We are excited to feature an interview with Raphaël Vimont and Luís Scarso on their exchanges in Reedley, California.
The SynTech Talent Exchange programme provides the opportunity for our staff to go and experience another country and it’s team and to learn other procedures, methodologies and techniques which can be adopted back home. It gives a chance to interact with other colleagues, learn and grow new practical and language skills.
Read all about their experiences below:
What was your Talent Exchange experience? Tell us about where you went and what was the purpose.
Luís: The exchange period was a great experience, I stayed for three months in Reedley, in the state of California, where the main objective was to work on trials in the greenhouse, as we will be building greenhouses in Brazil next year.
Raphaël: I went to the United States to the SynTech Research station in Reedley for 3 months. My aim was to meet my American colleagues and learn about their way of working, both on the technical and management sides. I also went to the USA to improve my English, given that English is still the basis of our work as technicians.
How did this exchange experience enrich your knowledge and skills to help you in your further work activities? What did you learn the most about?
Luís: This experience was very interesting because I spent three months with people of different nationalities, which allowed me to improve my English level, which is essential in our work activities, and during this time I had the opportunity to learn how to conduct different types of trials in a greenhouse. In Brazil, we have great expectations for the coming years with these types of trials.
Raphaël: I learned a lot about running a trial in the United States, cultivation practices, pesticide management and management. My English has also improved a lot.
How was it working with the host country team?
Luís: Working with the California team was a great experience, the entire team has great knowledge and is willing to share, Mariana Krugner and Parsa Tehranchian provided all the necessary support while I was on the exchange program, and the research team Mishell and Andrew were very attentive during the time I was there.
Raphaël: Mariana Krugner was very helpful when I arrived on site. Parsa Tehranchian supervised me throughout my stay, assigning work tasks with Mishell and sometimes Andrew. It was a great professional and friendly experience. Many thanks to them!
Any special moment you’d like to share?
Luís: During my time in California I had several special moments, in addition to working with crops different from those we have in Brazil, I had the opportunity to visit several places such as Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park, where I had some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen, as well as a great trip to visit San Francisco.
Raphaël: I really enjoyed working with the different teams, in different positions, to get to know the diversity that SynTech Research USA offers.
If you could describe your experience in 3 words, what would they be?
Luís: To describe the experience in three words I could say that it was an enriching, transformative and immersive experience.
Raphaël: Immersive travel, culture, Learning a lot.