Chinese students arrive at IMPA Tech for the academic semester

On Monday (10), six students from the School of Mathematical Sciences at Beihang University in Beijing, China, began the academic semester at IMPA Tech. They are part of IMPA’s undergraduate International Mobility Program and arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday (9).

At IMPA Tech, the group was welcomed by the Internationalization Office, which organized a roundtable discussion on academic life and daily life in Brazil. The exchange students toured the classrooms, laboratories, and other facilities at IMPA Tech in Porto Maravalley.

IMPA Director-General Marcelo Viana attended the reception and spoke with the students. “This is another important step in our strategy to build closer ties with China’s top educational and research institutions. Later this month, Beihang University will also welcome our students for a semester,” he said.

Over the next few days, exchange students will be able to choose courses from the bachelor’s program in Mathematics, Technology, and Innovation or from IMPA’s master’s program at the institute’s headquarters in Jardim Botânico. During the roundtable discussion, over cups of mate and packages of Globo cookies—a traditional snack in Rio de Janeiro—the students shared their expectations for the coming months.

“This is my first time in South America; I’m very happy and excited. I want to take Data Science courses at IMPA, but I also want to go out and explore Rio de Janeiro and enjoy the city,” said student Yuting Pan.

Yongkang Liang highlighted IMPA’s international reputation and the opportunity to work closely with world-renowned researchers. “Brazilians are very warm; I’m happy to be here, and I want to take math courses. We know that IMPA is famous for its research and recognized worldwide; it’s where one of the Fields Medal winners came from.”

For Zhikai Lin, the exchange program also marks his first trip abroad. “I’m really happy—it’s my first time outside of China. Everything here is really cool. This program was an opportunity that came up at the university while talking with professors, and I’m really excited. I want to use this time to practice my English, talk with Brazilians, and work on some math problems,” he said.

The Buddies Program Promotes Inclusion

To welcome the Chinese students, IMPA Tech created the Buddies Program, which selected Brazilian undergraduates to provide one-on-one support to the exchange students, both academically and socially. The idea is that each buddy — “companion,” in English — helps international students with practical, day-to-day situations, helping them overcome potential language and cultural barriers.

Student Carolina Salles was one of the undergraduates selected to participate in the host program. “I signed up to get to know the exchange students better and improve my English. I think it’s going to be a really cool experience. I’m taking a Chinese course here at IMPA Tech and I want to study abroad during my junior year,” she said.

Undergraduates are heading to China at the end of the month

The International Mobility Program will take another step forward later this month. On August 28, 12 IMPA Tech undergraduates will depart for China to study there for one academic semester. The students will be divided between two leading institutions: Beihang University and Peking University.

Each university will host six Brazilian students, who will take courses and participate in research activities throughout the semester. The participants are majoring in Mathematics, Data Science, and Computer Science, with a distribution aligned with the academic profiles of the Chinese institutions. They are scheduled to return to Rio de Janeiro in January 2027.

Bianca Zavadisk is one of the undergraduate students selected for the academic exchange program. “My expectations are high. I’m excited to study there because we’ll take different courses—they cover more specific topics that we wouldn’t cover here. I’m sure it will be worth it,” she said.