Good engineers are hard to find, not only in Germany but in Brazil as well. This was also confirmed by Eduardo Zanlorenzi, head of Technical Development at the Continental location in Guarulhos, Brazil: “At present, nearly all of the prospective Brazilian engineers are turning away from technical positions: they find better paid jobs more attractive, such as in administration or financial management. In view of the fact that Brazil is an up-and-coming business location, it is very important that universities and industry come closer together and improve their relationship, again concentrating more closely on engineering science and product development.”

Of 100 engineers trained in China, 22 of them go to India, 27 to Korea and just five to Brazil. That is why the workforce at the Continental plant in Guarulhos, together with the Ambassadors, foster a close relationship with the local university.

For instance, Continental engineers were at the “FEI 2009” event, where they showed students the various products and as well as the challenges and activities in research and development.

Continental staff was also on hand at the “Unicamp 2008”, where they showed prospective engineers how electronics components are developed, from the design phase through to production. This demonstrated to the students how theory and practice can be linked together.