The main players in the country's logistics ecosystem met in the East at ExpoCarga 2023 to discuss the present and future of the sector. UTEC was present with student projects and participation from professors of Logistics Engineering and Control and Automatic Engineering.
“Not everything is resolved in logistics, there is still a lot to improve in Uruguay,” said Andrés Parins, a Logistics Engineering student at UTEC who participated in the Expo Carga 2023 event where companies, government and academia exchanged opinions on trends and technological advances towards sustainable logistics, electric mobility, the Uruguayan logistics hub, education in logistics, among other current topics.
What excited Andrés most was learning about the challenges the sector presents and knowing that he has a lot to contribute from his position. He, along with 90 students and 10 professors of Logistics Engineering from UTEC, participated in the event.
During the first round of the forum, a debate was held between representatives of Customs, the Intersindicação do Transporte Profissional Terrestre de Cargas, the national road safety unit and APPLUS Uruguay (the company responsible for the technical inspection of heavy transport and cargo vehicles). In this debate, the inefficiencies in the sector were highlighted and how we can work together to contribute to improving it, said Andrés.
Future UTEC Logistics engineers (from this degree program taught in Rivera and Fray Bentos) learned about the ProTransporte Forum debates and established valuable connections with industry leaders, but they were not the only representatives of the University.
Electric mobility and automation projects
Students of the Control and Automation Engineering course, taught at UTEC Rivera, presented projects related to electric mobility and caught the attention of visitors to the University's institutional stand.
A charging station for pedal-assisted electric bicycles and a single-phase inverter bridge that converts direct current into alternating current (a device that, for example, transforms solar energy from a panel into electricity for consumption in a home) were some of the academic projects related to electric mobility that were exhibited by students and professors of Control and Automatic Engineering at the UTEC stand during the four days of Expo Carga.
Juan Núñez is one of the Control and Automation Engineering students working on the development of the prototype for the charging station and locking system for use on 30 bicycles donated to UTEC by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines.
The project, called movi-electrica, consists of designing a docking station that incorporates a bicycle charging system. In addition, each bicycle will have a GPS tracking device to facilitate its geolocation. The project also includes the design of a user management system for UTEC students and employees who wish to use it. Through a database, it will be possible to carry out the process of user identification, load management, release and return of bicycles.
Students exhibiting projects at the UTEC stand at Expo Carga
Juan highlighted the importance of the links generated with the sector from the event. “We had contact with some companies that were interested in different aspects of the projects. Some more in the electronics part, others more in the mobility part”, he commented.
“I was impressed by the number of electric vehicles that existed for heavy loads. I was more up-to-date with light vehicles, motorcycles, cars, electric bicycles. The issue of cargo vehicles seemed so distant to me, but I could see that electric trucks are already doing a lot of moving in Uruguay,” added Juan.
Logistics laboratories at UTEC
A demonstration and teaching center, these two objectives work together at the Logistics Laboratory of the UTEC Northern Regional Technological Institute in Rivera. In another round of the forum, Professor Igor Hellwig presented how UTEC combines theory with practice in logistics. There, in a space of 625 m2, students have access to various tools to research, innovate and test technologies in storage, loading and distribution processes.
Professor Cristian Pérez, head of the Logistics Management area at UTEC Rivera, presented his vision at the roundtable on Logistics Education and highlighted the role of the University as an agent of development and innovation for the industry. “All companies in Uruguay have an innovation department, all have a research and development area, although not all use it. Academia is open to working together,” said the professor before a room full of representatives from the sector.
ILOG Students at TATA Operations Center
The trip was not limited to participation in Expo Carga. Students and teachers from Rivera Logistics took advantage of the event to visit several logistics centers in the south of the country, such as the TATA Operations Center, Costa Oriental, Latin American Cargo City (LACC) and the port terminal in Montevideo.
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