IMPA maintains top score in Capes quadrennial evaluation

The Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA) achieved the maximum score (7) in the latest Quadrennial Evaluation (2021-2024) of postgraduate studies by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes). Since the beginning of the evaluation system, IMPA has maintained its full score, consolidating itself as a global benchmark in the field of exact sciences.

“The Capes evaluation confirms the excellence of the postgraduate courses that we have been offering for decades to students from Brazil and abroad, and which contribute to making IMPA an elite institution on the world mathematics scene,” says the Institute’s director-general, Marcelo Viana.

The main objective of the analysis is to ensure the quality of Brazilian postgraduate programs, guaranteeing the renewal of their recognition by the National Education Council (CNE/MEC). The process uses benchmarks aligned with international standards of knowledge production, up-to-date criteria and technical reports. Grades 6 and 7 indicate good national and global insertion, publications in high-impact journals and qualified training.

Founded in 1952, IMPA is a teaching and research unit qualified as a Social Organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and the Ministry of Education (MEC). For over 70 years, the Institute has been carrying out research in the areas of dynamic systems, probability, computer graphics, fluid dynamics, among others.

IMPA is the only institution in Latin America with a researcher who has won the Fields Medal, considered the “Nobel Prize for Mathematics”. Artur Avila received the honor in 2014.

Since 2005, IMPA has been promoting the Brazilian Public School Mathematical Olympiad (OBMEP), the country’s largest scientific competition, which annually brings together more than 18.5 million students. In 2024, the Institute expanded its activities with the creation of an undergraduate program, IMPA Tech. With 80% of the places reserved for medal winners from knowledge olympiads, the bachelor’s degree in Mathematics of Technology and Innovation trains young people from all over Brazil.

In addition to IMPA, three other scientific institutions linked to the MCTI also received top marks in the Capes evaluation: the Brazilian Center for Physics Research (CBPF), the Brazilian Institute for Information on Science and Technology (Ibict) and the National Laboratory for Scientific Computing (LNCC). The results reinforce the relevance of Brazilian research units, which have been excelling in their fields in recent years.