetings less stressful and exploring London over the weekend with them will be much more enjoyable.