2026 News 2026: Students tour offshore wind facilities in Portugal

Week-long program takes students abroad to study sustainability

Six UMass Dartmouth students recently returned from Portugal, where they got a behind-the-scenes tour of offshore wind turbine manufacturing facilities.

This trip is part of the Student Affairs Global Experience (SAGE) program. SAGE gives students the opportunity to engage in culturally immersive industry learning experiences. During this year’s trip, the students visited wind turbine manufacturing plants in Lisbon and went sightseeing in Porto.

For one week, students explored Portugal while getting an exclusive look at how wind turbines are built and operated. They visited two facilities: one offshore wind operational maintenance facility and one physical manufacturing facility.

Visiting the factories

"It’s a different type of learning when you’re seeing what’s being done in front of you. It’s not the same as being told about it from inside of a classroom. We read about how the turbines are constructed beforehand, but physically seeing it was eye-opening," said Ronak Jahangirian '26, a political science major.

Connecting experience to classwork

With many majors represented, students found relevant interdisciplinary opportunities to learn.

Photography major Angel Pelissari '26 had no previous experience in sustainability, but drew connections between what she saw and her field of study.

"They had miniature models that showed a full view of the turbines, from how they sit on the water's surface to how they're anchored below the water. Somebody in the arts had to sculpt those models and figure out how to use materials that closely represent such a large turbine in a miniature way," said Pelissari.

Jahangirian has examined sustainability in her political science courses, and found her experiences in Portugal to be applicable to her academics. "Sustainability interconnects with everything that we study. Whether you’re interested in international politics or constitutional law, it’s a relevant subject."

“It’s a different type of learning when you’re seeing what’s being done in front of you. It’s not the same as being told about it from inside of a classroom.”

Why apply for this trip?

Samuel Riley '26 has previous experience in the offshore wind industry, which is partially what drew him to apply for the program. As a marketing major, he interned with New Bedford Ocean Cluster, a nonprofit that aims to advance New Bedford's blue economy and offshore wind industry. He applied for SAGE when he heard that they would be traveling to Portuguese wind farms.

But Riley wasn't only drawn to the offshore wind aspect of the program—he also recognized an opportunity to travel abroad.

"I've always wanted to study abroad. SAGE isn't a study abroad program, but it is an opportunity to learn outside the U.S. That was another motivator for me. I'm a first-generation student, and I'm proud to be the first in my family to do things like study in Europe," he said.

Pelissari is also a first-generation student who jumped at the opportunity to join the program. "I'm a first-gen American, and going to college transformed who I am as a person. There are a lot of opportunities at UMass Dartmouth that I've taken advantage of, and they led me to apply to this program," she said.

"I was raised in a Brazilian household and grew up speaking Brazilian Portuguese, so I can tie that to Portugal. I met some Brazilians when I was there, and seeing people from my own culture pursuing life in another country gave an interesting cultural perspective between Portugal, Brazil, and America."

For Jahangirian, the SAGE program offered a chance to study abroad during her last semester before graduation. "I really wanted to study abroad, but it just wasn't possible with my graduation schedule. SAGE was a great alternative. Sustainability directly relates to my course of study, and I enjoy traveling to new places, so it was a perfect opportunity."

Learning through travel

"We got to see how people from different cultures interact and handle personal relationships. It's nice to experience, and you can take little parts of that home for yourself. I think that's a good practice for any place you travel," Jahangirian said.

"They always say that the best form of education is travel because you get to see how things operate in different parts of the world. You learn that the one way you're used to isn't the only way of doing things. I believe I'm more open-minded now," said Riley.