AIST Foundation Steel Intern Scholarship
Adolfo Tapia Tovar
During the summer of 2025, I had the opportunity to complete a summer internship at Ternium Mexico, one of the most important steel producers in Latin America. This opportunity allowed me to immerse myself in a dynamic industrial environment and gain valuable hands-on experience in the steelmaking process. It was a deeply enriching experience that not only allowed me to apply and expand the knowledge I had acquired throughout my engineering studies but also helped me grow both professionally and personally.
From the first week, I worked in the continuous casting area, where I focused on understanding and improving billet cutting performance, with the specific goal of reducing dimensional dispersion. I participated in a project aimed at analyzing and minimizing this dispersion by evaluating both automatic and manual billet cutting systems. This work involved collecting and organizing large volumes of production data, tracking failures, and collaborating closely with various departments including operations, casting, maintenance and rolling to identify root causes and propose corrective actions.
One of my most impactful contributions was the development of a Power BI dashboard to visualize the behavior of billet length dispersion over time. This tool incorporated critical variables such as casting speed, cutter type, operating shift and failure frequency. By making the data more accessible and visual, the dashboard significantly improved how billet cutting performance was monitored and analyzed, allowing for faster and more informed decision-making.
In addition to the core project, I contributed to various continuous improvement initiatives. These included the installation of missing safety gates in the casting area, participation in the evaluation and calibration of the scale systems, and support in updating and organizing process databases. I was also able to collaborate with colleagues from other areas of the steelmaking plant, gaining a more complete understanding of how different departments interact and contribute to final product quality.
Looking back, I feel that this internship has been a turning point in my professional formation. I was able to see firsthand how the theories and concepts I have studied in the classroom translate into real-world operations. More importantly, I learned how to approach technical challenges in a practical, methodical way, something I believe will benefit me throughout my future career. I also came to understand how essential it is to be detail-oriented, persistent and communicative when working in high-pressure, high-precision environments such as the steel industry.
In conclusion, my internship at Ternium was much more than a learning experience — it was a professional milestone. It reaffirmed my passion for metallurgy and steel production and confirmed my desire to continue contributing to innovation, quality and sustainability in the industry. I am grateful for the opportunity, and I feel excited to apply everything I’ve learned as I move forward in my academic and professional journey.