Inova Summit: Nara Bobko discusses technology and employability

IMPA Tech’s academic manager, Nara Bobko, discussed strategies to reduce the employability deficit in the technology market at the “L’Oréal Inova Summit”, an event organized by the multinational beauty company. Held on Wednesday (20) in the auditorium of Porto Maravalley, the panel “Hacking the Tech Market” also included Tatiana Roque, Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Secretary for Science, Technology and Innovation, and Wiliam Potenti, Director of Information Technology for the L’Oréal Group in Brazil. The moderator was journalist Marlon Câmara.

Nara opened the discussion by defending the importance of strengthening national technology production. “We have institutions that train excellent professionals, but there is a culture of consuming what is already ready rather than actually developing the technology. In the short term, it seems like a cheaper way to go, but in the medium to long term this is bad for companies. They become hostages to technology that comes from outside and it’s not possible to customize what is needed,” he said.

In this context, Rio de Janeiro has been consolidating itself as an innovation hub, as Secretary Tatiana pointed out. “Rio de Janeiro City Hall has a strong infrastructure strategy. We have plans to build the largest data center of Latin America, to bring a supercomputer here. Because once we have the infrastructure, we can enter this global race. We need to have companies trained to absorb this workforce that is being prepared,” he said.

Recently, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, announced strategic partnerships for the Rio AI City project, which envisages the creation of a major global artificial intelligence hub in the capital. Porto Maravalley will receive a supercomputer from Nvidia, one of the world leaders in AI.

According to Tatiana, the initiative aims to retain talent trained in the city and bring universities closer to the demands of the productive sector. “Rio is the biggest exporter of brains in the country. This is our biggest challenge. We train good professionals, but we can’t absorb this workforce in the market. […] Porto Maravalley connects IMPA Tech training with companies and startups. We want to position Rio as an AI provider for the whole country.”

This rapprochement also directly benefits the undergraduates at IMPA Tech, located within the hub. “IMPA Tech was chosen here in Porto not for nothing. We chose to be close to companies and the community to bring the real problems of society closer to our students. The degree is interdisciplinary and prepares young people for the job market,” said Nara.

Porto Maravalley currently has 70 companies and 45 resident startups. The hub seeks to integrate academia, government, the private sector and the innovation ecosystem to consolidate Rio as a global reference in technology.

With the advance of generative technologies, Potenti stressed that behavioral competencies have become even more important. “With many technologies on offer, the soft skills have become very important. The scenario we’re in is very dynamic, and our ability to absorb and mature all this knowledge is hampered. So we need professionals with emotional intelligence, the ability to connect technologies and communication skills,” he said.

IMPA Tech also offers support for this development. The institution has the NAP (Psychopedagogical Support Center) and the NCE (Careers and Internships Center), which work together to accompany students and help them build long-term career projects. The aim is to promote interdisciplinary training that values technical, social and cultural skills.

Nara emphasized that bringing the bachelor’s degree closer to society is fundamental not only for the success of the students, but to ensure that the curriculum brings real needs into the classroom. “We need to think about what the market needs in five years’ time so that the content the students are studying is useful when they graduate.”

The academic manager also cited examples of research centers and institutes that are already working in this direction, such as the PI Center (IMPA Projects and Innovation Center). “We need to understand the real problems discussed in the job market in order to find solutions through studies. There are already good initiatives, such as the IMPA’s Pi Center, the CeMEAI of USP and Tecgraf from PUC-Rio.

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