Paulo Queirós de Faria – Engenheiros Consultores, Lda.
Women in Coolings: Include me in the International network for Women in Cooling
Working in the area of air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration makes us feel useful to humanity. Designing solutions with high energy efficiency that create healthy environments in buildings, or that are part of manufacturing processes and distribution chains, are challenges that we have to take on every day.
Odete de Almeida is a Mechanical Engineer and Building Physics Engineer. Her professional career began 27 years ago and it was always in the field of air conditioning and refrigeration. Since 2006, she has been an invited professor at the Polytechnic of Porto. She is the President of the Federation of Ibero- American Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Associations. She is responsible for the student activities at the Portugal Chapter of ASHRAE. She was president of the Portuguese Association of Industrial Cold and Air Conditioning Engineers (2019-2021).
In the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industry (HVAC&R) there are many career opportunities for women.
Building air conditioning technicians have the most in-demand job in the field. However, there are a few different HVAC&R careers, for example in agriculture, in all types of transport, or in the pharmaceutical industry. In the cold chain, women can work as engineers, installers, managers, or technicians.
On this Women in Engineering Day (June 23rd), I would like to say that if we work in education, training, and be fair, the HVAC&R industry will reduce social inequalities, contribute to economic growth and mitigate climate change.
