Back to school: check out academic news and expectations

IMPA Tech’s 2026 academic year began on Monday (16) with plenty of opportunities for students of the Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics of Technology and Innovation. Around 100 new students were selected from all over Brazil to begin their undergraduate studies.

“I want to congratulate you on reaching this selection and say that talent and hard work have brought you this far. Now the game begins – it’s not an easy game, but one of intense work and almost total dedication,” said IMPA’s director-general, Marcelo Viana, as he welcomed the students.

In addition to the arrival of the new students, 2026 marks a new phase for the previous classes, who have reached more advanced stages of the course. After two years at Porto Maravalley, the students who joined in 2024 will now be taking classes at IMPA’s headquarters, in Jardim Botânico, in Lisbon. Institute of Physics at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) and at Coppe/UFRJ.

“The 2024 class is starting classes off campus, together with master’s students from IMPA and other partner institutions. The students in class 2025 are choosing their emphases: Mathematics, Data Science, Physics or Computer Science,” explained Viana.

Another novelty this year is the FabLab. Opened on Monday (16), the new laboratory is dedicated to manufacturing and creation, based on the maker culture. Equipped with 3D printers and laser cutters, the space enables the development of prototypes and practical multidisciplinary projects.

IMPA Tech’s Experimental Physics academic project will be one of the beneficiaries of the laboratory, which will be able to use the space to carry out practical activities. “Brazil is guilty of teaching science in a way that is unrelated to experiment. Most of you learned with chalkboards and abstraction, but not having an empirical and experimental basis is very bad for training citizens and people who go out into society,” said Professor Cláudio Lenz, supervisor of the undergraduate Physics emphasis.

Academic manager Nara Bobko stressed the importance of the new space and the consolidation of institutional partnerships. “The FabLab will give students autonomy to create, explore and discover new things. In addition, we are establishing new academic and business partnerships. This is very important because some students are starting their internships this year,” she said.

As of the second semester, students in class 2024 will be able to start their supervised internships. In this context, the NCE (Careers and Internships Center) has been consolidating a network of important contacts. The Industrial ChallengesThe Industrial Challenges, which have been taking place since the beginning of the year, propose real problems from organizations in the public and private sectors, such as Stone, Inoa and IplanRio.

IMPA Tech’s international expansion also gained a new chapter during this period. The Mandarin classes held in partnership with the Confucius InstituteThe new NCE at PUC-Rio (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro) has been resumed and the coordination of internationalization and extension has been structured. In addition, on Tuesday (17), the NCE organized a chat with Dércio Santiago, from the Fundação Estudarwhich offers scholarships in Brazil and abroad.

“IMPA Tech is a professional training program, but it has flexibility – not just in the choice of emphasis, but all the paths are personalized. We try to offer paths that meet personal preferences. I’m sure that some people want to demonstrate theorems and be researchers in mathematics and others dream of having a successful professional life. There’s room for everyone,” said Viana.

New students’ expectations

With so many novelties, the new IMPA Tech students arrive at the institute at a time when they are consolidating their degrees. The 2026 selection process took into account the young people’s achievements in scientific olympiads, such as the OBMEP (Brazilian Public School Mathematics Olympiad), or their score in the Enem (National High School Exam) mathematics test. The students come from all five Brazilian regions and are excited about their future in Rio de Janeiro.

Maria Letícia Lins, 18, came from João Câmara (RN). “I came here because I saw the opportunity to combine mathematics with innovation and acquire new knowledge. I’ve always liked the subject and OBMEP opened doors for me. The PIC (Jr. Scientific Initiation Program) was one of the reasons that brought me to IMPA Tech,” he said.

Esley Pires, 18, came from Conceição (PB), and also highlighted the importance of OBMEP in his academic career. “The competition is one of the greatest opportunities we have in Brazil, because it encourages young people to enter this universe and learn a little more advanced mathematics. I left Paraíba and came to Rio de Janeiro because of the opportunities that IMPA Tech offers. We are next to technology companies, we have IMPA professors and the curriculum is innovative,” he said.

Maria Eduarda Dantas, 22, is from Rio de Janeiro and passed through Enem. “I’ve been passionate about math since I was little. I decided to come here guided by my passion. I want to learn new things and grow as a student,” she said. For her, IMPA Tech’s female quota was a difference. “It’s an incredible initiative because it’s an area that still doesn’t have many women, but we have everything we need to dominate this market,” she added.