“IMPA is our crown jewel,” says Ronaldo Lemos, a columnist for Folha

“IMPA is our crown jewel.” That is how columnist Ronaldo Lemos describes the Institute’s role in the history of Brazilian mathematics in his column “Brazil is a powerhouse in mathematics, but a failure in basic education”, published this Sunday (5) by Folha de S.Paulo. The article examines the contrast between Brazil’s leading position in international mathematics research and the persistent challenges in teaching the subject in K-12 education, highlighting IMPA’s contribution to establishing the country as one of the world’s leading authorities in the field.

The column highlights that Brazil has been a member of Group 5 of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) since 2018, a category that brings together the countries with the highest level of excellence in mathematical research. Alongside Germany, China, the United States, and France, Brazil is the only representative from the Southern Hemisphere in the group. For Lemos, this recognition is the result of work built up over decades by institutions such as PUC-Rio, IME, ITA, and “above all, IMPA.”

Among the highlights of the publication is the creation of IMPA Tech Nordeste, the Institute’s new undergraduate campus in Teresina (PI). The initiative is presented as a strategy to expand educational opportunities in the Northeast region, which accounts for a quarter of the medals won at OBMEP (Brazilian Public School Mathematics Olympiad).

The column also devotes space to OBMEP, described as the world’s largest math Olympiad. In 2025, the competition brought together 18.6 million students from virtually every Brazilian municipality, serving as a broad network for identifying and developing talent. The article also notes that medalists can join the scientific research program at CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), furthering a career path that often involves IMPA.

The columnist also suggests creating a category focused on the use of artificial intelligence in OBMEP and emphasizes that the country’s greatest challenge remains narrowing the gap between excellence in research and learning indicators in basic education. “We are indeed a country where mathematics excels at the top, but we are a desert at the bottom,” he says.

The full column is available on the Folha de S.Paulo website.