13/11/2017

'Conversation with Bial' interviews director and researcher from IMPA.

The Conversa com Bial program this Monday (13) will have Mathematics as its theme. The journalist and presenter Pedro Bial will interview the general director of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, the institute's researcher Carolina Araujo and the student Pietro Pepe.

Watch the Conversation with Bial program here.

In the midst of the 2017-2018 Mathematics Biennium, the teaching of the subject has gained prominence as a public policy against so-called mathematical illiteracy, sadly evidenced in assessments such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment).

IMPA faces the challenge of doing more with even fewer resources.

OBMEP awards gold medals to 501 students.

In the conversation, Viana and Carolina analyze Brazil's role in world mathematics, the cuts in research funding, and the low quality of mathematics teaching in schools, among other topics. Pepe, a former medalist at the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools), exemplifies how knowledge olympiads can be a gateway to higher education for young people. Currently studying Mathematics and Computer Engineering at PUC-Rio, he also develops digital games and teaches Mathematics and Physics in community-based college preparatory courses.

The program will also feature a report with Sandoel Vieira, a doctoral student at IMPA. Born in Cocal dos Alves (PI), a municipality with one of the worst Human Development Indexes (HDI) in the country, he became a mathematician after excelling in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). He overcame difficulties and entered academia. One of the few PhDs from his hometown, he is considered an example by young people from Piauí who see the OBMEP as an opportunity for personal, academic, and professional advancement.