IMPA Tech completes one month of classes in Port Maravalley
Remember milestones in the history of IMPA’s undergraduate program
02/05/2024
The first class of IMPA Tech, the undergraduate program of IMPA (Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics), completed a month of classes at the Porto Maravalley campus, in Rio de Janeiro’s Port Zone, on Thursday (2). The bachelor’s degree in Mathematics for Technology and Innovation has an innovative curriculum, with theoretical and practical subjects and an interdisciplinary basis.
To celebrate this milestone, we’ve put together the most important news items for you to remember IMPA Tech’s journey so far.
The project was unveiled at the end of 2022, when Porto Maravalley was announced by Rio de Janeiro City Hall in November. As well as hosting IMPA’s first undergraduate degree, the hub will house high-tech startups, companies and investors’ offices.
On the occasion, Rio’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, spoke of the importance of the campus in the city’s port region. “It will be a milestone in Rio’s development. It’s an opportunity for those from public schools, who face all kinds of difficulties and barriers, to come and study at one of the best mathematics faculties in the world. We have to remember this: IMPA is compared to Harvard and other sophisticated universities and now it’s coming to Porto in a democratic way to train students in mathematics, which is the science of the future,” he said.
President Lula visits construction sites
In August 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited the construction site in Rio and showed his excitement about the new development for Brazilian education. Fifteen OBMEP (Brazilian Public School Math Olympics) medal winners accompanied the president’s visit to the space. At the ceremony, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Luciana Santos, the Minister of Education (MEC), Camilo Santana, the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, and the director-general of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, signed the protocol of intentions between the federal government, city hall and the institute.
In December of the same year, IMPA’s accreditation as a higher education institution was formalized by the Ministry of Education. President Lula approved the accreditation, authorizing the start of IMPA Tech’s activities.
“Brazil is the country that trains the most lawyers in the world. Nothing against that, but we need to train more in mathematics, engineering, physics, courses that are essential for the development of a nation so that we can be more competitive,” the president said at the time.
Rio City Hall hands over IMPA Tech key
In January 2024, IMPA’s director-general symbolically received the key to Porto Maravalley from Rio de Janeiro City Hall. In the 10,000 m² shed, in Rio’s Port Zone, in addition to the space for undergraduate activities, around 30 rooms and a coworking space, laboratory, auditorium, restaurant, café, and a large arena for events were built, which connects to IMPA Tech.
During the ceremony, Viana spoke about the selection process for the bachelor’s degree. “This degree will have the DNA of IMPA, which since 2005 has organized OBMEP, which involves around 21 million children and young people across the country and gives us access to the most talented young people Brazil has. So our proposal was that the selection process should clearly favor those who perform well in the Olympiads. This is the profile of students we want, from all over the country. We want the most talented young people who want to change the world through mathematics,” he said.
In addition to the OBMEP, the process for the first class also accepted the math score from the ENEM (National High School Exam) and performance in certain categories of other knowledge olympiads, such as OBM (Brazilian Math Olympiad), OBF (Brazilian Physics Olympiad), OBQ (Brazilian Chemistry Olympiad) and OBI (Brazilian Informatics Olympiad).
On April 2, 2024, President Lula and Mayor Eduardo Paes inaugurated IMPA Tech. Alongside the Minister of Education and the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, the President celebrated the start of the academic year of the Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics of Technology and Innovation.
“Education is not a privilege for the rich. It’s a right for everyone. It’s not an expense, it’s an investment. We want our young people to study here, to be masters here and doctors here. Today, we are scoring a ‘bicycle goal’ in Rio de Janeiro. The world needs education,” said the president.
In his speech, Viana emphasized that “undergraduate courses in this innovation space will train young people at a high level to take practical action to solve Brazil’s problems. To change the world through mathematics! We will offer the expertise of IMPA and its researchers, as well as support for living and housing, so that they can carry out their studies in the best conditions. And we will support the graduates in their professional integration, both in the job market and in postgraduate studies.”
Read more: Visit to Parque Lage marks start of IMPA Tech cultural program
See also: IMPA Tech’s innovative proposal is featured in Jornal Hoje
