2023 Retrospective: IMPA Embraces New Challenges
With the goal of expanding and diversifying its activities, IMPA embraced major new challenges in 2023. In the area of education, the institute launched IMPA Tech, its first undergraduate course; increased the number of medals awarded by OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools) and created regional medals. Also in that year, the institute saw a doubling of the number of participants in the OBMEP Junior Olympiad, developed for students from the Mondays to the Thursdays grade of elementary school, in addition to other initiatives that marked the period. We have compiled the main relevant news for you to remember. Check it out!
Start of IMPA Tech
With a selection process that takes into account students' performance in five knowledge olympiads or their math score on the ENEM (National High School Exam), the institute has opened applications for IMPA Tech, the institute's first undergraduate course.
The Bachelor's degree in Mathematics of Technology and Innovation will serve up to 100 students from all over Brazil, starting in 2024, and will offer student accommodation (for those over 18 years of age) and financial support to those selected.
At an event attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in November, IMPA was recognized as an Institution of Higher Education. This accreditation authorized the start of IMPA Tech's activities.
With classes scheduled to begin in April 2024, the undergraduate program will receive investments of R$ 16.7 million in the first year; R$ 29.2 million in the second year to serve 200 students; R$ 41.7 million for 300 students; and R$ 55.9 million in the fourth year.
The course will take place at Porto Maravalley, a technology hub developed by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, which will house, in addition to IMPA Tech, startups and technology companies, creating an environment of innovation and collaboration in the city's port area.
OBMEP increases prizes.
In 2023, with over 18.3 million participating students, OBMEP created a new award category for the Olympiad. In addition to distributing gold, silver, and bronze medals and honorable mentions to the students with the best performance nationally, the mathematics Olympiad will also award students with regional medals, which take into account the student's score in each state. OBMEP also doubled the number of medals offered to students from private schools. In total, 8,400 national medals will be distributed (650 gold, 1,950 silver, and 5,850 bronze), in addition to 51,000 national honorable mentions and at least another 20,500 state medals.
Another piece of good news is that medalists from public schools participating in the PIC (Junior Scientific Initiation Program) received a 200% increase in their scholarship grant from CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) this year. The new amount is R$ 300.
The 18th edition of OBMEP involved more than 18.3 million students and reached 99.78% of Brazilian municipalities and more than 55,000 schools this year.
The Mondays OBMEP Children's Olympiad has 4.2 million registered participants.
With 55% more participants than last year , the OBMEP Children's Olympiad, aimed at students in the Mondays to Thursdays grades of elementary school, has established itself as a true success in its Mondays edition. Inspired by OBMEP, the Children's Olympiad had 4.2 million students enrolled in the scientific competition. The initiative aims to transform children's relationship with mathematics through playful and creative proposals and to involve teachers of the early years of elementary school in the differentiated teaching of the subject. The second edition of the OBMEP Children's Olympiad reached 29,657 schools this year.
Highlight of the IMPA Olympic Girls (MOI)
In its third edition, the IMPA Girls' Olympics (MOI) program achieved great success in 2023.
Juliana Ramos Pereira, assistant coordinator of MOI and master's student at UFRJ, came in second place in the Elisa Frota Pessoa Award , promoted by the Rio de Janeiro city hall, with the article "Gender in STEM: the experience of the IMPA's Olympic Girls project."
In total, 22 works were awarded prizes in the areas of Exact Sciences, Humanities, Biological Sciences, and Applied Social Sciences. The article developed by Juliana addressed the underrepresentation of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) based on the student's own experience in the IMPA Girls' Olympics.
Also this year, six other MOI participants were the big winners of HackGirls – a science and technology marathon promoted by Fiocruz – with the project “Abayomi, Illuminating Emotions”. The presented work aims to teach girls how to develop the Abayomi doll, which lights up after receiving a hug and serves as emotional support.
IMPA Open Doors welcomes students from Rio schools.
Focusing on bringing IMPA closer to society, the institute held two editions of IMPA Open Doors this year. The program received more than 300 visitors in June and September and offered lectures, workshops, and a visit to an exhibition about the mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to win the Fields Medal.
The IMPA Open Doors program has welcomed students of all ages, as well as teachers. The initiative has offered a variety of unique experiences with mathematics.
Documentary featuring Carolina Araujo and Luna Lomonaco
The documentary “Lugar de Mulher” – os inexatos percursos femininos nas exatas” (A Woman's Place – the inexact paths of women in STEM fields) premiered in November, featuring two researchers from IMPA, Carolina Araujo and Luna Lomonaco.
The book explores the stories of over ten women who pursued careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and the challenges each faced in a male-dominated job market.
In a 60-minute documentary, mathematicians, engineers, scientists, and technology professionals from different generations reveal the challenges they face in being heard and respected, while also sharing their passion for their professions and their achievements. The documentary aims to provoke reflection and contribute to raising societal awareness on this topic.
Fridays Edition of the IMPA Journalism Award
The sixth edition of the IMPA Journalism Prize registered the second highest number of entries in the history of the contest, which began in 2018. This year, 186 reports from 15 states were submitted to the jury of scientists and journalists formed by the general director of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, the president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Helena Nader, and the journalists Sabine Righetti, researcher at Labjor-Unicamp and founder of Agência Bori, and Raphael Gomide, coordinator of Press Relations at IMPA.
The magazines Superinteressante and Piauí were the big winners of the Fridays edition of the IMPA Journalism Award.
The article “The Primacy of Cousins” , by journalist Bruno Vaiano, published in Superinteressante magazine, won first place in the Mathematics category, and “The Return of Ubirajara” , by Bernardo Esteves, was chosen as the best publication in the Science Communication category. Check out the other award-winning articles here.