Companies and students present the results of the Industrial Challenges

After five months of work, the first edition of IMPA Tech’s Industrial Challenges concluded this Friday (10), with the presentation of projects developed by students in the Bachelor’s program in Mathematics, Technology, and Innovation for three partner companies: IplanRio, Inoa, and Grupo MAG.

The initiative aligns academic training with market demands: undergraduate students worked in teams to solve problems presented by partner companies, under the guidance of faculty advisors and a technical representative from the partner company.

“Our goal at IMPA Tech is to train people for industry, for research, and sometimes to work at the intersection of these two fields. But students don’t always arrive here knowing which path they want to follow. The challenge lies in their first exposure to real-world business issues, as well as providing an opportunity to develop communication and teamwork skills,” said Rafael Beraldo, IMPA Tech’s skills development manager.

The activities began in February, and over the past few months, the students have gained exposure to the ecosystem of partner companies, using programming languages, tools, and methodologies applied in a professional setting. The project is structured similarly to a long-term hackathon and serves as a preparatory step before the internship.

Solutions to Real Problems

In the challenge proposed by IplanRio, students worked on standardizing address data from the Integrated Municipal Registry (RMI), with the goal of making the information more reliable for use in public policy and urban research.

“We were able to engage with real-world problems that have a social impact—problems we wouldn’t encounter in a traditional college setting,” said student Arthur Silva.

Thiago Trabach, CEO of IplanRio, highlighted the students’ dedication and stated that some of the solutions presented could be put to use by the company.

“The challenge seems simple, but in reality, it’s a problem with no single right answer. We have to make choices about paths and possibilities. Our goal was to provide access to current technologies and software used in real life, highlighting the limitations and strengths of each platform. The result was very interesting, and we may incorporate some of the suggestions into our projects. We want to continue working together because training new scientists and researchers is part of our mission,” he said.

At Inoa, the students developed a solution capable of reading, organizing, and making public data from the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM)—the agency responsible for regulating and supervising the Brazilian capital markets—available for consultation. The information, which includes data on investment fund portfolios, can be analyzed to generate metrics useful to the financial sector.

For Professor Rodrigo Ribeiro, the experience showed the students that the challenges encountered in the professional world are also part of the learning process.

“When we encounter a problem in an academic book, that issue has already been thoroughly examined, and we know there’s a solution. But that’s not the case in the industry. During the challenge, we encountered technical problems, such as access issues and platform incompatibilities, and this was important for our teaching approach. It was interesting to deal with these obstacles, because we see that theory doesn’t always apply directly to practice, but the results were very satisfying,” he said.

Inoa software developer Leonardo Santos highlighted the development of technical and behavioral skills during the project.

“We’ve seen the technical results of the project here, which are very significant, but this challenge also provided a very important opportunity to develop soft skills. Everything you’ve learned throughout the various stages prepares you for the job market, whether in terms of communication, organizational, or interpersonal skills,” he said.

As for the MAG Group presented two challenges to the students. In the first, the students investigated how data and variables that have been largely overlooked by the insurance market can help explain the factors that influence life insurance claims rates. In the second, they analyzed indicators of productivity, quality, collaboration, and the evolution of technology teams to identify factors associated with the high performance of the company’s squads.

“It was very interesting to see how mathematics complements business knowledge. With it, we were able to identify patterns and inconsistencies that would be hard to spot in a traditional analysis,” said student Gustavo Cardoso.

For student Pedro Henrique Barbosa, the experience gave him a closer look at what a data scientist does.

“It was an opportunity to get a sense of how the job market welcomes data scientists. We got to work with the Databricks platform and learned about the work environment at MAG,” he said.

Paula Silva, the MAG Group’s superintendent of architecture and technological transformation, highlighted the potential of collaboration between universities and companies.

“It’s really great to see you guys trying out the technologies we use in our day-to-day work. We made a point of sharing real data and the gaps in our understanding that we encountered. Sometimes, in the corporate world, there’s a lack of depth in our analyses, and that’s where your expertise helps us. You’ve given us a starting point for delving deeper into the information and data we have. It was really great. I’m sure this conversation won’t end here,” he said.

Upcoming connections with companies and research

The experience gained through the Industrial Challenges reinforces IMPA Tech’s mission to train professionals capable of bridging the gaps between mathematics, technology, and innovation, applying scientific knowledge to solve real-world problems facing society and the productive sector.

The next event bringing students together with companies and researchers already has a set date. On August 13, IMPA Tech will host the event “One Education, Multiple Futures”, which will bring together the institute’s 1st Career Fair and 1st Scientific Initiation Conference. The initiative will bridge the gap between academic research and professional opportunities in technology and innovation.

A new edition of Desafios Industriais is scheduled for early 2027. The selection of partner institutions will take place in mid-August 2026. Companies interested in participating can contact us by email at parcerias@impatech.edu.br.